Kids

Morale of the Story: “It is best to prepare for the days of necessity”

In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about,chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, carrying a with her a great toil of corn which she was taking to the nest.
“Why don’t you come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper,”instead of toiling and moiling in that way?” “I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant,”and recommend you to do the same.”

“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.

When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew :”It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.”

Morale of the Story: “A man is known by the company he keeps”

A man named murthi who wanted to buy an donkey went to the market, and, came across a good -looking donkey, Murthi arranged with the owner that he should be allowed to take the donkey home on trial to see what he ( the donkey) was like.
When Murthi reached home, he put the donkey into his stable along with the other donkey’s.The new donkey took a look round, and immediately went and chose a place next to the laziest and greediest beast in the stable.

When Murthi saw this he put a halter on the donkey at once, and led him off and handed the donkey over to his owner again. The owner was surprised to see Murthi back so soon, and asked him, “Have you tested him ?” “I don’t want to put this donkey through any more tests,” replied Murthi. “I could see what sort of beast he( the donkey) is from the companion he chose for himself.”

Morale of the Story: “Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.”

TWO friends named Gopi & Kishan were traveling together, when a Bear suddenly met them on their path. Gopi climbed up quickly onto a tree and concealed himself in the branches.
Kishan, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on the ground, and when the Bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over, he held his breath, and feigned* the appearance of death as much as he could.

The Bear soon left him, for it is said that the bear’s don’t touch a dead body. When he was quite gone, Gopi descended from the tree, and jocularly* inquired from Kishan about what it was the Bear had whispered in his ear.

“He gave me this advice,” Kishan replied. “Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.”

* Feigned :- to give a false appearance of
* Jocularly :- habitually jolly

Morale of the Story: “One man’s pleasure may be another’s pain.”

SOME BOYS, playing near a pond, saw a number of Frogs in the water and began to pelt them with stones. They killed several of them, when one of the Frogs, lifting his head out of the water,cried out: “Pray stop, my boys: what is sport to you, is death to us.” NEVER TEASE ANYBODY KIDS……..

Morale of the Story: "Necessity is the mother of invention"

A CROW perishing with thirst saw a pitcher, and hoping to find water, flew to it with delight. When he reached it, he discovered to his grief that it contained so little water that he could not possibly get at it.

He tried everything he could think of to reach the water, but all his efforts were in vain. At last he collected as many stones as he could carry and dropped them one by one with his beak into the pitcher, until he brought the water within his reach.

With his effort & patience the water level came to the neck of the pitcher and thus he drank the water and saved his life.

Morale of the Story: "Not everything you see is what it appears to be."

A PRINCE had some Monkeys which he trained how to dance. Being naturally great mimics of men’s actions, they showed themselves most apt pupils, and when arrayed in their rich clothes and masks, they danced as well as any of the courtiers.
The spectacle was often repeated with great applause, till on one occasion a courtier,bent on mischief, took from his pocket a handful of nuts and threw them upon the stage. The Monkeys at the sight of the nuts forgot their dancing and became (as indeed they were) Monkeys instead of actors.

Pulling off their masks and tearing their robes, they fought with one another for the nuts. The dancing spectacle thus came to an end with the laughter and ridicules of the audience.

Morale of the Story: "People often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves."

A Dog looking out for its afternoon nap jumped into the an Ox and lay there cozily upon the straw.
But soon the Ox,returning from its afternoon work, came up to the Manger and wanted to eat some of the straw. The Dog in a rage, being awakened from its slumber, stood up and barked at the Ox, and whenever it came near the dog attempted to bite it.

At last the Ox had to give up the hope of getting at the straw, and went away muttering: “Ah, people often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves.”

Morale of the Story: "Better starve free than be a fat slave."

A gaunt Wolf was almost dead with hunger once went to a city and there he happened to meet a House-dog who was passing by.
Seeing the wolf the dog said,”Ah, Cousin,How are you . You look quite week and pale.Why don’t you work steadily as I do, and get your food regularly ?”

“I would have no objection,” said the Wolf, “if I could only get a place.” The dog said that I will arrange for you, “Come with me to my master and you shall share my work.”

So the Wolf and the Dog went towards the town together. On the way there the Wolf noticed that the hair on a certain part of the Dog’s neck was very much worn away, so he asked him how that had come about. “Oh, it is nothing,” said the Dog. “That is only the place where the collar is put on at night to keep me chained up; it chafes* a bit, but one soon gets used to it.”

“Is that all?” said the Wolf. “Then good-bye to you, Master Dog.”

* Chafes:- to rub so as to wear away

Morale of the Story: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

AN EAGLE and a Fox formed an intimate friendship and decided to live near each other. The Eagle built her nest in the branches of a tall tree, while the Fox crept into the Underwood and there she reproduced her young.
Not long after they had agreed upon this plan, the Eagle, being in want of provision for her young ones, swooped down while the Fox was out, seized upon one of the little cubs, and feasted herself and her brood.

The Fox on her return,discovered what had happened, but was less grieved for the death of her young than for her inability to avenge them. A just retribution*, however, quickly fell upon the Eagle. While hovering near an altar, on which some villagers were sacrificing a goat, the eagle suddenly seized a piece of the flesh, and carried it,along with a burning cinder, to her nest.

A strong breeze soon fanned the spark into a flame, and the eaglets, as yet unfledged and helpless, were roasted in their nest and dropped down dead at the bottom of the tree. There, in the sight of the Eagle, the Fox gobbled them up.

* Retribution:- receiving of reward or punishment
* Unfledged:- not feathered : not ready for flight

Morale of the Story: "Birds of a feather flock together"

A FARMER placed nets on his newly-sown plowlands and caught a number of Cranes, which came to pick up his seed.

With them he trapped a Stork that had fractured his leg in the net. The farmer took all of them to his house. The Stork then earnestly beseeched* the Farmer to spare his life. “Pray save me, Master,” he said, “and let me go free this once. My broken limb should excite your pity. Besides, I am no Crane, I am a Stork, a bird of excellent character; and look at my feathers–they are not the least like those of a Crane.”

The Farmer laughed aloud and said, “It may be all as you say, I only know this: I have taken you with these robbers, the Cranes, and you must die in their company.”

* Beseeched:- to beg for urgently or anxiously

Morale of the Story: "Little friends may prove great friends."

Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. “Pardon, O King,” cried the little Mouse: “forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?”
The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go.

The time went by and one day the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a waggon to carry him on.

The Lion started to roar and the Mouse, recognizing his roar, came by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts, and set him free. “Was I not right?”said the little Mouse.

Morale of the Story: "Appearances are deceptive."

A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so he put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep.
Encased in the skin of a sheep, he pastured with the flock deceiving the shepherd by his costume.

In the evening he was shut up by the shepherd in the fold; the gate was closed, and the entrance made thoroughly secure.He soon found a healthy sheep and made a meal off her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoyed hearty meals.

But one day the shepherd, returned to the fold during the night to obtain meat for the next day, mistakenly caught up the Wolf instead of a sheep, and killed him instantly.

Morale of the Story: "Look before you leap"

A Fox one day fell into a deep well and could find no means of escape. A Goat, overcome with thirst, came to the same well, and seeing the Fox, inquired if the water was good. Concealing his sad plight under a merry guise, the Fox indulged in a lavish praise of the water, saying it was excellent beyond measure, and encouraging him to descend.

The Goat, mindful only of his thirst, thoughtlessly jumped down, but just as he drank, the Fox informed him of the difficulty they were both in and suggested a scheme for their common escape. “If,” said he, “you will place your forefeet upon the wall and bend your head, I will run up your back and escape, and will help you out afterwards.”

The Goat readily assented and the Fox leaped upon his back. Steadying himself with the Goat’s horns, he safely reached the mouth of the well and made off as fast as he could.

When the Goat up braided him for breaking his promise, he turned around and cried out,”You foolish old fellow! If you had as many brains in your head as you have hairs in your beard, you would never have gone down before you had inspected the way up, nor have exposed yourself to dangers from which you had no means of escape.”

Morale of the Story: "Greed often over reaches itself."

In a small village lived a countrymen who had a goose. One day while going to the nest of his Goose he found an egg all yellow and glittering.
When he took it up it was as heavy as lead and as he was going to throw it away, he gave a second thought and took it home .

Soon he found out to his delight that it was an egg of pure gold. He became very happy & every morning the same thing occurred.

He became rich by selling those golden eggs. As he grew rich he grew greedy. He thought to himself, ” Why not to get all the golden eggs at once which the Goose gives to me daily?’

And thinking to get all the eggs, he killed his goose but when he opened it he found nothing.

Morale of the Story: It is easy to despise what you cannot get.

One hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine over a lofty branch.
He was very thirsty & thought to himself,”Just the thing to quench my thirst”.

Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success.

Again and again he tried but did not succeed, so at last he had to give it up. He just walked away with his nose in the air, saying: “I am sure they are sour.”

Morale of the Story: "It is easy to propose impossible remedies."

Long ago, a mice community lived happily in a big house & enjoyed all the feast. On day to get rid of the mouse’s the family members brought a big cat. She use to eat 3-4 mouse daily.
The mouse got worried and had a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the problem.

“You will all agree,” said he, “that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her. I therefore propose that a small bell attached by a ribbon should be tied round the neck of the Cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was around us.”

This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said: “That is all very well, but who is to bell the Cat?” The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. When nobody came forward then all the mice decided to leave the house & go somewhere else.

At last the old mouse said: “It is easy to propose impossible remedies.”

Morale of the Story: A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth.

There was once a young Shepherd Boy who tended his sheep at the foot of a mountain near a dark forest. It was rather lonely for him all day, so he thought upon a plan by which he could get a little company and some excitement.
He rushed down towards the village calling out “Wolf, Wolf,” hearing his voice the villagers came out with their sticks & axes to kill the wolf but found nothing, and some of them stopped with him for a considerable time.

This pleased the boy so much that a few days afterwards he tried the same trick, and again the villagers came to his help. But found nothing so they understood that the boy was playing mischievous.

Shortly after this incident one day a Wolf actually did come out from the forest, and began to worry the sheep, and the boy of course cried out “Wolf, Wolf,” still louder than before. But this time the villagers, who had been fooled twice before, thought the boy was again deceiving them, and nobody stirred to come to his help.

So the Wolf made a good meal off the boy’s flock, and when the boy complained, the wise man of the village said: “A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth.”

Morale of the Story: He that has many friends, has no friends.

Once upon a time in a deep jungle their lived a hare who had many friends and was very popular with the other beasts who all claimed to be his friends.
But one day she heard the hounds approaching and hoped to escape them by the aid of her many Friends. So, she went to the horse, and asked him to carry her away from the hounds on his back. But he declined, stating that he had important work to do for his master. “He felt sure,” he said, “that all her other friends would come to her assistance.”

She then applied to the bull, and hoped that he would repel the hounds with his horns. The bull replied: “I am very sorry, but I have an appointment; but I feel sure that our friend the goat will do what you want.”

The goat, however, feared that his back might do her some harm if he took her upon it. So he said the ram, was the proper friend to apply to.

So she went to the ram and told him the case. The ram replied: “Another time, my dear friend. I do not like to interfere on the present occasion, as hounds have been known to eat sheep as well as hares.”

The Hare then applied, as a last hope, to the calf, who regretted that he was unable to help her, as he did not like to take the responsibility upon himself, as so many older persons than himself had declined the task.

By this time the hounds were quite near, and the Hare took to her heels and luckily escaped.

Morale of the Story: "MODERATION IS A VIRTUE."

There was a big meadow on the outskirts of a village close to Varanasi. Every day, shepherds and cowherds, mostly boys, came there to let their goats, sheep and cattle graze.
As their animals grazed the boys would play and talk under a buniyan tree. They all carried their meals and would keep them in a hollow in the tree. The hollow had a narrow opening but was quite wide inside. Every afternoon the boys would sit together under the tree and take their lunch

One day in the morning, whilst the boys were playing a little away from the tree, a hungry fox came to the meadow. As he was crossing the tree the smell of the food kept there by the boys led him to the hollow.

The fox stealthily entered the hollow and started eating the food kept there by the herders. Without thought he went on gorging himself on the abundant food that was there. As he ate and ate, his stomach grew and grew.

As the fox heard the boys coming for their meals, he wanted to run away. He put his head out of the hollow but his bloated stomach got caught in the opening of the hollow. The fox pushed and pulled and struggled and struggled but he was firmly stuck and unable to get out or run away.

The sheep and cow herders reached the tree one by one but when they went to take out their lunch packets, they saw a fox half out and stuck in the hollow of the tree. It was obvious to them that the fox had devoured their lunch. Hungry and furious they beat up the fox with their long sticks and when the fox went limp, they caught hold of his neck and pulled him out of the hollow.

The fox bow severely hurt fell down at the base of the tree and was left there by the boys, who did not want to kill the fox.

Once there was a potter (Potters made clay pots). He had a daughter who was very intelligent and wise. People tried to make fun of her by calling her ‘Ati Chatur” (Over Wise). The potter’s daughter was not unduly concerned by the behavior of these persons. She never lost her temper or complained and always had a smile on her face.
The king of the region held court every day where his subjects were allowed to come subject to availability of space. They could put up their grievance if they had any or listen and see how the King ruled his kingdom.

One day a debate started in the king’s court about, ” Who is superior? A wealthy man or a learned man?” Some believed that a learned man was superior whilst others believed that a wealthy man was superior. The question could not be resolved even after a long debate.

The potter and her daughter were present in court that day, and after hearing all that was being said in the debate, the potter’s daughter got up and requested the king to allow her to give her opinion. On receiving the king’s nod of agreement, she said, ” Your Highness, neither is superior. In fact both are equal. Both a wealthy man and a learned man can contribute equally to the welfare of the people.”

The king highly satisfied and impressed with this answer called her near him, ” My dear little girl, I will be happy to see you in my court every day. I invite you to join my courtiers every day.”

The chief minister smelling a shift of favorites did not like this. Jealousy prompted him to instigate the king against her, ” Your Highness,” he said, “The potter’s daughter seems to be clever and wise. It is however possible that she is repeating what has been taught to her by someone else, as she seems too young to have formed opinions of her own. And don’t you think that this could be a plan to degrade the court?”

The king used to hearing advice from his chief minister was puzzled. He thought for some time and said, ” Can you tell me how to solve this problem and find out her actual merits?”

The Chief Minister said, “Of course, Your Highness. I have an idea. Let us ask her a very difficult question, which she will not be able to answer. This will be humiliating for her and she will not come to this court any more.”

The king liked the idea and it was decided that the next day the King would put up a specific question to the potter’s daughter.
The next day when the court assembled the potter’s daughter came in with her father and took her seat.

The King after arriving in court looked at the potter’s daughter and said,
” My girl, may I ask you a question? There are diamonds, pearls, rubies and many other precious stones in my treasury. Can you tell me the value of all these treasures?”

The potter’s daughter could sense that the King was testing her intelligence and wisdom. She also knew that she would have to be very cautious about the answer she gave.

She looked at her father sitting beside her and leaning towards her whispered some thing in his ear. The potter got up and left the court. The little girl requested the King to wait for her fathers return.

The chief minister was happy as he thought that her father and not she would be answering the question.

After some time the potter returned with a covered plate in his hands. The plate was covered with a piece of cloth, which the potter placed before the king.

The little girl looked at the King and said, “Your Highness, please take off the cloth covering the plate. Your answer lies in the plate.”

When the King took off the cloth covering the plate, all that he could see was a grain of wheat, a small lump of clay, a small cotton ball and a bowl filled with water. This annoyed the King, as he was not able to understand the little girl’s answer. Raising his eyebrows he asked the girl, ” What is all this?”

The girl answered, “Your Highness, the value of all you precious stones is not even as much as the grain of wheat. Only useful things have value. A grain of wheat means food grains. We cannot live without food; therefore food grains have immense value.

The lump of clay represents soil on this earth without which we would all perish. The water in the bowl represents water that we use for cultivation and many other things, without this also life cannot exist on earth. We grow cotton to make clothes, which protect us from the weather. Also the air that we have around us and the Sun’s rays are equally important to sustain life on Earth. Any one of these are far more valuable than all the treasure in your treasury.”

” Your royal treasury may be full of diamonds, pearls, rubies and many other precious stones. We can however, easily live without them. Therefore they are not at all useful to us. They may be useful as ornaments, but are not necessary for living. So the treasures mentioned by you have no value at all.

The whole court was stunned into silence after hearing her reply.
The praise for her intelligence made the Chief Minister’s face go red.
The king smilingly rose from his throne and blessed the child with all his heart.

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five.Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand. she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in pink foil box.”Oh Mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy,please? Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl upturned face.”A dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00. If you really want them,I’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.
“Your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma.” the mother said.As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs.McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls.They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The onlytime she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath, because Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving; daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her story.
One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny,”Do you love me?” “Oh yes, daddy You know that I love you.” “Then give me your pearls.””Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She’s my very favorite.” “That’s okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night.” And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again, “Do you love me?” “Daddy, you know I love you.” “Then give me your pearls.” “Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper.” “That’s okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you.” And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed her legs crossed As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. “What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?” Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace.With a Little quiver, she finally said “Here, daddy, this is For you.” With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure.

So it is, with our CREATOR!. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.
Isn’t God good? Are you holding onto things that God wants you to let go of? Are you holding on to harmful or unnecessary habits and activities that you have come so attached to that it seems impossible to let go?

Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in the other hand but do believe this one thing ,
“God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place”.

The greatest gifts happen when you share love and touch others

Long long ago, a lake was inhabited by a crocodile and a crab. The other inhabitants being mostly fish, plenty of them. The crocodile and the crab were very close friends. The lake was in the middle of a forest and both the friends to feast on fish daily.
The two friend’s staple diet being fish and fish only resulted in the number of fish in the lake. This led to the crocodile thinking that it would catch the animals that came to the lake for watering. Catching a prey every day was improbable, as the animals of the jungle knew about the crocodile living in it and was always careful.

The crab and the crocodile were really worried when the crocodile had an idea. He said to the crab, ‘I will pretend to be dead. You can go and spread this news in the forest. Once the animals come to know that I am no more, they will come here to drink water but will be less careful about avoiding me. It will thus be easy to catch them.

The crab at once set off to spread the news of the crocodile’s death to all the animals living in the Forest.

His first meeting turned out to be the sly fox. The crab told the fox about the crocodile’s death. “Isn’t this excellent news? The animals now will not have to worry about endangering their lives when they go to the lake to drink water. You may tell whomsoever you meet about this so that all of them can come for a safe drink from the lakes sweet water.

The wily fox, used to living in the forest by his wits, smelled something amiss, he remarked, ” Poor crocodile, let me come and see for myself his dead body.”

The crab took the fox to the crocodile, lying motionless close to the bank of the lake. “Friend Crab, he asked, ” when did the crocodile die?’

‘A little while ago,” replied the crab, ” I ran to the forest to spread the good news even as he was on the verge of death.”

“Funny,” said the fox, ” since he died only a few minutes ago his tail should still be twitching.” On hearing this the foolish crocodile moved his tail.

The wily fox then asked the crab”; can any dead animal move its tail? A dead animal can neither move nor hear. The crocodile is alive and he also heard me and that is why he moved his tail. Well Mr. Crocodile your trick did not work did it? Ha! Ha!”

Saying this the fox moved away to the forest and told all the animals in it about the tick the two friends wanted to play upon all the animals.

The two friends thus had to keep on eating fish till they were exhausted and then…………

There was a beautiful lake. On the banks of the lake there stood a buniyan tree. A pigeon had built his nest in the branches of that tree. An ant lived in a hole in the trunk of the tree near the ground.
The monsoon rains had set in. One rainy day, the rains were heavier than usual. The water in the lake rose and it overflowed its banks. The hole where the ant lived was flooded.

The pigeon sitting high and comfortably in its nest, high up, saw the flooding of the hole where the ant lived. The ant was being carried away and was about to be drowned. The pigeon, wanting to save the ant,
plucked a leaf from the tree branch close to its nest and threw it down in the water below. The wind blew the leaf away and it landed far away from where the ant was. The leaf floated gently on the water.

The pigeon then plucked many leaves and one by one he threw them towards the ant, who was struggling to save her life. At long last one leaf fell close to the ant. The ant quickly climbed up on the leaf The leaf became a boat for the ant! Sitting in the leaf-boat, the ant soon reached the bank of the lake.

The rainy season ended without causing any more problems for the ant.
One fine morning the ant came out of her hole. Her sharp eyes fell on a hunter standing far away from the tree. The arrow in his bow was aimed at the pigeon, sitting on the branch of the tree. The pigeon was unaware of the fate awaiting him. The ant ran faster than he had ever run before
and reached right at the place where the hunter stood. The hunter had his total attention turned to taking aim so as to hit the pigeon with his arrow. The ant quickly crept up on the hunter’s leg, and using all her strength stung the hunter on the leg.

It was just when the hunter was about to shoot his arrow. Because of the ants sting his hand wavered and the arrow missed its mark. Whoosh. The arrow passed by the pigeon’s ear. The pigeon flew away. The ant heaved a sigh of relief.

An inexperienced little mouse set off o a journey. He saw a rooster by the side of the oath crowing loudly. The mouse had not seen a Rooster before and so was afraid of its sharp beak, big nails and red crest. He ran away from the rooster as fast as he could.
Further on the mouse saw a cat. “What a handsome animal,” the mouse thought. Soft fur striking eyes and a soft meow. As the cat’s belly was full it did not chase the mouse.

When the little mouse got back home, he told his mother about what all he had seen and his views.

” You silly mouse,” said his mother. “Never go by appearances. The terrible animal you saw was a harmless rooster, whilst the fine looking cat is our enemy and eats us at the slightest opportunity!”

MORAL : FALSE FEAR IS A STATE OF ONE’S MIND!

A thief had once stolen a golden bell from a temple. Whilst running away with it a tiger killed him and ate him up when he was crossing a forest. The bell being inedible was left. Some monkeys found the bell and took it and rang it often. The villagers believed that it was the sound was being made by the devil that had stolen the bell from the temple. They stopped venturing out of their village.

One woman was not afraid and went out with a basket of fruit that she intended to sell. When she heard the bell, she left her basket on the road and hid in the bushes. The monkeys threw the bell down and crowded round the basket and began eating the fruits in it. The woman picked up the bell, returned to her village and returned the bell to the temple. The villagers lived without fear once again.

MORAL : THOUGHTLESS ACTION LEADS TO TROUBLE

A mouse and a frog became very good friends. Their friendship bloomed and they wanted to stay with each other all the time. They were dissimilar beings as the mouse was an animal that lived entirely on land while the frog was at home in land and water. The frog suggested to the mouse, ” Let us tie ourselves to each other with a string so that we will always be together,”

“A splendid idea,” replied the mouse.

The frog took a piece of string and tied the tail of the mouse to one of its forelegs. Everything worked well on dry land but one day the frog jumped into a pond, as frogs are prone to do.
The mouse was also dragged into the water as they were tied together bay the string. The mouse was drowned and died and it floated to the surface while the frog swam around.

An eagle spotted the dead mouse and swooped down; caught the dead mouse in its claw and flew away. The frog was carried away also as it cold not free itself from the string.

The eagle had a hearty frog-mouse meal that day

MORAL : MONEY IS TO BE USED FOR SOCIAL GOOD AND NOT WORSHIPPED LIKE GOD!

Misers are happy with the knowledge that they posses wealth and do not like to spend any of it.
A miser bought gold with all the wealth he had. He then melted down all the gild into one single lump and buried it in a field behind his house. Everyday he would long hours removing the earth from over the lump of gold and gloating over his treasure.

One man of his village noticed the frequent visit of the miser and found out his secret. He then dug up the lump of gold and placing a stone in its place made away with it.

The next day the miser finding his treasure gone, fell to groaning and crying over his loss. A neighbor saw him distress and wanted to know what had happened. Upon hearing the whole story he said to the miser, ” Well, you are not any worse off than before. You would never have spent that gold for anything but was only happy to see it. The stone can serve the same purpose and you can keep on gloating over it as it reminds you of the gold you had lost.

MORAL : LOYLTY IS A VIRTUE

Once upon a time the birds were at war with the beasts. Many battles were fought. Sometime the beasts won whilst sometime the birds.
The bats remained neutral and did not side along with either the birds or the beasts. When things went well for the birds the bats were found in their ranks; when, on the other hand, the beasts got the upper hand, they were found amongst them.

As they were opportunists neither the beasts nor the birds paid any attention to them.

After a long drawn out war the birds and the beasts made peace with one another.

Now neither the birds nor the beasts decided not to have anything to do with the bats. Bats, as double faced traitors, remain a solitary out cast from both the birds and the beasts to this day.

MORAL : JEALOUSY LEADS TO SUFFERING

Once upon a time a loud argument started about which fish was the fastest swimmer. The bad will arising out of this escalated to such heights that some of the senior fish demanded that a race be held to resolve once and for all.
Amongst the competitors was a Sol fish who was known for his arrogance, and always sneered at others.

After the race was over it was seen that the winner and the fastest swimmer was the herring.

The Sol, as was his nature, said with his mouth twisted in jealousy, ” The herring, that common little fish is the fastest, well something must have gone wrong during the race.”

Ever since then the Sol fish’s mouth has remained twisted!

MORAL : THERE ARE NO DEARTH OF EXCUSES FOR A TYRANT

A waterfall cascading over a rocky hillock turned itself into a stream below. A wolf standing on the rocks above saw a lamb drinking water downstream.
The wolf decided to eat her. He had to, however, pick up a quarrel with her before he could kill her. ” How dare you dirty the water I am about to drink by wading into it?” he demanded. ” How can I dirty the water up there? It flows from there to here and not from here to the top!” asked the lamb. “Well never mind that,” said the wolf, ” I heard that a year ago you told everybody that I was a rogue.”

The lamb now afraid and trembling, replied, ” Sir, I was not born a year ago!” “Well!” the wolf shot back, ” If it was not you then it was your father. It is no use trying to talk me out of my lunch. I do not care about the law and rules of the land, which does not permit slaughter of the innocent.” The wolf then pounded on the helpless lamb and ate her up.

MORAL : EVERYONE CARES FOR HIS OWN ENDS

A donkey and a dog were very good friends.
One day they were out for an evening walk and found a school bag full of books lying on the road. The donkey opened the bag and pulled out a long sheet of paper, which was lying over the books, from it. It was a loose piece of paper used by the schoolboy for his days class work.

The donkey started reading it and it turned out that it contained writings on all about grass, barley and hay: the kind of fodder that donkey’s are fond of.

The dog listened to his friends’ readings and was bored by it. Soon his impatience got the better of him and he cried, ” Just skip a few paragraphs, friend, and see if there is anything about meat and bones!”

The donkey glanced through the page and found nothing of the sort. On being told, the dog said in disgust, ” Oh! Throw that paper away, what good will it do to know about things like grass and all!”

That was the end of the donkeys’ reading, as he had no one who will listen!

MORAL : GREED LEADS ONE TO A PROBLEM IN MOST CASES

A hungry wolf was roaming about. His keen sense of smell led him to the hollow of a tree.
There he found cooked food in packets which some shepherds had kept there. Delighted with his find, he slipped in through the narrow opening. He greedily devoured all the food that was there. His belly swelled up unnaturally, as the fox had stuffed far more than what it could hold.

Now, he tried to get out of the hollow, he could not squeeze out through it’s narrow opening. He started howling and groaning in discomfort.

Another wolf came by hearing his groans, and asked him what the matter was! On coming to know what had really happened he said, ” Well my friend! I see no remedy for it. You stay where you are, till the food is digested and you shrink to your former size; you will get out then easily enough. But beware of the sheepherders who may come back for their lunch and beat you black and blue.”

MORAL : AVOID THE COMPANY OF MISCHIEVOUS PERSONS!

There stood a big banyan tree in a small village. The travelers passing by sat in the cool shade of the big tree. A kind-hearted person had kept a large pot of water for the thirsty travelers. The travelers would drink the cool water and then proceed on their journey.
In the thick branches of the tree, lived many animals and birds. In the hot sun of the afternoon the animals rested under the tree.

In this tree there also lived a crow that was mischievous and rude by nature. He wold sit on the branch of the tree and play pranks with the travelers resting below. Some time he would sit on the top of a branch and caw for a long time. Its loud and harsh cawing would disturb the peaceful neighborhood.

One afternoon a lock of swans came and perched on the branches of the tree to rest. A traveler was fast asleep under the banyan tree but the rays of the sun, filtering through the leaves was falling on his face. One of the swans saw this and spread its wings in such a way that the traveler’s face was in its shadow so as to protect him from the furious heat of the tropical sun.

The rude, crude and jealous Crow could not bear to see this sight. He immediately decied to break up this cozy arrangement. The crow was playing with a piece of brick in its beak. It lined up itself on the branch and let go of the brick piece so that it landed on the traveler’s head. The traveler woke up wiped his face and saw the swan with its wings spread over him. The crow had flown away and was circling the tree.

The traveler thought that the swan was the guilty party. He picked up a big stone and threw it at the swan in anger. It hit the swan on the chest, wounding it considerably.

The Crow’s prank led to the near death of a swan.

Three holy men decided to practice meditation together. They sat by the side of a lake and closed their eyes in concentration.
Then suddenly, one of them stood up and said, ‘I forgot my mat’. He stepped miraculously onto the water in front of him and walked across the lake to their hut on the other side.

When he returned, the second holy man stood up and said, ‘Oh! I forgot to put my clothes to dry’. He too walked calmly across the water and returned the same way.

The third holy man watched the first two carefully and decided to test his own abilities.
‘Is your learning superior to mine?’ I too can match any feat both of you can perform!’ he declared loudly and rushed to the water’s edge to walk across it.

He promptly fell into the deep water. Undeterred, he climbed out of the water and tried again, only to sink into the water. Yet again he climbed out and yet again he tried, each time sinking into the water.

This went for sometime as the other two are watching.

After a while, the second holy man turned to the first holy man and said, ‘Do you think we should tell him where the stones are?’

So,don’t be afraid to admit when you know you are wrong. Be humble and always ask for help when in doubt. Or get really wet!
Which is better???

MORAL : BE GREEDY FOR MORE AND YOU MAY LOSE ALL

A plump and at hen with red feathers was nick named Red by her friends. One day Red was out collecting firewood when Foxy the fox saw her from behind a tree. His mouth began to water at the thought of having the hen for lunch.
He rushed home, told his wife to put a large can of water on the fire for boiling, grabbed a sack and ran out in an awful hurry.
Before Red knew what was happening she was caught and found herself inside a sack with no way to call for help also.

Red’s friend, the Dove, saw all that had happened. She fluttered on to the path of the fox carrying Red in the sack slung over his shoulder. She fell down pretending to have a broken wing.

Foxy was delighted; he now had the chance to eat a main course with a side dish of stewed Dove. He dropped the sack on the ground ad ran to grab the Dove. The Dove kept hopping away, just out of reach of the Foxy. Foxy followed.
Red came out of the bag by cutting a hole at the top with the knife she had brought with her to cut firewood. She then put large stones inside the bag and tied it once again so the hole she had made was not visible and ran off.

A tired Foxy came back after the dove flew away, picked up the sack and trotted home. The water in the pot was boiling. Foxy opened the sack, and tipped the sack so as to drop Red into it for cooking.
Instead of Red a steady stream of stones fell into the pan splashing boiling water all over the fox. The badly scalded fox had a burnt face instead of hen-lunch. He kept howling and howling in pain.

Once upon a time there lived a farmer. He reared hens and chickens in a small coop in his field.
Foxes like to eat hens and chickens. So every night a sly fox stealthily entered the coop and ate a hen or two. He was always tempted to eat more! But he thought that the more he eats the sooner the farmer will come to know about the depletion of his hens and chickens.

He will then try and trap the fox. But how long could this free feast go on?

One day early morning the farmer noticed the fox’s footprints near the crop! He realized what had been happening that every night a fox came to his coop, on the sly, and ate his hens and chickens. Well I have been fooled so far but will now teach the fox a lesson.

The farmer spread a net to trap the fox. It was a moonless night, the fox could not see the net and he got caught in it.

The farmer was watching things from behind a tree. As soon as he saw the fox was trapped he decided to set the fox’s tail on fire

The farmer wrapped the fox’s tail with oil soaked rags, and set fire to the rags. The flames grew, and soon the fox’s tail began to burn. Drops of burning oil fell on the net and the net caught fire! The fox was soon free from the net. Confused and not understanding what was happening, the fox began to run for his life. He rushed into the field, full of ripe wheat,
thinking that this would put off the fire.

The rich dry crop gently swaying in the breeze and ready for harvesting caught fire as soon as the fox entered the field. Crackle….. Crackle….. Crackle…. In a few minutes the fire spread to the whole field

The fox now ran out of the field and began to roll on the ground in pain.
This caused the fire in his tail to be extinguished. The fox now got up and looked back at the field. Crackle…. Crackle….. Crackle….. The dry crop was burning furiously!

The helpless farmer stood there and watched his crop being reduced to ashes.

The farmer sat down in despair thinking to himself, “Instead of the fox I have been severely punished. I think that the punishment I meted out to
the fox was too severe. Now I know that I should have thrashed the fox so as to give up his habit of entering my crop and eating my hens and chicken. He deserved a milder punishment for whatever he had done.”

MORAL : MORE TREASURE THAN GOLD CAN BE FOUND BENEATH THE SUN

A farmer was at the death’s door. He wanted to impart gainful knowledge to his lazy sons before his death. He called them and as they stood around his bed said, ” My son’s, before I die I want to tell you that I have buried all my life’s savings in my vineyard, dig and you will find it.”
As soon as their father passed away, the sons took up spades and dug and turned up the soil of the vine yard over and over again, in search of the treasure that was supposed to be lying under the soil. They found none.

However the vines, due to so much of digging produced an enormous quantity of excellent grapes, such as had never been seen before. They sold the grapes and got a lot of money from its sale. They learnt that hard work is the key to becoming wealthy.

MORAL : TRUTH IS BORN OUT OF LOGIC

It was market day in the city and carts filled with goods and drawn by animals had arrived from all over the countryside to sell their animals or their ware. There was a lot activity and loud noise all over. There were peddlers, merchants, farmers and noblemen, clowns and showmen present. The King was also expected to come there.
In a stable close by a foal was born. But as soon as it was able to stand it fled from all the noise and excitement and hid between two oxen, that has brought a plough to be put up for sale.
The owner or the mare wanted the foal but the owner of the oxen said: ” The foal is mine, because it has chosen for itself where it wants to stay.”

They took their dispute to the King, who who decided that the foal should stay where it was, as it has chosen the two oxen as its parents.
The next evening when the King was out in his carriage, he came across the owner of the mare standing in the middle of the road with a fishing-net. He was casting the net as if to catch fish.

“What are you doing?” asked the King.

” Fishing, your Majesty.” replied the man. ” If oxen can be the natural parents of a foal, why shouldn’t I be able to catch some fish in the middle of a street and not a river.”

The King ordered that the foal be restored to the owner of the mare, the foal’s natural mother.

MORAL : LOOKS ALONE IS NOT EVERYTHING

A peacock was joyously dancing in the forest one day. His multicolor plumes spread wide and dazzling in the sun. He looked very beautiful and was indeed a sight to behold. He was very proud of his looks.
A crane alighted near the peacock, and wished him well. They then started talking to each other. The crane kept looking at the feathers of the crane in disgust.

” Why are you looking at me like that?” asked the crane.
” I am disgusted at the look of your dull feathers. They have no luster or beauty. Just see mine: they are brilliant and attractive. Nature has been unjust to such a strong bird as you!”

” Do not blame nature Mr. Peacock! Nature is very just and gives every creature what it needs. Oh yes! Your plumage is lovely and mine is dull. But when it comes to using them, I can soar away into
the clouds, whereas you are confined to the ground like any plain chicken.”

It is better to illustrious in plain clothes, rather than live without glory by a show of wealth.

One day 4 people came to Ramanna’s court. They brought a strange dispute before him. The elder three were the petiotioner’s and the fourth one was the accused.
The eldest of the three said ” We are all brothers.We are doing business with cotton. One day we saw a cat and decided to keep it as a common pet. Each one of us decorated it legs with fine ornaments. On a fateful day, the fourth leg belonging to mybrother was broken. So he bandaged the leg with oily rags. The cat ran towards the fire and the rags caught fire.Out of fear, the cat jumped into the godown of cotton. Soon, all the stock was burnt and became ash. As the leg belongs to the fourth brother he should compensate the loss. Thisis our demand” The fourth one came forward and said ” Sir, there is my one fourth share too in the stock. Then who will pay for it? Moreover, I haven’t got a single pie now to pay them.”

Ramanna thought for a while and said :” You three, the elder people should pay the youngest one for the loss. The cat cann’t go to the godown with it’s lame leg. The rest three legs of the cat led it to the godown. So the three elder brothers are responsible for the loss. Hence they should pay the youngest for the loss.”

The audience were very much delighted with Ramanna’s decision.

A crow perishing with thirst saw a pitcher, and hoping to find water, flew to it with delight. When he reached it, he discovered to his grief that it contained so little water that he could not possibly get at it. He tried everything he could think of to reach the water, but all his efforts were in vain. At last he collected as many stones as he could carry and dropped them one by one with his beak into the pitcher, until he brought the water within his reach and thus saved his life.

Moral: Necessity is the mother of invention.

One day King Bhoja was holding court. A scholar from a neighboring country came to see him. The King after a warm welcome asked him the purpose of his visit.
The scholar said, “your Majesty, I am seeking an answer to one question that I have. I have traveled all over the country, been to the courts of many kings but have failed to get a satisfactory answer. I have heard about the scholars in your court. More over you are also a learned man, I have come here with the hope of getting the right answer to my question.”

King Bhoja said,” Sir please go ahead and ask the Question. The pundits in my court will try their best to provide you with a reply.’

The scholar said, “My question is: What is the sweetest thing on earth?”

All the pundits in the court thought that the answer to the question was very simple.

One said, “Love is the sweetest thing of all.”

Another said, “Selfishness and thereby getting all you want is the sweetest thing of all.”

Yet another said, “Good sleep is the sweetest of all.”

Some one came up with; “Respect is the sweetest thing of all.”
The scholar was not satisfied with any of these answers. The King appeared to be a little confused. He looked up expectantly towards Kalidas.

Kalidas taking the hint was up on his feet and said, ‘Your Majesty! Need is the sweetest of all. Nothing seems sweet until and unless one needs it. If one is not hungry, one doesn’t need food and the food doesn’t taste sweet. If you do not want someone near you then his love will no longer be sweet to you. Similarly if you do not need to be selfish, selfishness will not be sweet, and when you wake up after a peaceful sleep even sleeping some more will not be sweet to you. Those who see no difference between respect and insult will not appreciate respect. The people who live in the forest do not find fame to be sweet, because they do not need fame. So need is the sweetest of all. Nothing is sweet until and unless one needs it.”

The scholar was happy with the reply and said, “Kalidas, I admire your learning and wisdom. I agree that nothing is sweet until and unless one really needs it. One feels that ones friends and relatives are sweet, as one needs them. Kalidas you are right real need and its fulfillment is the sweetest of all.

An ant went to the bank of a river to quench its thirst, andbeing carried away by the rush of the stream, was on the point ofdrowning. A Dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water pluckeda leaf and let it fall into the stream close to her. The Antclimbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank. Shortly afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, and laidhis lime-twigs for the Dove, which sat in the branches. The Ant,perceiving his design, stung him in the foot. In pain thebirdcatcher threw down the twigs, and the noise made the Dove take wing.

The ass and the Fox, having entered into partnership together for their mutual protection, went out into the forest to hunt. Theyhad not proceeded far when they met a Lion. The Fox, seeing imminent danger, approached the Lion and promised to contrive for him the capture of the Ass if the Lion would pledge his word notto harm the Fox. Then, upon assuring the Ass that he would notbe injured, the Fox led him to a deep pit and arranged that heshould fall into it. The Lion, seeing that the Ass was secured,immediately clutched the Fox, and attacked the Ass at his leisure.

Moral: Never trust your enemy

A Muleteer set forth on a journey, driving before him an Ass and a Mule, both well laden. The Ass, as long as he traveled alongthe plain, carried his load with ease, but when he began to ascend the steep path of the mountain, felt his load to be more than he could bear. He entreated his companion to relieve him of a small portion, that he might carry home the rest; but the Mule paid no attention to the request. The Ass shortly afterwards fell down dead under his burden. Not knowing what else to do in so wild a region, the Muleteer placed upon the Mule the load carried by the Ass in addition to his own, and at the top of allplaced the hide of the Ass, after he had skinned him. The Mule, groaning beneath his heavy burden, said to himself: “I am treated according to my deserts. If I had only been willing to assist the Ass a little in his need, I should not now be bearing, together with his burden, himself as well.”

Moral: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

Once there were two groups in a jungle. One group was of the beavers and other was of the rats. Both the groups used to fight against each other and whenever there was a fight the beavers used to win over the rats.
One day the rats called a meeting and thought of why they used to always loose and beavers used to always win. Then one rat gave a suggestion that they should appoint a leader and wear proper chest armours and hats with horns attached to them.

In the next fight the leader of the rats lead his welldressed army of rats against the beavers but the beavers were again too good for the rats. The rats were defeated and they started fleeing to their holes for shelter but the horns attached to their caps obstructed their way and they could not enter their holes. The beavers caught them and killed them. Their efforts went in vain.

Moral : There is no Substiture for Courage.

Once there was a cat that lived in a village. The cat was very proud of its cunningness with which it skillfully caught mice everyday and ate them.
One day it felt surprised to see that all the mice of one house of the village had hidden themselves in a hole. After thinking for more than an hour it hit upon an idea.

It lay on the ground and spread itself pretending to be dead. After some time some mice came out of the hold. One small and curious mouse went near the cat and joyfully declared to his anxious freinds, “The cat is dead !” However one elderly mouse remained calm. He recognized the pretense of the cat and said, “All of you should quickly move away from it.”

Then the old mouse tore open a flour bag near him and dropped all the flour of the bag on the cat. The flour began to suffocate the cat who sneezed and came out of the puff of dust caused by the flour. The other mice realized their folly and took cover in their respective holes.

In this way the wisdom of the old mouse saved the lives of all the mice.

Moral : Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.

One day in the forest Rama and Lakshmana stopped by a clear stream to rest. There they saw a crow apparently parched with thirst, yet every time it would turn and come back without drinking.
“What a foolish crow this is!” said Lakshmana.”He is suffering from thirst here on the bank of a stream and does not drink a single drop.”

“Do not judge so hastily, my brother, Rama replied. “This crow is a great devotee of God. He is constantly repeating God’s name. Whenever he goes down to drink, he remembers that in order to drink water he must discontinue the repetition and he cannot bear to do that, so he goes back without drinking.”

On the outskirts of a village there lived a shepherd. He had a big flock of sheep and goats. He tended to them and they in turn gave him enough means to earn his livelihood. The shepherd had two watchdogs that looked after the safety of the animals.
The dogs accompanied them when they went to graze during the day in the fields and looked after them when the shepherd locked them up in the fold during the night. The dogs would guard the fold for the night to ward off predators.

One night the shepherd was fast asleep, the sheep and the goats were locked up in the fold and the two dogs were on guard.

After midnight a wolf came to the fold. When he saw the plump sheep and goats inside, he was very much tempted to kill and eat a few of them but was afraid of the two dogs.

The two dogs seeing that everything was peaceful and quiet came out of the fold for a stroll.

The fox spotted the dogs and going up to them said, ” Friends, I have come here because I have been worrying about you. You know that we belong to the same family. You serve the shepherd, in return for food, and have to keep awake all night to guard these animals. We however enjoy ourselves in the forest.”

One of the dogs said, ” We enjoy our work here.”

The wolf said, “We are free to roam anywhere at anytime to our liking. We keep awake as long as we please and go to sleep as soon as we feel tired. If both of you come with me to our den in the forest, the other wolves will be happy to see you and will give you a warm welcome. You could stay with us and do whatever suits your fancy.”

The dogs agreed and thus the wolf succeeded in his endeavor to lure the dogs into the forest. The wolf then took the dogs to a cave that the wolves used as their den. As the dogs entered the cave the other wolves pounced on them and killed them.

The wolf went back to the fold and killing a couple of plump animals enjoyed a hearty meal.

MORAL : Duty above All

A potter (maker of earthen pots) lived in the outskirts of a small town and had a donkey named Moti. Moti worked very hard the whole day. The potter put heavy loads of earthen pots on Moti’s back to be taken to the market.
Moti could hardly walk with this heavy load. Whenever Moti’s services were not required, the potter would let him loose so that he could forage for himself.

Moti wandered for hours together but hardly got any food and rarely eat to his fill. The potter thought that Moti was a foolish animal and Moti thought that the potter was and ungrateful, heartless and selfish man.

One day whilst working on his potter’s wheel the potter heard a commotion outside. He came out and saw that there was a fire in one of the big haystacks is a nearby field. Thieves had started the fire so that they could steal the cattle as men and animal ran here and there as the fire spread.

The potter said to Moti, ” Why don’t you also runaway, the thieves may come and get you here.”

Moti did not listen to his masters’ advice and was in no hurry to run away. The potter was now sure that Moti was a first rate fool.

The potter again said, ” hey Moti you fool! Why don’t you run away? You will never get a better chance to do so.”

Moti replied calmly, ” Master, if I do not run away, the thieves will take me away, is that it? What difference will it make to me? You put heavy loads on my back and so will they or anyone they sell me to. I wander around searching for food when I am not working for you; I will have to do the same if I work for the thieves or anyone else. Whether I am with you or them or with anyone they sell me to my life will be the same. So why run?”
The potter since then started taking special care of Moti.

MORAL : Aniamls also deserve consideration

Once upon a time there lived a shepherd who took good care of his sheep. He took the sheep to nearby pasture everyday for grazing. The sheep grazed in the pasture, drank water from the nearby spring and rested in the shade of the trees. The shepherd has a son who lied constantly. One day the shepherd’s son wanted to go along with his father to the pasture. The shepherd thought for a while and decided to take his son along with the herd. The shepherd thought of leaving the sheep under his son’s care and going to nearby town to run some errands. When the shepherd was getting ready to leave his son yelled at his dad “tiger in the Pasture” for fun and the shepherd hurried to find out that his son was lying. The second time the son called out “tiger in the pasture”. Again the father goes to find out that his son was lying. The third time there was a real tiger killing the sheep and the boy called out again. But the father thought his son was lying and did not respond.

Moral: Do not lie even for fun.

Once upon a time there was a little old woman and a little old man, and they lived all alone in a little old house. They hadn’t any little girls or any little boys, at all. So one day, the little old woman made a boy out of gingerbread; she made him a chocolate jacket, and put cinnamon seeds in it for buttons; his eyes were made of fine, fat currants; his mouth was made of rose-colored sugar; and he had a gay little cap of orange sugar-candy. When the little old woman had rolled him out, and dressed him up, and pinched his gingerbread shoes into shape, she put him in a pan; then she put the pan in the oven and shut the door; and she thought, “Now I shall have a little boy of my own.”

When it was time for the Gingerbread Boy to be done she opened the oven door and pulled out the pan. Out jumped the little Gingerbread Boy on to the floor, and away he ran, out of the door and down the street! The little old woman and the little old man ran after him as fast as they could, but he just laughed, and shouted, —

“Run! run! as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

And they couldn’t catch him.

The little Gingerbread Boy ran on and on, until he came to a cow, by the roadside. “Stop, little Gingerbread Boy,” said the cow; “I want to eat you.” The little Gingerbread Boy laughed, and said, —

“I have run away from a little old woman, and a little old man, and I can run away from you, I can!”

And, as the cow chased him, he looked over his shoulder and cried, —

“Run! run! as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

And the cow couldn’t catch him.

The little Gingerbread Boy ran on, and on, and on, till he came to a horse, in the pasture. “Please stop, little Gingerbread Boy,” said the horse, “you look very good to eat.” But the little Gingerbread Boy laughed out loud. “Oho! oho!” he said, —

“I have run away from a little old woman, a little old man, a cow, and I can run away from you, I can!”

And, as the horse chased him, he looked over his shoulder and cried, —

“Run! run! as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

And the horse couldn’t catch him.

By and by the little Gingerbread Boy came to a barn full of threshers. When the threshers smelled the Gingerbread Boy, they tried to pick him up, and said, “Don’t run so fast, little Gingerbread Boy; you look very good to eat.” But the little Gingerbread Boy ran harder than ever, and as he ran he cried out, —

“I have run away from a little old woman, a little old man, a cow, a horse, and I can run away from you, I can!”

And when he found that he was ahead of the threshers, he turned and shouted back to them, —

“Run! run! as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

And the threshers couldn’t catch him.

Then the little Gingerbread Boy ran faster than ever. He ran and ran until he came to a field full of mowers. When the mowers saw how fine he looked, they ran after him, calling out, “Wait a bit! wait a bit, little Gingerbread Boy, we wish to eat you!” But the little Gingerbread Boy laughed harder than ever, and ran like the wind. “Oho! oho!” he said, —

“I have run away from a little old woman, a little old man, a cow, a horse, a barn full of threshers, and I can run away from you, I can!”

And when he found that he was ahead of the mowers, he turned and shouted back to them, —

“Run! run! as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

And the mowers couldn’t catch him.

By this time the little Gingerbread Boy was so proud that he did ‘t think anybody could catch him. Pretty soon he saw a fox coming across a field. The fox looked at him and began to run. But the little Gingerbread Boy shouted across to him, “You can’t catch me!” The fox began to run faster, and the little Gingerbread Boy ran faster, and as he ran he chuckled, —

“I have run away from a little old woman, a little old man, a cow, a horse, a barn full of threshers, a field full of mowers, and I can run away from you, I can! Run! run! as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

“Why,” said the fox, “I would not catch you if I could. I would not think of disturbing you.”

Just then, the little Gingerbread Boy came to a river. He could not swim across, and he wanted to keep running away from the cow and the horse and the people.

“Jump on my tail, and I will take you across,” said the fox.

So the little Gingerbread Boy jumped on the fox’s tail, and the fox swam into river. When he was a little way from shore he turned his head, and said, “You are too heavy on my tail, little Gingerbread Boy, I fear I shall let you get wet; jump on my back.”

The little Gingerbread Boy jumped on his back.

A little farther out, the fox said, “I am afraid the water will cover you, there; jump on my shoulder.”

The little Gingerbread Boy jumped on his shoulder.

In the middle of the stream the fox said, “Oh, dear! little Gingerbread Boy, my shoulder is sinking; jump on my nose, and I can hold you out of water.”

So the little Gingerbread Boy jumped on his nose.

The minute the fox got on shore he threw back his head, and gave a snap!

“Dear me!” said the little Gingerbread Boy, “I am a quarter gone!” The next minute he said, “Why, I am half gone!” The next minute he said, “My goodness gracious, I am three quarters gone!”

And after that, the little Gingerbread Boy never said anything more at all.

A little steam engine had a long train of cars to pull.

She went along very well till she came to a steep hill. But then, no matter how hard she tried, she could not move the long train of cars.

She pulled and she pulled. She puffed and she puffed. She backed and started off again. Choo! Choo!

But no! the cars would not go up the hill.

At last she left the train and started up the track alone. Do you think she had stopped working? No, indeed! She was going for help.

“Surely I can find someone to help me,” she thought.

Over the hill and up the track went the little steam engine. Choo, choo! Choo, choo! Choo, choo! Choo!

Pretty soon she saw a big steam engine standing on a side track. He looked very big and strong. Running alongside, she looked up and said:

“Will you help me over the hill with my train of cars? It is so long and heavy I can’t get it over.”

The big steam engine looked down at the little steam engine. The he said:

“Don’t you see that I am through my day’s work? I have been rubbed and scoured ready for my next run. No, I cannot help you,”

The little steam engine was sorry, but she went on, Choo, choo! Choo, choo! Choo, choo! Choo, choo!

Soon she came to a second big steam engine standing on a side track. He was puffing and puffing, as if he were tired.

“That big steam engine may help me,” thought the little steam engine. She ran alongside and asked:

“Will you help me bring my train of cars over the hill? It is so long and so heavy that I can’t get it over.”

The second big steam engine answered:

“I have just come in from a long, long run. Don’t you see how tired I am? Can’t you get some other engine to help you this time?

“I’ll try,” said the little steam engine, and off she went. Choo, choo! Choo, choo! Choo, choo!

After a while she came to a little steam engine just like herself. She ran alongside and said:

“Will you help me over the hill with my train of cars? It is so long and so heavy that I can’t get it over.”

“Yes, indeed!” said this little steam engine. “I’ll be glad to help you, if I can.”

So the little steam engines started back to where the train of cars had been standing. Both little steam engines went to the head of the train, one behind the other.

Puff, puff! Chug, choo! Off they started!

Slowly the cars began to move. Slowly they climbed the steep hill. As they climbed, each little steam engine began to sing:

“I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I think I can – I think I can – I think I can I think I can–”

And they did! Very soon they were over the hill and going down the other side.

Now they were on the plain again; and the little steam engine could pull her train herself. So she thanked the little engine who had come to help her, and said good-by.

And she went merrily on her way, singing:

“I-thought-I-could! I-thought-I-could! I-thought-I-could! I-thought-I-could! I thought i could – I thought I could – I thought I could – I thought I could – I thought I could – I thought I could I thought I could –“

• One day as the Little Red Hen was scratching in a field, she found a grain of wheat.
  “This wheat should be planted,” she said. “Who will plant this grain of wheat?”
  “Not I,” said the Duck.
  “Not I,” said the Cat.
  “Not I,” said the Dog.
  “Then I will,” said the Little Red Hen. And she did.Soon the wheat grew to be tall and yellow.
  “The wheat is ripe,” said the Little Red Hen. “Who will cut the wheat?”
  “Not I,” said the Duck.
  “Not I,” said the Cat.
  “Not I,” said the Dog.
  “Then I will,” said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

  When the wheat was cut, the Little Red Hen said, “Who will thresh the wheat?”
  “Not I,” said the Duck.
  “Not I,” said the Cat.
  “Not I,” said the Dog.
  “Then I will,” said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

• When the wheat was threshed, the Little Red Hen said, “Who will take this wheat to the mill?”
  “Not I,” said the Duck.
  “Not I,” said the Cat.
  “Not I,” said the Dog.
  “Then I will,” said the Little Red Hen. And she did.She took the wheat to the mill and had it ground into flour. Then she said, “Who will make this flour into bread?”
  “Not I,” said the Duck.
  “Not I,” said the Cat.
  “Not I,” said the Dog.
  “Then I will,” said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

  She made and baked the bread. Then she said, “Who will eat this bread?”
  “Oh! I will,” said the Duck.
  “And I will,” said the Cat.
  “And I will,” said the Dog.
  “No, No!” said the Little Red Hen. “I will do that.” And she did.

Once upon a time three billy goats lived together in a field on a hillside. They were the three Billy Goats Gruff. There was a Big Billy Goat Gruff, a Middle Billy Goat Gruff and a Little Billy Goat Gruff.

Beside the billy goats’ field ran a river. One day they decided to cross it and eat the grass on the other side. But first they had to go over the bridge. Under the bridge lived a big ugly troll.

First Little Billy Goat Gruff stepped onto the bridge. TRIP TRAP went his hooves.

“Who’s that tripping over my bridge?” roared the Troll.

“It is only I, Little Billy Goat Gruff, going across the river to make myself fat,” said Little Billy Goat Gruff in such a small voice.

“Now I’m coming to gobble you up,” said the Troll.

“Oh, please don’t eat me, I’m so small,” said Little Billy Goat Gruff. “Wait for the next billy goat. He’s much bigger.”

“Well, be off with you,” said the Troll.

A little while later, Middle Billy Goat Gruff stepped on to the bridge. TRIP TRAP, TRIP TRAP went his hooves. “Who’s that tripping over my bridge?” roared the Troll.

“It is only I, Middle Billy Goat Gruff, going across the river to make myself fat,” said Middle Billy Goat Gruff, whose voice was not so small.

“Now I’m coming to gobble you up,” said the Troll.

“Oh, no, don’t eat me,” said Middle Billy Goat Gruff. “Wait for the next billy goat. He’s the biggest of all.”

“Very well, be off with you,” said the Troll.

It wasn’t long before Big Billy Goat Gruff stepped onto the bridge. TRIP TRAP, TRIP TRAP, TRIP TRAP went his hooves, and the bridge groaned under his weight.

“Who’s that tramping over my bridge?” roared the Troll.

“It is I, Big Billy Goat Gruff,” said Big Billy Goat Gruff, who had a rough, roaring voice of his own.

“Now I’m coming to gobble you up,” said the Troll, and at once he jumped onto the bridge, very mean and hungry.

But Big Billy Goat Gruff was very tough and strong. He put down his head and charged the Troll and butted him so hard he flew high into the air and then fell down and splashed into the middle of the river.

And the great ugly troll was never seen again.

Then Big Billy Goat Gruff joined Middle Billy Goat Gruff and Little Billy Goat Gruff in the field on the far side of the river. There they go so fat that they could hardly walk home again.

A WOLF who had a bone stuck in his throat hired a Crane, for a large sum, to put her head into his mouth and draw out the bone. When the Crane had extracted the bone and demanded the promised payment, the Wolf, grinning and grinding his teeth, exclaimed: “Why, you have surely already had a sufficient recompense, in having been permitted to draw out your head in safety from the mouth and jaws of a wolf.”

In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if you
escape injury for your pains.

ONCE upon a time a peacock and a tortoise became great friends. The peacock lived on a tree on the banks of the stream in which the tortoise had his home; and daily the peacock after he had a drink of water danced near the stream and displayed his gay plumage for the amusement of his friend.
One unfortunate day, a bird-catcher who was on the prowl caught the peacock and was about taking him away to the market. The unhappy bird begged of his captor to allow him to bid his friend the tortoise good-bye, as it would be the last time he would see him. The bird-catcher allowed him his prayer and took him to the tortoise, who was greatly moved to see his friend a captive.

The tortoise asked the bird-catcher to let the peacock go; but he laughed at the request, saying that was his means of livelihood. The tortoise then said, “If I make you a handsome present, will you let my friend go?” “Certainly,” answered the bird-catcher, that is all I want.” Whereupon the tortoise dived into the water and in a few seconds came up with a handsome pearl, which, to the great astonishment of the bird-catcher, he handed to him. This was beyond his expectabons, and he let the peacock go immediately.

A short time after, the avaricious man came back and told the tortoise that he thought he had not paid enough for the release of his friend, and threatened that, unless a match to that pearl was obtained for him, he would again catch the peacock.

The tortoise, who had already advised his friend to betake himself to a distant jungle on being set free, was greatly enraged at the greed of this man. “Well,” said the tortoise, “if you insist on having another pearl like it, give it to me and I will fish you out an exact match for it.” The cupidity of the bird-catcher prevented his reasoning that “one in the hand was equal to two in the bed of the stream,” and he speedily gave the pearl to the wily tortoise, who swam out with it saying, “I am no fool to take one and give two!” and forthwith disappeared, leaving the bird-catcher to be sorry ever after for his covetousness.

Once there was a terrible storm in the middle of the sea due to which a ship got smashed and sank into the sea.
However one sailor of the ship managed to hang on to a log of wood due to which he was carried off to a sea-shore by the waves.

When the sailor gained consciousness he looked at the sea in anger and said “O, great sea ! You look so clear and beautiful but your intention of showing off your strength is evil. ”

The sea heard this and he felt very sad. He transformed himself into a beautiful girl and went to the sailor and said, “Why do you abuse me?”

The sailor became surprised and he said to the girl, “Who are you?” The girl said, “I am the sea and let me inform you that it is not I who raises huge waves and creates a storm. It is the strong winds that create huge waves that strike against ships and destroy them.”

On hearing this the sailor realized his folly and apologized to the girl for abusing the sea.

MORAL : THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK.

Once a sparrow was searching food for her hungry children.
Her children had nothing to eat that day. After some time she felt tired and so she sat on a tree. There she saw a worm on a tree. She became very happy. She quickly caught the worm in her beack. She then thought that her children would not die of hunger.

As soon as she was ready to fly she saw another worm on another tree eating leaves. The sparrow thought that if she could take the another worm as well then she would not have to search for more food that day.

The sparrow did not think of how she would hold the two worms in her small beak. No sooner did she opened her beak to catch the second worm then her first worm fell down and it got lost in the bushes below. The sparrow could not get the other worm as well. She had no worm now.

She realized the importance of satisfaction.

MORAL : A BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH.

Once a vixen was passing by a farm. There she saw a cock who was sitting on the fence of the farm and singing a song.
On seeing him the vixen’s mouth began to water and in her mind she made a plan. The vixen went to the cock and said, “Wow ! You sing very sweetly. God has given you a very sweet voice. Alas ! I cannot sing so sweetly.” The cock told her that if she wanted to sing then even she could sing.

The vixen who was seeing the cock as her dinner quickly said, “O, friend ! Can you come down here and teach me how to sing? If we spend some time with each other then we can become good friends.”

The cock realized that the vixen was trying to make him a fool and he said “Dear vixen, save your cunningness for someone else. I will not be fooled by your words. No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to catch me.”

If we are cautious in life we can face our biggest enemies.

MORAL : BEWARE OF FLATTERERS.

Once upon a time, the owl used to come out at day time. One day an owl and a seagull became friends and both of them decided to leave their island and start new business in the city.
The owl had no money and he borrowed some money from friends promising to return them their money when his business got started. The seagull had a precious diamond.

Both of them set out on a long journey in a ship. However on the way a fierce storm broke out and the ship sank.

Both of them lost the borrowed money and precious diamond which sank in the sea. The seagull and the owl returned back. Their lenders began to demand that their money be returned.

From then onwards, the owl stopped coming out during the daytime to save himself from all the money lenders and the seagull, till today, keeps on flying over the sea in search of his missing diamond.

MORAL : BORROWED MONEY NEVER LASTS LONG.

Many years ago there used to live a brahmin in a village who used to predict the future of people and perform marriage ceremonies. In return he would receive food from them.
One day he was called by a rich merchant to perform the marriage ceremony of his daughter. There he got many types of foods. He put all the dishes in a pot and hung the pot on a hook. He thought that after selling all the food he would buy a goat, by selling the goats milk he would earn money.

With that income he would buy a cow and an ox. He would get a lot of milk from the cow and he would then make ghee, butter and cheese from the milk which he would sell for a handsome profit.

In his dreams, he married the daughter of a rich merchant who gave birth to two sons. Both his sons were very naughty and the villagers brought complaints against them to him.

In his dreams the Brahmin picked up his stick to beat his sons but in reality he struck the stick at the pot. The pot broke and all the dishes fell down. All his dreams were ruined.

MORAL : IT IS NOT GOOD TO MAKE CASTLES IN AIR.

A fox one day fell into a deep well and could find no means of escape. A Goat, overcome with thirst, came to the same well, and seeing the Fox, inquired if the water was good. Concealing his sad plight under a merry guise, the Fox indulged in a lavish praise of the water, saying it was excellent beyond measure, and encouraging him to descend. The Goat, mindful only of his thirst, thoughtlessly jumped down, but just as he drank, the Fox informed him of the difficulty they were both in and suggested a scheme for their common escape. “If,” said he, “you will place your forefeet upon the wall and bend your head, I will run up your back and escape, and will help you out afterwards.” The Goat readily assented and the Fox leaped upon his back. Steadying himself with the Goat’s horns, he safely reached the mouth of the well and made off as fast as he could. When the Goat upbraided him for breaking his promise, he turned around and cried out, “You foolish old fellow! If you had as many brains in your head as you have hairs in your beard, you would never have gone down before you had inspected the way up, nor have exposed yourself to dangers from which you had no means of escape.”

Moral: Look before you leap.

A pigeon lived in a nest-basket which a rich man’s cook had hung up in the kitchen. A greedy crow, flying near, saw all sorts of delicate food lying about in the kitchen, and wanted it badly.

“How in the world can I get some?” thought he. At last he hit upon a plan. So when the pigeon went to search for food, the crow came to him.

“What do you want, crow? You and I don’t feed on the same things.”

“Ah, but I like you! Let me be your chum, and let us feed together.”

The pigeon agreed. The crow pretended to feed along with the pigeon, but ever so often be would turn back and eat a fat worm. When he had got a bellyful of them, he flied up and said:
“O, pigeon, how long your meal is! One ought to draw the line somewhere.” Then they flew home.

The cook saw that his pigeon had brought a friend, and hung up another basket for him. A few days later much fish came to the rich man’s kitchen. The crown wanted it so badly, groaning and making a great noise. Then said the pigeon to the crow:

“Come now, and get your breakfast!”
“I have indigestion!” said the crow.
“Nonsense. Crows never have indigestion,” said the pigeon. “Don’t behave in this way just for seeing some fish,” said the understanding pigeon, and flew away.

The cook prepared all the dishes, and then stood at the kitchen door for a while.

“Now is my time!” thought the crow, and landed on a dish with some dainty food with a click. But the cook heard it and looked round. He caught the crow and plucked all the feathers out of his head and rubbed some hot spices all over the bird’s body.

“That’s for spoiling my master’s dinner!” said he, and threw him into his basket. It hurt!
In time the pigeon came in and composed a verse,
“Who is this bird I see,
Lying where he has no right to be?
To this the crow answered:
I am nothing but a harried crow.
I could only go for food with glee,
For that I’m plucked, as you can see.
And the pigeon said: “Well, you’ll come to grief another time too, because of something in your nature. But
If people make a dish of meat,
It’s not for little birds to eat.”

Then the pigeon flew away, thinking, “I can’t live with this creature any longer.” And the crow lay groaning till he died.

Once there lived a farmer and his wife in a village.
Both of them were happy and they had a six months old child. They had a pet-mongoose who dearly loved their child.

One day the farmer’s wife left her child in the care of the farmer and went to the market. After some time the farmer was summoned to the king’s palace and farmer left the child under the watchful eyes of the mongoose.

The mongoose began guarding the child. Suddenly it saw that a big snake was entering the house from an open window and was heading straight towards the child. The mongoose fiercely fought against the snake and killed it. With a blood stained face, he then went to the door and began waiting for his master.

When the farmer came back, he saw the mongoose and thought that the mongoose had killed his son and he mercilessly beat the mongoose. But when he went inside his house he realized his mistake because the child was sleeping soundly in his cradle and a snake was lying dead on the floor.

The farmer then said sorry to the mongoose and began to caress it lovingly.

MORAL : HASTE MAKES WASTE.

Once a big fat frog and a lively little frog were hopping along together when they had the misfortune of jumping into a pail of fresh milk. They swam for hours and hours hoping to get out somehow; but the sides of the pail were steep and slippery and death seemed to be certain.

When the big frog was exhausted he lost courage. There seemed no hope of rescue. “Why keep struggling against the inevitable? I cannot swim any longer.” He moaned. “Keep on! Keep on!” urged the little frog, who was still circling the pail. So they went on for a while. But the big frog decided it was no use. “Little brother, We may as well give up” he gasped. “I am going to quit struggling.”

Now only the little frog was left. He thought to himself. “Well, to give up is to be dead, so I will keep swimming.” Two more hours passed and the tiny legs of the determined little frog were almost paralysed with exhaustion. It seemed as if he could not keep moving for another minute. But he thought of his dead friend, and repeated, “To give up is to be meat for someone’s table, so I’ll keep paddling on until I die – if death is to come – but I will not cease trying – while there is life, there is hope.”

Intoxicated with determination, the little frog kept on swimming around and around the pail, chopping the milk into white waves. After a while, just as he felt completely numb and thought he was about to drown, he suddenly felt something solid under him. To his astonishment, he saw that he was resting on a lump of butter which he had churned by constant paddling! And so the successful little frog leaped out of the milk pail to freedom.

Once upon a time, there was a drought in a certain part of a country. The farmers began to cut long channels to bring water to their fields. One farmer took a vow that he would not stop digging until the channel connected his field to the river. He was stubbornly determined. He set to work.

It was time for his bath and his wife sent his daughter with oil.

‘Father’ said the girl, ‘it is already late. Please use this oil and have your bath.’ ‘Go away’ he thundered, ‘I have a lot of work to do now.’

It was mid-day and the farmer was still at work. He did not even think of bath. His wife came up and said ‘Why have you not taken your bath? The food is getting cold. You always overdo everything. You can finish your work after lunch or even tomorrow.’

The farmer scolded her and ran at her with a spade in his hand crying ‘what? Have you no sense? There is no rain. The crops are dying. What will our children eat? Without this water all of us will have to starve to death. I have taken a vow that I will not think of food or rest today before bringing the water to my field’. Such was the strong determination of the farmer.

The wife saw his state of mind and ran away in fear. After a whole day’s back-breaking labour, the farmer managed to connect the fields to the river late in the evening. Then he sat down and watched the water flowing into the field with a murmuring sound. His mind was filled with peace and joy. He was sure that he would now have a good crop.

He went home and called his wife and said to her, ‘Now, give me some oil.’ With a peaceful mind he finished his bath and meal. He retired to rest and slept peacefully. The determination he showed is an example of hard work done to achieve success.

Now there was another farmer who was also digging a channel to bring water to his field. His wife came to the field and said to him ‘It is very late. Come home. It is not necessary to overdo things.’ This farmer did not protest but put aside his spade and said to his wife, ‘Well, I will go home since you ask me to.’ That man never succeeded in irrigating his field. Consequently his crop failed.

When you ran around the house getting ready, I knew there would be a few minutes for you to stop and say hello, but you were too busy. At one point you had to wait fifteen minutes with nothing to do except sit in a chair. Then I saw you spring to your feet. I thought you wanted to talk to me but you ran to the phone and called a friend to get the latest gossip instead. I watched patiently all day long. With all our activities I guess you were too busy to say anything to me. I noticed that before lunch you looked around, maybe you felt embarrassed to talk to me that am why you didn't bow your head. You glanced three or four tables over and you noticed some of your friends talking to me briefly before they ate, but you didn't. That's okay. There is still more time left, and I hope that you will talk to me yet.You went home and it seems as if you had lots of things to do. After a few of them were done, you turned on the TV. I don't know if you like TV or not, just about anything goes there and you spend a lot of time each day in front of it not thinking about anything, just enjoying the show. I waited patiently again as you watched the TV and ate your meal, but again you didn't talk to me.Bedtime I guess you felt too tired. After you said goodnight to your family you plopped into bed and fell asleep in no time. That's okay because you may not realize that I am always there for you. I've got patience, more than you will ever know. I even want to teach you how to be patient with others as well. I love you so much that I wait everyday for a nod, prayer or thought, or a thankful part of your heart. It is hard to have a one-sided conversation.Well, you are getting up once again. Once again I will wait, with nothing but love for you. Hoping that today you will give me some time.

Jayadeva was a great saint who hailed form Orissa. He was a great lover of Sri Krishna and wrote a number of hymns of which the ‘Gita Govinda’ has become an immortal piece of devotional literature.

Once Jayadeva was sitting and meditating on the bank of a holy river. A wealthy merchant happened to pass by that side. The merchant was highly captivated by the saintly appearance of Jayadeva. Then and there he decided to get Mantradiksha form Jayadeva. He ordered for a chariot and waited for the saint to complete his meditation. When Jayadeva came down to the normal plane, the merchant fell flat at his feet and requested him humbly to come to his house and initiate him with mantra. Jayadeva agreed and both started towards the merchant’s house in the chariot. His house was far away and was situated on the other side of a thick forest. Initiation over, the merchant presented one thousand gold coins and very costly clothes and sent back Jayadeva to his house in the chariot.

When the chariot was passing half way through the forest, there was a sudden commotion. The breading of twigs from huge trees could be clearly heard. The two horses drawing the chariot began to run hither and thither. Suddenly there appeared four dacoits with weapons and stopped the chariot. The charioteer ran away in fear, Jayadeva was caught alone unawares. He was completely absorbed in the repetition of the sweet name of Sri Krishna. The dacoits approached Jayadeva and asked him to handover the gold coins and the clothes. Unhesitatlngly he gave away everything and started walking towards his village with the Lord’s name on his lips.

But one of the dacoits became suspicious. He thought Jayadeva might reach the village fast and bring some people to attack the dacoits. So he ran towards Jayadeva, cut off his hands and legs and threw him into a nearby well.

The well was dry without a single drop of water. Jayadeva was absorbed in the joyous meditation of Sri Krishna, oblivious of his physical condition. At that time, the King of the State came to the forest for hunting wild animals. After many hours of hunting he became very thirsty and started searching for water. He saw this well and approached it with the hope of getting some drinking water. But as he neared the well, he heard beautiful singing of Bhajan from inside it. He leapt forward and saw a man singing praises of Sri Krishna. The man’s hands and legs had been cut off and blood was oozing from his body.

The king was stunned. Who could this great man be? Who has done harm to such a great man? How can such a thing happen in his regime?

The king asked his servants to get down the well and bring the saint out. Jayadeva was then taken to the palace and given treatment. When asked by the King who the culprits were, Jayadeva simply said that everything happens by God’s will. There is no point in finding fault with any one in the world.

The King was much impressed. He was a great devotee of Lord Siva. He thought Jayadeva could be his guide and guru and help him in his path of God-realisation. He seated Jayadeva in the palace on par with him and took his advice on all matters relating to the administration of the state.

Days passed. The dacoits heard that the King was very pious and gives away lot of riches to anyone who chants the name of God. So they hit upon an idea. They dressed like holy men and entered the palace chanting the glories of God. The King welcomed them with the honour due to holy men. He directed his servants to give gold and silver as much as they wished.

In the meantime, the dacoits noticed Jayadeva sitting by the side of the King with his hands and legs cut off. They were afraid that Jayadeva might expose them and give them severe punishment. They started shivering in their shoes. The King noticed this and made a sign to Jayadeva. But Jayadeva behaved as if he did not observe anything. He asked the servants to escort them and leave them safely upto their State boundary.

The dacoits heaved a sigh of relief. They walked fast to reach their house before anything unforeseen happened. Noticing their fear while in the court and now, the servants of the palace asked them why they were so much afraid of Jayadeva. The dacoits replied: “That fellow Jayadeva was a thief. We were the inhabitants of the neighboring kingdom. Our king once ordered us to kill him of his thefts. But we took sympathy on him, cut off his legs and hands and threw him into a well. He is now posing as a wise man in your king’s court. Since he is afraid we may tell the truth, he has given us lot of gold and silver and servants to escort us. Your Jayadeva is alive only because of your mercy. That is why we felt uneasy in his presence.

As soon as they spoke thus, Sri Krishna could not bear the words. The earth broke into two and all the four dacoits fell into a deep abyss in between the earth. The servants returned to the palace and narrated what had happened. The king was happy that the liars were rightly punished by the merciful Lord. But Jayadeva was miserable. Was it not because of him that the dacoits fell into the Patala? He must go and save them. He promptly started to go. The King was worried as to what would happen to Jayadeva. So he also accompanied him. Both of them reached the place, Jayadeva chanting the praises of Sri Krishna and the King singing the glories of Lord Siva.

Reaching the spot, Jayadeva became overwhelmed with sorrow. Because of him, the dacoits have died. This was wrong. The only way to atonement was to immolate by himself falling into the Patala. He was prepared for this last act of sacrifice.

The king was annoyed and afraid. How can he live without his Guru? He decided that if Jayadeva died, he would also follow the suit. He expressed his wishes clearly to his Guru Jayadeva.

Jayadeva was confused. If the king dies, who will look after the kingdom? Unable to take any decision, Jayadeva fell down unconscious. The king thought that Jayadeva had given up his body. Not knowing what to do, he started imploring to the Lord Siva in pathetic tone in various ways for a long time.

The Lord was merciful to the king. Siva appeared there with Parvathi and a trident in hand. At his wish, Jayadeva regained his consciousness. Both the King and the Saint were ecstatic at the vision of the Lord.

Siva asked Jayadeva for any boon that he may choose. He replied without the least hesitation, “May the four dacoits who harmed me be liberated. May they suffer no more in their future lives.”

What example of mercy! Jayadeva did not think of asking the Lord for restoration of his own hands and legs. He did not think of acquiring any riches, material or spiritual, for his own comfort or spiritual progress. All the same, he was thinking only of the happiness and welfare of the dacoits who were his sworn enemies. Can there be a better example than this for us to emulate?

Needless to say, the merciful Lord granted the boon and also restored hands and legs to Jayadeva. From then on the saint lived a long and happy life praising the glories of the Lord.

Arjuna once got a very big gnawing doubt. If Rama was really a good archer, why did not build a bridge of arrows? Why did he have to struggle so long with a monkey army for the bridge? He very much wanted to meet Hanuman and get the answer to this question. While he was on a pilgrimage in South India he prayed a lot to meet Hanuman and once he finally did meet him in an old temple where RamNam was being sung.

Hanuman was sitting in a corner quietly meditating on Ram.He asked him, “If Rama was truly a great archer as he claimed why did he not think of building a bridge with arrows?

Hanuman laughed and said, “How could he? How can a bridge of arrows hold the weight of us monkeys?” Arjuna said, “It should be possible. I can build such a bridge now if you want”

Hanuman and Arjuna entered into a bet. Arjuna will build a bridge of arrows and if Hanuman is able to walk on it, Hanuman will enter fire else Arjuna will.

Accordingly, Arjuna got ready to build the bridge. Hanuman sat in a corner repeating RamNam. When the bridge was built, Hanuman still uttering Ram’s name, kept his tail on it. The bridge broke into pieces.

Seeing this, Arjuna became despondent. As per the bet, he had to enter fire. He was not worried about dying. He felt terrible that his entire archery knowledge was a waste.

Hanuman tried to dissuade Arjuna from carrying out the bet. But Arjuna was adamant. He lit a fire and was about to jump into it when an old brahmin came along. Seeing a man ready to jump into fire he asked what the matter was.

Both Hanuman and Arjuna repeated the entire story. The brahmin said, “For any bet you need a witness. Now who is your witness? Both Hanuman and Arjuna said that there was none. The brahmin said, “This is not a valid bet as you do not have any witnesses. Can you repeat your bet? I will be the witness this time. Whoever fails will jump into fire”.

Now, Hanuman was fully aware that he could bring down the bridge. Arjuna knew that doing it the second time was not going to change the results. Still feeling very despondent, he prayed constantly to Krishna and built his bridge.

Hanuman knew that he could bring down any bridge and he had just done so. As soon as Arjuna completed the bridge Hanuman hit his tail, supremely confident that the bridge would crumble to pieces.

Lo! Nothing happened. He put one foot, again the bridge stood. He started walking on it. The bridge continued to stand.

Hanuman now got angry, He started pacing up and down furiously still the bridge was very much in tact.

He came down to accept defeat. But he felt that something was wrong. He came up to the brahmin and asked, “Who are you?”

Now Krishna revealed his form. He said, first time Arjuna had the feeling that he was building the bridge whereas Hanuman thought all the time of Rama. So Rama’s power cannot fail and he won.

Second time, humbled by his defeat, Arjuna uttered Krishna’s name for every arrow and so Krishna’s name cannot fail. Meanwhile Hanuman was sure that he would win the next time and so he thought he was bringing down the bridge which why the bridge stood the test.

Neither of you failed. The Lord’s power won that is all said Krishna and reconciled them both.

Narayanaashrama is a holy place in the Himalayas. Many sages spent their lives there in meditation. The Pandavas went to this place during their exile.

The sages received them happily and invited them to spend some days there. Yudhisthira accepted their invitation.

One day Draupadi saw a lotus floating in the river. It was a thousand petalled lotus with very sweet fragrance. Draupadi approached Bhima. She showed that flower to him and said, “Can you please get me more of such lotuses? We shall worship the sages with these”. Hearing Draupadi’s simple request, Bhima immediately agreed.

Accordingly he set out in search of that lotus. He walked for long He saw many fragrant flowers but he still did not find the lotus he was searching for. On the way, in a banana grove, Lord Hanuman sat in ecstasy repeating the Lord’s name. He was Bhima’s elder brother. The wild animals ran helter-skelter on hearing the footsteps of Bhima. Hanuman understood that his younger brother was approaching him.

Hanuman decided to have some fun at his brother’s expense.

He spread out his tail and sat blocking Bhima’s path. Bhima came up to him. Hanuman pretended not to know him and asked, “Who are you? And why have you come here?

Bhima replied, “I am Bhima, the son of Kunti”.

Hanuman replied, “You cannot go any farther. This is my place. You can eat some fruits here and depart. Please turn back and do not disturb me.”

Bhima was a little irritated and pressed Hanuman to let him move forward. At this, Hanuman told him, “I am an old monkey. I cannot move. If you can please lift my tail and place it by the side then you can go forward.”

Bhima carelessly pushed the tail with his leg. He could not move the monkey’s tail. He then tried with both his hands. Still he could not move the tail. He put in all his strength and tried. He still did not succeed.

Bhima realized that he was not dealing with an ordinary monkey. He told Hanuman, “Respected Sir, please reveal to me who you are? You must be a great person”.

Hanuman saw that Bhima’s pride was humbled. He revealed himself. “I am Hanuman your elder brother. The pond where you can find your flowers is very near. Go collect the flowers.”

Bhima was happy to have met his brother. He begged his forgiveness and requested Hanuman to show his Visvarupa.

Afters much pleading from Bhima, Hanuman revealed his cosmic form that extended beyond the sky. Bhima bowed to him in reverence and Hanuman blessed him and said, “Bhima! We should show respect to old people. May the Lord help you in your efforts! “

His pride humbled Bhima collected the flowers and returned to Draupadi.

Once the Aswini Kumaras wanted to learn the Brahma Vidya. They already had the power to revive the dead. Indra did not like their desire to learn Brahma Vidya. He thought that they would be a threat to his post and so he ordered that none should teach Brahma Vidya to the Aswini Kumaras.

Aswini Kumaras approached sage DaDhichi to learn the Brahma Vidya. They also informed the sage about the Indra's orders but begged the sage to take them as his disciples.

The sage replied, "When a teacher is approached by a sincere seeker he should not refuse out of fear or greed. I accept you as my disciples"

To avoid Indra's curse, they outlined their plan to sage DaDhichi. The sage agreed to their plan.

They cut off the sage's head and replaced it with the horse's head. They preserved his head carefully. The sage taught them Brahma Vidya through the horse's head. Hearing this Indra threw an axe to kill the sage. The next moment the Aswini Kumaras revived the sage.

They took the sage's blessings and departed.

Sometime after this Indra's position was shaken. A sage performed sacrifice to take revenge on Indra. From the flames of his sacrificial altar came a demon Vritrasura. He chased Indra out of devaloka.

Indra ran to Brahma helplessly. Brahma told Indra, "If you can procure the bones of Sage Dadhichi and make a weapon out of them you can kill Vritrasura with it.

Indra now approached sage Dadhichi and begged his pardon for his mistakes. The sage enquired his need, Indra explained somehow that he needed the sage's bones.

Indra was so desperate to safeguard his position that he had no qualms about trying to kill him when he perceived the sage to be a threat. Now that he wanted his position back he did not hesitate to approach the sage. What levels does one stoop to, in a single-minded selfish pursuit of one's own transitory interests!

Reflecting thus the sage thought, "this body will anyway wither away one day. If this will serve Indra some useful purpose, so be it." The sage gave up life.

The wild animals ate his flesh and Viswakarma made a thunderbolt out of the sage's bones.

Using this weapon, Indra killed Vritrasura and regained his loka.

How great is this sage's sacrifice who did not hesitate to impart knowledge at a risk of his own life and later, gave up his life for his enemy.

Tansen was a great musician in the court of Emperor Akbar in Delhi. He was blessed by the Divine mother and his Guru.

One day Tansen sang in the court of Akbar. Akbar was charmed by his music and he said, "there is none who can equal you in music".

Tansen replied, "No my lord, there is one person"

Akbar got curious. Tansen explained, "He is no ordinary person. His name is Haridas and he is a saint. He lives in Vrindaban and he is my guru."

Akbar wanted to invite Saint Haridas to the court to listen to his singing. Tansen replied, "he will not stir out of Vrindaban. Many have tried to persuade him but failed".

Akbar asked, "Can I hear his music? Can you take me there?"

Tansen replied, "If you are willing to come disguised as my disciple, I can take you there and I will try to make him sing when we are there"

Akbar immediately agreed.

So, a disguised Akbar and Tansen left for Vrindaban. On reaching the place of the Saint Tansen and Akbar paid their respects to the Saint. The saint did not sing at all.

In the evening, Tansen started singing. While singing, he deliberately made a mistake. Immediately the Saint corrected him and to explain the correction started singing. Akbar and Tansen sat spellbound listening to his singing. It was the most divine music that Akbar had ever heard.

After sometime, the saint absorbed in meditation fell unconscious.
Akbar said "You should be blessed to have such a teacher. How does he sing so well?"

Tansen replied, "He does not sing for mere mortals like me. He sings for God. That is why his music is so good"

Keshava Kashmiri was a renowned Pandit, but he was very egotistic. The other Pandits were scared of him. Once he went on a tour around India accompanied by several disciples to defeat in debate all the Pandits in the country. At last, he reached Nadia in West Bengal. He challenged the pandits in that place and invited them for a debate. All the elderly pandits of Nadia got scared and none were willing to take up his challenge. The pandits discussed amongst themselves and decided that only the young prodigy Nimai, the fourteen year old son of of Jagannath Mishra can stand against the Pandit Keshav Kashmiri.

Nimai was none other than Gauranga, who later became well known as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and was venerated as an incarnation of God, because of his ecstatic devotion to Sri Krishna.

That evening, the elderly Pandits of Nadia met Nimai on the Ganges bank and broached the matter. At that time, Keshava Kashmiri happened to come there on a walk, and saw the young boy. On seeing Nimai he enquired,”Are you Nimai, who teaches Sanskrit grammar in the school here?”. Nimai agreed and greeted the scholar and expressed his good fortune of meeting the scholar of great renown. Keshava Kashmiri expressed surprise,”Oh! Then you know me”. To this Nimai replied,”Oh! Who does not know Keshava Kashmiri? I have a small request. Kindly compose a poem on this river Ganga.” Keshava Kashmiri accepted the challenge and spontaneously composed a lengthy verse in praise of the river Ganga. The listeners were spell bound. Nimai told the pandit,” Sir! I appreciate your composition. But there are some errors too. Shall I repeat the verse and point out the errors therein?.” To this the Pandit replied,”Oh! Are you going to repeat the entire verse”. Without hesitation, Chaitanya repeated verbatim the whole verse. The pandit was astonished. Chaitanya pointed out several mistakes in the composition, which made the Pandit hung his head in shame. On being humbled by a mere boy the Pandit was stunned. In the presence of the astonished Pandit, Chaitanya instantly composed a poem. Its meaning is – “ the art of composing poems is a gift of God. By mere learning one cannot become a poet. It is human to commit error. To compose on divine themes. One should be humble. Vanity is futile.”

Keshava Kashmiri was struck with remorse, when he heard this poem. He understood how he had wasted his precious life all these years. He fell at the feet of the young Nimai, his whole body shaking with emotion. At this Nimai exclaimed,”Oh what! A pandit of your stature falling at my feet! Sir, please get up.” Keshav Kashmiri admitted that his humility and devotion to God have opened his eyes.

Keshav Kashmiri handed over all his wealth to the people of the place and renounced everything and became a monk. Gauranga Deva’s victory was acclaimed everywhere.

It seems to be a good logical answer.

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.

As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving a God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barbershop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! " answered the barber. " What happens, is, people do not come to me. "

"Exactly!"-affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

Poonthanam was a great devotee of Lord Guruvaayoorappan. He and Bhattathiri, the author of Naaraayaneeyam were great friends. Bhattathiri had presented Poonthanam a ring that Poonthanam always wore.

Poonthanam used to go through a forest to Guruvayoor to have the darshan of the Lord.

One day he got delayed when he started. As a result of starting late, it was twilight and he was still walking in the forest. Three robbers waylaid him. The robbers started searching him. Poonthanam was very scared and prayed to his Lord. Suddenly there was sound of horses. Hearing the noise the robbers ran away. The minister of Guruvayoor was coming accompanied by his soldiers.

Poonthanam thanked the minister for his timely help and begged him to accept a gift as a token of gratitude. The minister asked for the ring that Poonthanam was wearing.

Though Poonthanam knew that it was given to him as a token of affection by Bhattathiri, he decided that he should give him the ring. Accordingly he removed the ring and gave it to the minister. The minister went away and Poonthanam reached Gururvaayoor safely.

That night, the temple priest had a dream. The Lord appeared in the dream and told him to remove the ring in his foot and return it to Poonthanam as it was his.

The next day, Poonthanam came into the temple after his bath. The temple priest promptly brought him the ring that he had found on the Lord’s feet and returned it conveying his dream.

Poonthanam was speechless! Only now, did he realised who had come as the Guruvaayoor minister.

Once a famous scholar was lecturing on God. Suddenly a man appeared before him.

The scholar asked him: “Who are you?”

The man “ I am the same God whose glories you are discoursing on”.

The scholar replied, “You are God? You look just like us. How do I believe that you are God? I will have to test you out.”

He took the brass water container vessel kept next to him and told God “here, if you can change this to gold only then will I believe that you are God”

God was nonplussed. Before appearing he had thought that all these ardent hearers would ask him for devotion, pure knowledge etc. Here he was, stuck in an ignoble position of having to prove himself. Nevertheless he decided that it was better to prove rather than beat a retreat at this stage.

He took the vessel and at His touch the vessel changed into gold.

He looked triumphantly around and saw that the entire audience had vanished. He looked puzzled trying to understand men.

He did not have to think for long as he saw the entire audience returning all with the brass vessels, big vessels that they could lay their hands on. They wanted the whole lot to be turned into gold.

Srinjaya was greedy king. He had only a daughter but no son. He felt about it badly. He enquired of the brahmins,” Oh Brahmins! I want a son. Tell me the way.” At that time the sage Narada happened to visit him. The Brahmins told the king, if he worships the sage Narada his wish will be fulfilled.

The King received Narada with great honour. He worshipped him and prayed for a son. The sage asked the King,” oh King! What sort of a son do you desire?”. The King replied,” i want a son who will be beautiful, healthy and intelligent. Besides pearls should fall from his eyes and mouth whenever he cries or speaks.” The Sage Narada blessed him saying that such a son will be born to him soon.

In due course, by the blessings of the sage Narada, a son was born to the King. Moreover according to the wishes of the King, pearls fell from his mouth and eyes whenever he cried. Soon the palace was filled with pearls. Even the doors, and the walls of the palace were inlaid with pearls, the story of this miracle-child spread like wild fire.

A gang of robbers in the forest came to know of this and decided to kidnap the child. They entered the palace at night and stealthily carried away the child. Later the attendants of the child came to know of the absence of the child which passed on to the King who ordered a massive search for the child.

The kings’ command reached the robbers who collectively decided future course of action. By that time the robbers who had collected enough pearls thought that it will be wise of them to release the child since they have collected enough pearls. But one of them thought that if they cut the child to pieces they will get pearls from every drop of his blood. Accordingly they cut the child to pieces but no pearls came from dropping of his blood. They then realized that their greed has ruined them.

By then, the soldiers surrounded them they bound them and brought them to the king. The king came to know about the tragic end of the child. The king at last realized," My greed has ruined me”.

There is no way to push him here and there, you cannot manipulate him; he remains there, utterly himself, so centred is he, so rooted is he, in his being. When one has known the fourth, turiya, then there is no distraction then one can live anywhere.
Once it happened in the days of Buddha that a beautiful prostitute fell in deep love with a Buddhist monk who had gone to beg. The woman had seen many beautiful people – she was one of the most famous prostitutes of those days – even kings used to queue at her door, and she fell in love with a monk, with a bikku, a beggar.

Sannyasins have a beauty that only Sannyasins can have; that a beauty when one walks by himself that grace – the grace of the centred one – dignity, the elegance. Just visualize the monk walking. And Buddhist monks their whole teaching consists of one thing; Be alert; be watchful. Not even a single breath has to pass your nostrils without your being aware of it.

So, absolutely watchful, meditative, he must have passed by the woman. She had seen many beautiful people, but never a man who walked by himself like this – and in the market-place, and in the whole noise, so silently as if the market did not exist. She immediately fell in love with the man. She touched his feet and asked him to come to her home and stay for this rainy season, for four months. Buddhist monks stop moving for four months. Buddhist monks stop moving for four months in the rainy season. The rains were just about to come, and the clouds were gathering, and it was time for them to stay and find shelter for four months.

So she invites him: “You come to my home. Be my guest for four months.” The monk said, “I will have to ask the Master. Tomorrow I will come and reply. If he allows it, I will come.”

There were other monks begging in the town – they saw the whole thing; they became very jealous. When the young man came back to Buddha, he stood in the assembly and made the request “ A woman, a prostitute” – Amrapalli was her name – “has asked me to stay with her for the coming rainy season. I will do whatever you say.” Many heard it – they all stood up and said, “This is wrong. Even to have allowed that woman to touch your feet was wrong. Because Buddha has said, “Don’t touch a woman don’t allow a woman to touch you.” You have broken that rule, and now this is something, that you are asking to stay with the woman for four months!”

Buddha said, “I told you not to touch a woman, not to be touched by a woman because you are not centred. For this man that rule is no more applicable. I can see that he walks alone by himself – I have been watching him – he is no more part of the crowd. You are still part of the crowd. When you go to the market, you go to the, market; he simply passes by there as if he had never gone.” And to the bhikku Buddha said, “Yes, you are allowed.”

Now, this was too much; never had it been done before, there was no precedent. All were angry, and for four months thousands of gossips went around exaggerating what was happening there. Everybody was interested, and many rumours were coming that the monk was no more a monk, that he had fallen.

After 4 months the monk came back followed by Amrapalli. Buddha looked at the monk, looked at Amrapalli, and said, “Woman have you something to say to me?” She said, “I have come to be initiated by you. I tried to distract your disciple, I failed; this is my first defeat. I have always succeeded with men. This is the first man whom I could not distract - not even an inch. A great desire has arisen in me too – how can I attain this centring. And the more he has been with me these days, the more I have seen how far away he is from the world. He lived with me, I danced before him, I sang before him, I played on musical instruments before him – I tried to allure him in every way – but he remained silent. He always remained himself. Not for a single moment have I seen any cloud in his mind or any desire in his eyes. I tried to convert him, but he has converted me – me not saying a single word. He has not brought me here; I have come on my own. I have known for the first time what dignity is; I would like to learn the art.”

She became a disciple of Buddha. She became a nun.

He always walks by himself…
Remember, it does not mean that he remains lonely; it only means that he remains alone. If you want to be lonely you have to move away from the world, but if you want to be alone there is no need to go anywhere, you can be alone here. Aloneness needs awareness. Loneliness is an outer thing – you simply have to move away from people. But moving away from people you remain the same – your mind has not changed; and your mind is the problem, not the people. Sitting in a Himalayan cave you will think of you wife, of your children, of all those friends you have left behind, because the mind cannot be left here, it will go with you – it is you.

Don’t try to change the circumstances of your life, try to change the psychology. Do not try to change the outer situation. Use the outer situation and change the inner state. The false religion consists of changing the situation: “If a woman creates a desire in you, escape from the woman.” This is changing the situation; this is not much of a change – you are befooling yourself and befooling the world. The real religion consists of changing the state of mind: “If a woman attracts you, then look into your desires, then watch those desires. Somewhere there you have not known anything better than sex. Somewhere there you have not known anything higher than sex. Somewhere there you have not known anything ecstatic. Because you have not known anything higher, you are attracted towards the lower. Search for the higher. Once you have known higher reaches of your energy, sex starts withering of its own accord.” That is real religion.

A wealthy businessman in Hong Kong had spent the best years of his life building up his mammoth textile business. One day, he was told that he was dying from an incurable disease. His immediate thought was of his business. Who would carry it on? And which of his three sons could he trust it to?
He called his three sons and gave them a 10 cent coin each. To each he said, go into the market place and buy something that will fill this empty room. You must not spend anything more than 10 cents and you must be back before sunset.”

When evening came, the first boy dragged a bale of hay into the room. When he undid it, it hid two walls of the room. The old man gave a grunt of satisfaction. The second boy brought in two bags of cotton and when he undid them it covered the three walls.

“Excellent!” exclaimed the old man. Then he turned to the third boy, “what have you bought?”

“Father,” he replied uncertainly. “Part of it went to feed a hungry child, and part I gave it the church. After I had done that I found that I had only one cent left. With that I bought this candle.”

Saying that, he lit the tiny candle – the light from it filled the whole room!

Once upon a time Madurai was ruled by a great king. He was known as King with the golden hand. There is an interesting story about the golden hand.
One night when he was on his rounds in disguise, he overheard a conversation between husband and wife. The husband was leaving for far off cities to earn money and the wife was worried about her safety. The husband consoled her saying that the King protects his subjects so well and she should not fear.

The next day the brahmin Kiranthai went on a tour. The King kept a vigil outside his house every night in disguise.

Some days passed thus. Kiranthai returned home but the king did not know this. The king suddenly saw someone at the house and felt that in the absence of the brahmin someone had entered the house. To know the truth he knocked at the door of the house loudly. He then overheard the brahmin ask his wife very suspiciously, "What is this? Someone is knocking the door at this hour. Were you keeping some company while I was away?"

Hearing these words the King realized his grave mistake. He decided that he should knock all the houses in the vicinity to remove Kiranthai's suspicion.

However this knocking woke up the neighbourhood. They decided to complain to the king about the presence of the thief.

Very next day they assembled in the court and complained to the king that a new thief has sneaked into the city and he even had the audacity to knock the house doors.

Hearing this complaint the King asked the minister, "Minister, what punishment do you think should be meted out to the thief if he is found?"

The minister replied, "A severe deterrent punishment my Lord. His arm should be cut off.

Suddenly, the King pulled out his sword and cut off his own right hand.

He explained the whole story to the assembly.

The doctors later fitted a gold hand for the king. He was praised for his sense of righteousness and he came to be known as the King with Golden Hand.

Once upon a time a King by name Sundaravadanan who ruled over the kingdom of Kannapuri. He was great in all respects except that he never believed in God.
One night, he was traveling through his city in disguise. He heard two beggars begging loudly. One was invoking Lord Rama’s grace and the other was invoking the King’s grace.

The King was intrigued and had both the beggars brought to the court. His minister asked the question, “Yesterday, you both were begging. One of you said “Rama’s grace and other said Kings grace. Now what does that mean?”

One who said Rama’s grace replied, “Sir, this whole world is protected by the Lord Rama. He is the one who gives wealth and riches to everyone”.

The minister now spoke to the other beggar. He replied, “Sir, God is invisible. King is the visible God. If he so desires, he can make anyone rich”

That night, the King argued with the minister that one who called on the King was the clever beggar. The minister however disagreed. He said, “However a man may try to help, if the receiver does not have God’s grace it will never reach him.”

The King decided to put “King’s grace” and “Rama’s grace” to test.

The next day a King’s order was announced. “On the Rama Navami day the King will distribute presents to everyone. All can come and receive the presents.”

Accordingly people gathered. The two beggars were also present. The King gave out a new piece of cloth and a pumpkin to everyone. When the “King’ grace” beggar’s turn came up, the King recognized him and whispered something in the minister’s ears. The minister went in and brought a pumpkin. The pumpkin and the cloth were given to the beggar.

After sometime, the King and his minister went around the city in disguise. They noticed that the “Kings’ grace” beggar still begging the same way.

The King summoned the beggar to the court the next day and asked him, “ Are you still a beggar despite my presents?” The beggar replied, “King! I sold the pumpkin in the market for 2 silver coins. How can I become rich with that?

The king replied, “You are a fool. That pumpkin had precious jewels and pearls. If you had only cut open the pumpkin you would have become rich.”

After sometime when the King was on his rounds he noticed a rich man in a palanquin. The minister recognized him as “Rama’s grace” beggar.

This man was also summoned to court.

The King asked, “Aren’t you the beggar who used to beg in the streets? How did you become so rich?”

This man replied, “ King! By the grace of Rama. I was to feed the brahmins on a particular day to bring peace to my dead father. All I could purchase was a pumpkin. But, to my surprise, I found jewels when I cut open the pumpkin. By the grace of Rama I became rich”

The King understood that one truly required God’s grace to prosper in this world.

On the ninth day of Mahabharata war, Duryodhana approached Bhisma in his camp. He was suspicious of the grandsire’s dedication to the fight. Duryodana felt that Bhishma was not doing his best as he was carried away by his affection to the Pandavas. Duryodhana felt anxious of the result if Bhishma continued to fight half heartedly. So Duryodhana wanted to rouse Bhishma to his full fury even if it meant hurting the old man.
Approaching Bhishma, Duryodhana remarked that Bhishma was waging a half hearted fight. Stung by these remarks Bhishma gave word that he would rout the Pandava army and kill all the Pandavas.

When Draupadi heared this, she was afraid. She prayed to her Lord Krishna.

As soon as she thought of Krishna he appeared before her. Krishna asked her to follow him. He took her through the battlefield. The battlefield was an awful sight with bodies scattered everywhere. They finally reached a tent.

Suddenly, Krishna told Draupadi, “Sister, please remove your sandals. They are making a lot of noise”.

Draupadi removed her sandals.

Just at the entrance to the camp, Krishna whispered to Draupadi, “Please go in and fall at the feet of the old man whom you can hear pacing up and down inside.

She did so accordingly. Bhishma was surprised to see a lady fall at his feet and he blessed her, “May you live long with your husband. Who are you? What can I do for you? Why are you here at this hour?”

Druapadi got up asking Bhishma to promise protection to her husbands.

When she got up, Bhishma recognized her. He was stunned, “Druapadi, Is it you? How did you come here?”

Draupadi replied, “Krishna brought me here. I came here to seek your blessings”. Bhishma recognized Krishna at the door. “Krishna, please come in. What is it that is hanging on your shoulders? It looks like Sandals”

Krishna replied quietly, “Oh yes, they are Panchali’s foot wear. They were making lot of noise. So I took them with me.”

Draupadi was mortified to see this. She said, “Oh Lord! Great calamity will fall on me by this act of yours”

Krishna replied matter-of-factly, “What is wrong with brother carrying his sister’s sandals? By the way, did you take his blessings?”

Bhishma replied, “She did not ask for it. I gave it on my own. Krishna, what concern you have for your devotees, you did not mind even carrying their footwear. Who can equal you in protecting the devotees? When you are with the Pandavas what do they have to fear?”

Druapadi replied, “Grandpa, we were terrified to hear your promise.”

Bhishma said, “What can the oath of this insignificant person do before Krishna, the God incarnate. He is on your side. No harm can befall on you.

Thus succeeding in their mission, Krishna and Druapadi took leave of Bhishma.

There was a place called Nagpura. It had no rain for many years and consequently there was poverty and famine.
There lived a widow by name Kamala with her daughter Kannamma. They had no means of livelihood.

One day the mother said to her daughter, ‘Kannamma, see how unfortunate I am. I am not in a position to feed you even a mouthful of rice. You look so weak and famished.’

Her daughter replied, ‘Mother, I am worried about you. It is so many days since you ate a morsel of food. I will try to get some food from somewhere.’ Saying so, Kannamma went out.

After begging at several houses fruitlessly, she stood under a tree totally exhausted. At a distance, she saw an old woman baking bread under a tree. She went near and said, ‘Mother, I am dying of hunger. Please give me a piece of bread.’

The old lady looked at Kannamma. She pitied her and said, ‘I can offer you only one piece of bread, Take it.’

Kannamma accepted it gratefully and said again ‘Mother! My mother has not had anything to eat for the past one week. If I can get her also a piece of bread we will be grateful.’ The old lady was kind. She offered her one more piece of bread.

Kannamma was returning happily. On the way, she saw a dog looking for food. She thought ‘what a pity! The dog, unlike me, does not know how to beg from people. It only looks at people for food’.

Thinking thus, she lovingly offered to it one piece of bread out of compassion. The dog ate it and went away. She returned home and told her mother everything. Her mother was happy. She said, ‘You did the right thing. We can beg at several places. But what can dumb animals do? Let us share the remaining piece of bread.’

They were about to eat when they heard a voice at the door, ‘Mother, I am dying of hunger. Please give me something.’ They looked at each other.

Mother said, ‘My dear daughter, this man seems very hungry. Give away my share.’ Kannamma felt that the hunger could not be appeased with just half a piece of bread and so, she gave away her share as well. The beggar went away satisfied.

Their hunger was unbearable. After sometime both of them swooned.

Mother had a dream in which the Lord appeared and said ‘Kamala! Even though you and your daughter were in dire straits due to hunger, both of you gladly gave away whatever you had to the hungry dog and destitute beggar. It was I who appeared in these forms to test you. I am pleased with your concern for others. May you get enough wealth and live happily.’

When Kamala opened her eyes, she beheld a miracle. By the grace of God, her hut had turned into a mansion filled with heaps of grain and garments. They fed the whole village sumptuously. Their meritorious act brought rain to the village. The famine disappeared and there was abundance everywhere.

In this regard, we may recall Swami Vivekananda's utterings:

"This life is short, the vanities of the world are transient, but they alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive."

"In this world always take the position of the giver. Give everything and look for no return. Give love, give help, give service, give any little thing you can, but keep out barter."

The princes of the kingdom of Mewar used to go hunting every Vijayadasami day. Once on such an occasion the two princes, Rana Pratap and his younger brother Shakti Sinha went for hunting along with a few soldiers.
When both of them were happily going about hunting, they chanced to aim their arrows on a deer. Being expert hunters they felled the deer with a single aim. Now the question whose arrow felled the deer came up and unfortunately it soon developed into a great prestige issue between the brothers.

Rana Pratap argued that it was his arrow, while Shakti Sinha was equally sure that it was his. The argument soon developed into a big issue and both drew their swords to start a fight over the issue.

The royal teacher (Raja Guru) who had also come along with them was stunned to see the scene from a distance. “Stop the fight”, he shouted and came running, “Children! The country is in the midst of such dangers! Foreigners are already giving a lot of trouble by their attempts to conquer the country. Under these circumstances, being the two pillars of the kingdom, is it proper for the two of you to indulge in such a dangerous fight? Stop immediately!”

He pleaded to Rana Pratap, “Shakti Sinha is younger to you. Why don’t you give the credit to him?”, and again to Shakti Sinha, “Why don’t you show respect to your elder brother and give up the claim over the deer?”

The wise words of the Raja Guru fell on deaf ears. Wonderful is the sway of anger! It can turn the heads of even intelligent people. The princes were in no mood to listen to his wise counsel. Their stubborn attitude pained his heart deeply. He could not bear to see his students and heirs to the throne fighting between themselves and dying in such a state.

The Raja Guru took up his position between the quarrelling brothers, “Dear brothers, Anger, which is like a devil has today taken hold of your understanding. It is in no mood to calm down without quenching its thirst with human blood. But I who am devoted to this Mewar kingdom, whose body is built of its food, can never allow the two princes to die of infighting.”

“Let the devil of anger be satisfied by drinking the blood of this Brahmin today”, so saying he suddenly drew out his sword, and before the paralyzed brothers could do anything, killed himself with his own sword.

The brothers were dumbstruck. In a flash the lifeless body of the Raja Guru fell between them on the ground. They were ashamed to realize the loss of the precious life of their Raja Guru on account of their senseless resolve to fight in spite of his fervent appeals.

The patriotism of the Raja Guru saved the princes from killing each other. Let us remember his great sacrifice for the unity and integrity of the royal family and the kingdom

Thama Chetti ran a tailor’s shop in Pandaripur. He had unswerving devotion towards Lord Vittal, the Lord of Pandaripur. Every day he would go to Vittal’s temple and offer the deity the sacred food prepared by his wife Kone. After that he would take the meal.
Once Thama Chetty had to go to another village. So he entrusted the work of carrying the offering to his son Namdev. Next day, Namdev carried the offering to the Lord. He arranged rice, curries etc. on the leaf. He called on the Lord Vittala to come and take the offering. Nothing happened.

He called him again and again. Still nothing happened. Namdev started weeping. He wept wondering how he would tell his father that the Lord did not accept the offering. He drew the screen and stood outside. After a while, he drew the screen aside and looked into the shrine. Still his offerings remained untouched. Crying piteously he ran out of the shrine and climbed on the top of the compound wall. He was about to jump down from the compound wall and end his life. He heard a voice stopping him and asking him to come into the shrine.He came down the wall and ran inside. He saw that the leaves were empty. He went back home happily.

He returned empty handed to his house. He told his mother that the Lord ate up all the offerings and so there was nothing left. His mother was wonderstruck. She decided to follow the boy the next day.

She followed Namadev and noticed the boy arranging all the offerings on a leaf and then pull the screen and stand outside. When he drew back the curtain the leaves were empty. Seeing this miracle her hair stood on end.

The next day the father returned. Namadev’s mother told him all that had taken place. He also followed Namadev to watch what happened. He saw with his own eyes that the Lord consumed all the offerings. They rejoiced at their good fortune to have such a son.

In this context we shall remember what Sri Ramakrishna was telling once to one of his desciples in Dakshineswar: "One attains God when one feels yearning for Him. An intense restlessness is needed. Through it the whole mind goes to God. ... One must have childlike faith - and the intense yearning that a child feels to see its mother. That yearning is like the red sky in the east at dawn. After such a sky the sun must rise. Immediately after that yearning one sees God."

The great scientist Sir Isaac Newton worked several hours every day for twenty years and wrote down the results of his brilliant research. One day he went out for a walk leaving the papers on the table. His pet dog ‘diamond’ was lying in the room. A few minutes later, it jumped on to the table playfully. Due to this, the burning candle fell on the bundle of manuscript and it caught fire. Twenty years of hard research was reduced to ashes within minutes. When Newton came back he was shocked. His precious papers were now a handful of ashes. Any one else would have beaten the dog to death. But Newton simply stroked the dog’s head and said looking at it with pity ‘Diamond, you know not what you have done.’
He started writing again. It took him several years to complete the task. How great was his compassion for the dumb animal. Newton’s heart was as great as his head.

It is difficult to forgive a wrong done to you – yet, with a stronger will it is possible. To forget the whole episode requires super human effort and nobility of heart. If you develop the habit of forgiving and forgetting, you will not have any enemy in this wide world. You will be friendly with all.

Swami Vivekananda uttered : "Know that talking ill of others in private is a sin. You must wholly avoid it. Many things may occur to the mind, but it gradually makes a mountain of a molehill if you try to exprerss them. Everything is ended if you forgive and forget."

Jayadeva was a great saint who hailed form Orissa. He was a great lover of Sri Krishna and wrote a number of hymns of which the 'Gita Govinda' has become an immortal piece of devotional literature.
Once Jayadeva was sitting and meditating on the banks of a holy river. A wealthy merchant happened to pass by that side. The merchant was highly captivated by the saintly appearance of Jayadeva. Then and there he decided to get Mantradiksha form Jayadeva. He ordered for a chariot and waited for the saint to complete his meditation. When Jayadeva came down to the normal plane, the merchant fell flat at his feet and requested him humbly to come to his house and initiate him with mantra. Jayadeva agreed and both started towards the merchant's house in the chariot. His house was far away and was situated on the other side of a thick forest. Initiation over, the merchant presented one thousand gold coins and very costly clothes and sent back Jayadeva to his house in the chariot.

When the chariot was passing half way through the forest, there was a sudden commotion. The breading of twigs from huge trees could be clearly heard. The two horses drawing the chariot began to run hither and thither. Suddenly there appeared four dacoits with weapons and stopped the chariot. The charioteer ran away in fear, Jayadeva was caught alone unawares. He was completely absorbed in the repetition of the sweet name of Sri Krishna. The dacoits approached Jayadeva and asked him to handover the gold coins and the clothes. Unhesitatlngly he gave away everything and started walking towards his village with the Lord's name on his lips.

But one of the dacoits became suspicious. He thought Jayadeva may reach the village fast and bring some people to attack the dacoits. So he ran towards Jayadeva, cut off his hands and legs and threw him into a nearby well.

The well was dry without a single drop of water. Jayadeva was absorbed in the joyous meditation of Sri Krishna, oblivious of his physical condition. At that time, the King of the State came to the forest for hunting wild animals. After many hours of hunting he became very thirsty and started searching for water. He saw this well and approached it with the hope of getting some drinking water. But as he neared the well, he heard beautiful singing of Bhajan from inside it. He leapt forward and saw a man singing praises of Sri Krishna. The man's hands and legs had been cut off and blood was oozing from his body.

The king was stunned. Who could this great man be? Who has done harm to such a great man? How can such a thing happen in his regime?

The king asked his servants to get down the well and bring the saint out. Jayadeva was then taken to the palace and given treatment. When asked by the King who the culprits were, Jayadeva simply said that everything happens by God's will. There is no point in finding fault with any one in the world.

The King was much impressed. He was a great devotee of Lord Siva. He thought Jayadeva could be his guide and guru and help him in his path of God-realisation. He seated Jayadeva in the palace on par with him and took his advice on all matters relating to the administration of the state.

Days passed. The dacoits heard that the King was very pious and gives away lot of riches to anyone who chants the name of God. So they hit upon an idea. They dressed like holy men and entered the palace chanting the glories of God. The King welcomed them with the honour due to holy men. He directed his servants to give gold and silver as much as they wished.

In the meantime, the dacoits noticed Jayadeva sitting by the side of the King with his hands and legs cut off. They were afraid that Jayadeva may expose them and give them severe punishment. They started shivering in their shoes. The King noticed this and make a sign to Jayadeva. But Jayadeva behaved as if he did not observe anything. He asked the servants to escort them and leave them safely upto their State boundary.

The dacoits heaved a sigh of relief. They walked fast to reach their house before anything unforeseen happened. Noticing their fear while in the court and now, the servants of the palace asked them why they were so much afraid of Jayadeva. The dacoits replied: "That fellow Jayadeva was a thief. We were the inhabitants of the neighboring kingdom. Our king once ordered us to kill him of his thefts. But we took sympathy on him, cut off his legs and hands and threw him into a well. He is now posing as a wise man in your king's court. Since he is afraid we may tell the truth, he has given us lot of gold and silver and servants to escort us. Your Jayadeva is alive only because of your mercy. That is why we felt uneasy in his presence

As soon as they spoke thus, Sri Krishna could not bear the words. The earth broke into two and all the four dacoits fell into a deep abyss in between the earth. The servants returned to the palace and narrated what had happened. The king was happy that the liars were rightly punished by the merciful Lord. But Jayadeva was miserable. Was it not because of him that the dacoits fell into the Patala? He must go and save them. He promptly started to go. The King was worried as to what would happen to Jayadeva. So he also accompanied him. Both of them reached the place, Jayadeva chanting the praises of Sri Krishna and the King singing the glories of Lord Siva.

Reaching the spot, Jayadeva became overwhelmed with sorrow. Because of him, the dacoits have died. This was wrong. The only way to atonement was to immolate by himself falling into the Patala. He was prepared for this last act of sacrifice.

The king was annoyed and afraid. How can he live without his Guru? He decided that if Jayadeva died, he would also follow the suit. He expressed his wishes clearly to his Guru Jayadeva. Jayadeva was confused. If the king dies, who will look after the kingdom? Unable to take any decision, Jayadeva fell down unconscious. The king thought that Jayadeva gad given up his body. Not knowing what to do, he started imploring to the Lord Siva in pathetic tone in various ways for a long time. The Lord was merciful to the king. Siva appeared there with Parvathi and a trident in hand. At his wish, Jayadeva regained his consciousness. Both the King and the Saint were ecstatic at the vision of the Lord.

Siva asked Jayadeva for any boon that he may choose. Pat cause the reply without the least hesitation. "May the four dacoits who harmed me be liberated. May they suffer no more in their future lives."

What example of mercy! Jayadeva did not think of asking the Lord for restoration of his own hands and legs. He did not think of acquiring any riches, material or spiritual, for his own comfort or spiritual progress. All the same, he was thinking only of the happiness and welfare of the dacoits who were his sworn enemies. Can there be a better example than this for us to emulate?

Needless to say, the merciful Lord granted the boon and also restored hands and legs to Jayadeva. From then on the saint lived a long and happy life praising the glories of the Lord.

When Dharmaraja was ruling over Indraprasthanagara, one day a Brahmin came to meet him. He met Dharmaraja and after a while he returned back. As the Brahmin was going out of the main gate, Bhimasena saw him. He saw the Brahmin while going in also but he did not talk to the Brahmin because it was usual for several people to come and seek from Dharmaraja what they wanted. But this Brahmin was empty and did not appear to have received anything from his elder brother.
So Bhimasena asked him, “Sir, you are returning empty handed. Have you met my brother? Or shall I take you to him?” The Brahmin was happy at this courteous enquiry from Bhima. He replied, “Yes, I met your brother. As he did not have with him what I asked immediately now, he asked me to come tomorrow. He promised to keep it ready by tomorrow”

Bhimasena was surprised. His elder brother postponing a good deed till the next day! He thought over for a minute and smiled. He went near the big drum kept at the main gate and started beating the drum thunderously. The drum at the main gate was not usually used. It was meant for special occasions when something very important happened and all had to be immediately informed of it. When the big drum was beaten, it was a summons for all in the palace to stop doing whatever work they might be engaged in and rush to the main gate.

When the drum went on sending loud sounds played by the powerful hand of Bhimasena, Dharmaraja hurried towards the main gate from the court, Draupadi from the kitchen, Arjuna from his weapons, the twins from their studies, all people big and small gathered there. Still Bhimasena did not stop beating the drum. In great ecstasy he was playing with vigour, until Dharmaraja put a hand over his shoulders and said, “Stop it, Bhimasena. All of us are here. Now tell us why you summoned us all here.”

Bhimasena saluted his elder brother and then turned towards the others who gathered there. “I have gathered you all here to make an announcement about the greatest victory obtained by our elder brother here. The victory is so great that all of us should rejoice and celebrate it.”

Dharmaraja was surprised. What victory was Bhima talking of? Today he did not even leave the palace. He asked in bewilderment, “What are you talking, Bhima? I did not have any victory at all.”

Bhima laughed and said, “Let me announce your victory. Hear you all, my brothers and kinsfolk; today our brother conquered the unconquerable death. Who else can have greater victory? When the Brahmin asked for some favour, our elder brother promised to keep it ready by tomorrow. Now, our brother is sure that he will be alive till tomorrow.”

As soon as he heard the words of Bhima, Dharmaraja understood what his mistake was. He admitted his mistake and said, “Yes Bhima, you were correct to remind me. Postponement of good deeds is very bad. I should not have done so.”

He took the Brahmin inside and gave what all he wanted and sent him away fully satisfied.

In a park in the village of Tanko a boy was plucking flowers and singing. An old man came there listening to the song. He asked the boy, “My boy! You sang a song now. Who taught you that song?”
The boy replied, “Sri Krishna appeared before me in a dream and taught me that song.”

The old man blessed this boy that he would become a great devotee and have darshan of the Lord.

The boy Ramadas grew up. He was married. But he took up his mission to do Bhajans and singing the Lord’s name. He would go around the streets begging with his brass bowl. He would conclude his ekadashi fast only after feeding at least a few devotees.

On Ekadashi day he would walk forty miles all the way to Dwaraka, deck the image of Krishna with flowers with garlands of Tulasi and feel delighted. He would feed the devotees before retuning home. This went on for a number of years.

As he grew old, one day he could not walk to Dwaraka. One day, thoroughly exhausted he stopped half way near a temple and went to sleep chanting the Lord’s name

In a dream, he had a vision of Sri Krishna. The Lord consoled him and said, “I will come to your place. You take me to your place.”

Ramadas woke up and looked around. There was a golden chariot. He ran and mounted the chariot. He saw that the Lord’s image was also in the chariot.

Ramadas continued to gaze at his beloved Lord as the chariot moved and stopped near his house. Ramadas installed the image in the front courtyard and started doing Bhajans.

The next morning, people in Dwaraka were startled to find the image of the Lord missing.

Soldiers started searching for the image everywhere. Presently it came to be known that the image was at Ramadas’s place. People started for his place.

Learning this, Ramadas was perturbed that he would be considered to have stolen the Lord. No one would believe that the Lord came with him of his own accord.

Fearing public accusation, Ramadas placed the image on a box and lowered it into a well. The people as well as officers came and searched the place everywhere. At last they searched the well and found the image there.

When they found the image, they made ready to take the image to Dwaraka. Ramadas was in great anguish to be separated from his Lord. He banged his forehead on the feet of the Lord in agony.

Suddenly he heard a formless voice tell him, “Say that you will give gold equal to that of the image. They will accept the proposal and leave the image with you.”

Accordingly Ramadas told the soldiers, “Sirs, please leave the divine image. I shall give you gold equal to that of this image”

The panchayat was assembled. They all felt that there must have been some miracle in the image coming so far as it was not possible for one man to have carried the image all the way. So they decided that if he gave gold equal to the weight of the Lord they would make another image and leave the divine image with Ramadas.

A balance was set up. Ramadas placed on it, his wife’s nose stud and chain. The assembled people laughed. Ramadas said, “This is all the gold I have.”

Then praying to the Lord, Ramadas placed a Tulasi leaf on the pan.

As soon as the Tulasi leaf was placed, the two pans balanced each other. At once all of them realized the greatness of Ramadas’s devotion and fell at his feet.

On that spot where Ramadas placed and worshipped the Lord, the public raised a temple. Even today the songs of Ramadas of Dwaraka are being sung there.

Saint Thyagaraja took birth at Thiruvaarur when Sarabhoja was the king. He lost his parents while still young and he moved to Thiruvaiyaru.
He had deep devotion to Sri Rama from his young age and he even used to write Ramnam on the walls of his house. Seeing his great devotion a monk by name Ramakrishna initiated him into Rama mantra.

Thyagaraja could compose songs spontaneously in praise of Sri Rama. He would sing them melodiously in front of the images of Sri Rama and Sita in his house.

Once a sadhu visited him and asked him to keep his manuscripts while he went to bathe in Cauvery river. He did not return. In his dream, the Sage Narada appeared to him and said that these manuscripts were praises of Sri Rama that he could sing them to his heart’s content. He woke up very happy from his dream.

Thyagaraja believed firmly that he could see his ideal through devotional music. Once the King Saraboja invited him to be his court musician. Thyagaraja refused. He wanted to sing only his Lord’s glories and not any mortal’s.

His bothers were angered at the spoiling of such an easy opportunity to get rich. They felt that all their trouble was due to the image of Sri Rama before which Thyagaraja spent all his time. They conspired and threw the image into Cauvery.

Thyagaraja was desolate at losing his precious Rama and he sat in meditation. The Lord appeared to him in a dream and pointed to where he was on the sandy banks of Cauvery. Thyagaraja woke up and ran to the river and found the image at the exact spot.

Once he went on a pilgrimage to Kovur. A rich man offered him gold coins. The Saint refused but without Thyagaraja’s knowledge he kept the money in the palanquin.

While passing through a forest robbers attacked them. Just then two hunters chased the robbers away and they also disappeared. Thyagaraja wept when he realised that Rama had given his darshan to the robbers but not to him.

He always felt that Rama lived in the image. He longed to see Sri Rama in person. One day, at last, Sri Rama appeared to him and said, “You will reach me in 5 days. Become a sannyasi (monk).” He had the blessed vision of Sri Rama and he left his body in 1847.

Shabari was born to a Kshatriya father and hunter mother. Since she belonged to the Shabara tribe she was named Shabari. When her marriage was fixed, her parents collected thousands of animals for the feast. But Shabari did not like the killing of innocent animals. So, she decided to remain unmarried and spend her life thinking of the Lord. She left her parents and went away.
Sage Matanga gave shelter to her in the Ashram. The sage took great care of her than even her parents did. He taught her the basics of spiritual life. He gave her advice and helped her develop a spiritual outlook that would sustain her for the rest of her life.

The local brahmins did not approve of Matanga giving spiritual guidance to a low caste woman. All the brahmins boycotted Sage Matanga.

One day, Shabari was going to the river for a bath. A brahmin was coming in the opposite direction after bath when by chance, her wearing cloth touched him. The brahmin became furious. He rebuked her severely.

The brahmin went again to the river to take bath. As soon as he got down the waters the water turned red in colour and worms began to crawl in it. This was due to the insults he had earlier hurled at Shabari.

After many years Sri Rama during his exile came to the forest known as Dandakaaranya and visited Shabari’s hut first. He partook with the greatest relish the fruits offered by her in ecstatic devotion. All the sages of the forest came to meet Sri Rama. They asked: “Rama! There is a river nearby. Once pure water use to flow in it. But now the water is reddish and unusable. Can you please enlighten us as to why this happened?”

Sri Lakshmana explained, “The brahmins here boycotted Matanga Rishi and insulted Shabari. Consequently the water turned impure”.

They asked further, “Is there any way to purify this water?” Lakshmana replied, “ Of course. If the innocent and pure- hearted Shabari bathes in this river, it will regain its original purity”

Accordingly as soon as Shabari touched the waters it became crystal clear. The brahmins realised their fault and begged forgiveness of Shabari. They understood that the Lord looks at the internal purity and does not discriminate on the basis of races.

Once the hermit Kalava, uttering the Mantras was just about to offer to the Sun God the water held in his palms. At that moment, a Gandharva by name Chitrasena, passing through the sky spat out the betel he was chewing not noticing the hermit worshipping below. It exactly fell into the water in the palms of the hermit. Kalava looked up and saw the Gandharva. He got terribly angry. Kalava, refrained from cursing the Gandharva since he would lose spiritual power thereby and decided to go to Sri Krishna and inform Him of the misdeed so that He may punish him. Then he went to Dwaraka and complained to Sri Krishna. He immediately gave word to the hermit Kalava that he would kill the Gandharva before sunset next day.
Meanwhile Narada went to Chitrasena and informed him of Sri Krishna's resolve to kill him before sunset next day. Narada advised him to approach and plead with Yama, Indra, Brahma and Shiva to save him. All of them decline to help. Narada again came to him. Narada told Chitrasena," Don't fear. I shall show you a better way to save yourself. Go tonight to the banks of Yamuna and weep loudly. A woman coming there will enquire the cause of your wailing. Don't let out the reason for your grief till she promises to protect you". He agreed. Meanwhile Narada approached Subhadra, the sister of Sri Krishna and the wife of Arjuna and told her," Oh Subhadra! If you want all your desires to be fulfilled and acquire great merit, bathe tonight in the Yamuna river and go to the rescue of anyone found on the river bank in distress". She agreed.

Subhadra went to river Yamuna that night along with her friends and took her bath. When she was about to return, she heard someone wailing. Subhadra went near the person who was weeping and enquired him of the cause of his distress. The person who was no other than Chitrasena, after extracting a promise from her that she would protect him, narrated to her all that happened. Subhadra told him, " Don't worry. My husband Arjuna will surely protect you".

Subhadra informed Arjuna regarding her promise to Chitrasena who agrees to fight even his dear friend Sri Krishna in order to save the life of Chitrasena.

The next day a terrific battle took place between Sri Krishna and Arjuna. Both fought untiringly. Finally Sri Krishna took up his invincible discus and Arjuna his mighty Pasupata Astra for the final showdown. At that moment, Lord Shiva appeared before them and said," O Sri Krishna, Arjuna is your devotee. So would it be fair for you create a situation in which you devotee is not able to keep up the word?". Sri Krishna accepted of Lord Shiva and stopped fighting. On hearing this the hermit Kalava became very angry and exclaimed," both of you have sided with that Gandharva who insulted me. Now I will curse him to ashes. But when the hermit took water in his hands to sprinkle on the ground to pronounce the curse, Subhadra intervenes and utters," if it be true that I have never touched even with my mind any man, other than my husband, let this water not fall on the earth." The water did not fall from the hermit's hands. How his curse bear fruit? The hermit went away dispirited.

What can anyone do before the power of a chaste woman?

Suka deva was the son of Vyasa. He was an enlightened soul from birth. Vyasa taught him all the lore known to him.
Vyasa sent him to the King Janaka to learn the knowledge of Brahma. Janaka was also called Videha meaning bodiless though living in the boy. Being a king he ruled over the kingdom with least attachment. He always dwelt in the thought of Brahman. By his power he knew in advance about the arrival of Suka. He instructed his soldiers that no one should welcome him or show any respect to him.

So when Sukadeva entered his place no one welcomed him nor showed any respect for him. Three days passed. Suka waited patiently at the palace gate.

On the fourth day, King Janaka himself came with his ministers to welcome him. He was welcomed with great pomp. He was bathed in scented water and decorated with silks.

Nine days passed thus. Suka was not affected in the least. He was not angry when he was earlier ignored nor happy when he was thus welcomed. On the tenth day he was taken to the court. King Janaka gave Suka a cup of milk filled to the brim. Janaka requested Suka to carry the cup round the hall seven times without spilling even a drop.

Suka was a great Jnani. Neither the music nor the dance at the court disturbed his mind. Without any difficulty he went around seven times without spilling a drop of milk. He returned the cup to Janaka. Janaka said, "Suka, you are already a BrahmaJnani. I have nothing to teach you. If I have to teach I will only have to repeat what is already known to you."

Once, Ilvala the demon King of Badami once requested a sage to bless him with a son with the power and status of Indra. Knowing his demoniac nature, the sage refuesed to give such a boon. Since then he and his brother Vatapi employed their occult powers deceitfully to murder ascetics and hermits.
To accomplish their, they would assume the form of devout human beings and approach a hermit, and invite him for meals at their humble dwelling so that they will be blessed by their holiness. When the hermit came to their house, Ilvala would welcome them and turn his brother Vatapi into a goat. Then he would kill that goat prepare various dishes with the goat and serve the hermit. The innocent hermit would partake of the meal. After the hermit had the meal, the demon Ilvala would chant mantras and call his brother Vatapi out. Cutting open the stomach of the hermit, Vatapi would come out alive as a goat by his magical power and the hermit would die. Then demon Vatapi would resume his real form.

In this way they murdered hermits and ate their flesh in glee.

Sage Agasthya, by his spiritual insight came to know of the cruel trick of the two demons and wanted to put an end to them. Hence he came to Badami.

The demon brothers were pleased to see a hermit, who was none other than Agasthya, coming even without their invitation. The Sage Agasthya was duly welcomed and invited for a meal. The sage Agasthya went to the river for a bath. Meanwhile Ilvala turned Vatapi into a goat and cooked dishes after killing it. After Agasthya returned from the bath, he enquired about the other brother. Ilvala replied that he has gone on an important errand. After Agasthya finished his meal, the demon Ilvala chanted the mantra and called Vatapi. There was an uncomfortable feeling in Agasthya's stomach. He immediately came to know the cause by his insight and countered the mantra of the demon by quietly saying to himself, "Let Vatapi be digested in my stomach". The sage thanked Ilvala for the hearty meal he had served and for his hospitality. The demon Ilvala started calling to his Vatapi to come out. Agasthya started laughing when Ilvala's repeated calls proved in vain. The sage then disclosed to the demon that his brother has already digested in his stomach and he can never come back. The demon Ilvala grew angry and wanted to kill the sage Agasthya for killing his brother. But the sage took a few drops of holy water from his kamandalu and sprinkled on the demon saying, " O demon! Just as your brother died you also die. That only will bring good to the world". Thus the Sage Agasthya got rid of the two demons Ilvala and Vatapi.

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.
The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter:

"This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."
What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

Think of our self as the carpenter. Think about our house. Each day we hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life we will ever build. Even if we live for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. We built our life today. It is the result of our attitudes and the choices we have made in the past.

We can build the life we want. It will be the exact result of our attitudes and the choices we make today and tomorrow.

Long, long ago in Arabia there lived a very pious old man by name Arab, who was a great devotee and lover of God and men. He served all with love in the name of God. All over Arabia his name became renowned for piety and hospitality.
One night when all the servants had gone to sleep and the whole family was fast asleep, someone knocked at the door. Arab was awakened by the loud knocks and opened the door. At the door stood an old unkempt man looking very exhausted and famished. He beseeched, “Can you give me some food, sir? I have been starving for past one week.”

The Arab’s heart melted at the plight of the old man. He invited him in with great love, gave him a seat and went inside. The servants and his family members were working till late in the evening and were all tired. The Arab did not want to disturb them at that late hour to prepare food for the new guest. Instead he himself went into the kitchen, prepared some food quickly and brought it to the hall. He placed it before the old man and said, “Sir, please accept my hospitality in the name of the Lord and bless me. May the Lord’s name be praised!”

The hungry man dragged the plate nearer and at once commenced eating the food, rudely saying, “Thank you for the food. But why in God’s name? Which God is there to be worshipped? It is all nonsense.”

The Arab was stunned. He could not imagine that there could ever be a man who denied God. “Don’t you see sir, how the kind God provided food for you at this late hour from a stranger’s house? Could you have survived had not the loving God sustained you throughout your life?

The old man was busy eating. He replied while greedily swallowing the food, “My dear Sir, why do you speak of God? Did you ever see him? It is your good nature that made you give me this food. I am grateful to you. I am not so silly as to waste my time thinking of a non-existing God.”

This was too much for the Arab. He could no longer contain himself. He burst out in anger, “So you do not believe in God. You feel that you can look after yourself without depending on God. If it is so, get out of my house. There is no place here for atheists.” In anger he took away the plate of food from the old man and pushed him out of the house and closed his door. Burning with indignation, he went to bed, prayed to the Lord and fell asleep.

Then the Lord appeared to the Arab in dream and asked, “Son, why did you push away the poor man before he had his meal? H was very hungry. Why did you not allow him to eat the food in full?

The Arab trembled before the Almighty Lord and said, “Lord, I was prepared to give him more food also if he wanted. But when he denied you again and again it was too much for me to tolerate.”

The Lord smiled and said, “Son, he had been denying Me for the last ninety years. Even then I gave him food twice a day all these years. Could you not tolerate him for one day for My sake?”

The Arab hung his head in shame. Shedding tears from his eyes, he prostrated to the Lord and said, “You are the Lord of Love. I now know how kind you are in tolerating our mistakes and still giving us what we need. My God, in future let me have the same love for all the beings in the world. Let me not be angry with any one for any reason. Please pardon me for this lapse.”

The evil minded Duryodhana built a lac palace and invited the Pandava brothers with their mother Kunti to stay there. Duryodhana had planned to set the whole palace on fire to kill them.
With the help of Vidura, Bhima came to know of that plan and he escaped carrying his brothers and Kunti.They reached a town called Ekachakrapura and they lived in a Brahmin's house disguised as brahmins.

One day as usual Yudhisthira and others went out for Bhiksha. Bhima and Kunti stayed back at home. They suddenly heard someone crying. They saw that the brahmin and his wife wee crying. Bhima and Kunti were shocked. On asking for the reason the brahmin's wife said, "What shall I say about our misfortunes? Just outside this town lives a rakshasa called bakaasura. He was killing people indiscriminately. The village people joined together and requested bakaasura that he stop the indiscriminate killing. In return they promised that they would send one person with cartload of food and 2 bullocks from each household in that village by turns.

Tomorrow is our son's turn. You know that we have only one son and if he is killed we do not know how we will live." sobbed the lady.

On hearing this story Kunti felt very sad and she said immediately, "See, you have only one son but I have five sons I can send one of them. So, tomorrow your son need not go but Bhima will go instead" she suggested.

The brahmin was horrified and said, "I will never agree to such a proposal. You are guests in our house and guests have to be treated as Gods. How can I ever send out an athithi (guest) to die?"

Kunti persuaded them and said, " We are your guests and it is our duty to share your sorrow. Bhima is strong. He will be a good match to Bakaasura. He may kill him and free the villagers of this menace forever. Even if he is killed I will have four sons. You do not have to worry."

Bhima also persuaded the brahmin couple to agree to Kunti's suggestion. He was very confident that he would kill the bakaasura and he was very excited at the prospect of getting cartload of delicacies to eat while going to Bakaasura.

Accordingly the next day Bhima went with a cartload of food. A terrible fight took place between him and the Bakaasura and the Bakaasura was killed.

The villagers were very happy and they praised Bhima and Kunti. To repay the hospitality and love of the brahmin couple Kunti was ready to sacrifice her own son.

Among the renowned seven sages Gautama was one. He was a great Tapasvin. He had ten thousand disciples to whom he provided food and shelter. But he used to get into a rage even over minor faults. Once unknowingly his wife Ahalya committed a small mistake, which made him furious.
He called his son Chirakari and ordered him to kill her.

Giving this command he went deep into the forests.

Ahalya was the most beautiful lady Brahma had created. Indra wanted to marry her and he approached Brahma.

Brahma wanted her to complete her scriptural studies and then decide on her marriage. Accordingly Brahma sent her away to the sage Gautama. Gautama taught her all the scriptures and by then she attained marriageable age.

Brahma appreciated the Sage Gautama’s purity as he maintained complete self-control as he taught her. So he agreed to give Ahalya in marriage to him. In due course Ahalya gave birth to sons. The first son Sadananda later mastered all scriptures and was the guru of King Janaka. The second son Sarathvanda was the father of Kripacharyaa of Mahabhaarata fame. The third son Chirakari was great thinker. He would ponder deeply on any issue before acting on it.

He was in 2 minds and so could not come to a decision for many days. After sometime Gautama’s anger subsided. He started to regret his rash action. He wondered whether Chirakari would have already carried out his action.

Much worried, Gautama returned hurriedly to the Ashrama. He noticed Chirakari still brooding over what to do. As Chirakari begged forgiveness Gautama replied, “The question of forgiveness does not arise. I am glad that you did not kill her immediately. If you had, I too would have surely died now. You get the merit of saving both our lives.”

Gautama also praised Ahalya to have such a son as Chirakari.

There was a shoe mender called Tongston. He had a wife and a small child. One day suddenly his wife died. He felt very sad. But he started loving his child and bringing him up. When the boy was seven years old, he too died of snakebite.
Tongston lost all his interest in life. He used to sit in his house and watch through the window. He could only see the feet of the people walking. He could recognize all the shoes he had mended.

One day, a monk came and asked him to stitch his boots. Tongston replied that he had given up his job. The monk heard his whole story and said, “You want to live for your own happiness.” Tongston asked him “What else should I live for?” The monk said, “You should live for Nirvana.” “How should I live for Nirvana?” Tongston asked.

The monk said, “Give up craving for desire, personal gratification and selfish living. By this you will get Nirvana”

Tongston got interested. He asked for more teaching. The monk went on teaching.

Tongston was also mending shoes for the King. The King saw his new life and asked him about this transformation in him.

Tongton narrated everything. The king asked him to bring the monk. The monk came and the King was very much impressed.

One day the king asked he monk, “what is happiness and how can it be obtained?”

The monk replied, “There is no absolute happiness. All happiness is temporary followed by suffering. Indeed dukha is inherent in our lives. It is due to our craving for individual satisfaction that we fall in to dukha.”

The king asked how to get over it? The monk replied, “By noble 8 fold path. They are right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection and right meditation.

The king asked, “What is suffering?” The monk replied, “Birth, ageing, disease, death and every desire unfulfilled”

“How to avoid suffering?” the King asked. “It is by stopping the thirst,” replied the monk. “Can I also see Buddha?” the king asked.

“Why not? Sit alone, with expectation – He will surely come.

The next day the King sat in the room all alone looking at the window. Till noon, no one came. It was winter cold. An old man came with a spade to clear the snow. He had not enough cloth. He started talking to him for a while and gave him ac up of tea.

Then came an old lady with a child. The King gave her food and some milk to the child.

In the night he had a dream in which he saw Buddha. Buddha told him, I live in the form of these sufferings. Serving them is serving Me.

About thousand years ago, Raja Raja Chola was ruling Tamil Nadu. He planned to build a grand temple for Lord Shiva at Thanjavur which was his capital. Thousands of labourers were engaged for this task.
In the same city there was an old woman called Azhagi. She felt that when the whole city was engaged in the temple construction she was poor and old and so unable to do anything.

As she was musing thus her grandson came running to her and asked her for some buttermilk to quench his thirst.

This gave her an idea and she decided that she could distribute buttermilk to the labourers working in the hot sun. That could be her service to the Lord.

Accordingly she started distributing buttermilk to the thirsty people.

This went on for a while.

After sometime the work was coming to an end. Only one stone was needed to keep on the top of the tower. She had a small desire. She asked the chief architect, “ I have a small desire. Just in front of my house there lies a big stone belonging to me. Can you use that for the tower?” The chief inspected the stone and agreed. The stone was brought and the temple construction was completed.

That night the king had a dream. Lord Shiva appeared to him and said, “I am very happy to be resting under the stone of Azhagi” he said.

The king wondered, “Who is this Azhagi? I have built such a big temple for the Lord and the Lord says that he is happy to be resting under Azhagi’s stone?”

He made enquiries and he himself went to meet the lady. He told her, “You are blessed mother. The Lord came in my dream and said that he was happy to be resting under your stone. What did you do?” he asked.

The lady said, “ King! I did nothing. I only served buttermilk to the laborers who were working there. I also asked them to use a stone that was lying near my hut to complete the tower.”

The king was dumbfounded at her devotion.

There is a saying that childhood shows the man as morning shows the day. Fearless children are bound to become great when they grow up. Swami Vivekananda is one such. Government of India has declared the date of his birth, i.e. 12th Jan, as national youth day. The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s wish was that the children should imbibe the great qualities of Swami Vivekananda.
Even as a boy, Swami Vivekananda was strong-minded and fearless. His earlier name was Narendranath Datta - Naren for short. He was a member of the local gymnasium club.

One day, he and his friends were trying to set up a very heavy trapeze. A crowd gathered to watch it. Amongst them was an English sailor. At one point, the boys needed help. Naren asked the English sailor to help. The sailor readily agreed and started helping them. But in the process, the trapeze fell on him and knocked him unconscious.

Nearly everyone, except Naren and one or two of his friends, disappeared from the scene thinking that the sailor was dead. Naren immediately tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and bandaged the wound. He sprinkled some water on the sailor’s face and fanned him gently. The sailor slowly regained his consciousness. Naren, with the help of his friends, lifted him up and took him to a doctor. After a week’s nursing the sailor recovered. Naren collected some funds from his friends and presented it to the sailor.

Kausika was the king of Kanyakubja. Once while returning with his army after a hunt he visited the hermitage of Sage Vasistha. Sage Vasistha invited him to partake food and rest. King felt hesitant as he wondered how the sage could feed and put up his large army.
Vasistha assured that it would not be a problem.

Vasistha had a cow by name Nandini. It had the power to give whatever one asked of it. Indra, the king of Gods had gifted it to Sage Vasishtha, recognising his spiritual greatness. That day, Vasishtha and his wife entertained the King and his retinue to a sumptuous feast with the help of the wish fulfilling powers of Nandini.

The King was astonished to see the abilities of the cow. He immediately desired to possess this cow. Accordingly he requested Vasishtha that the cow would be more useful to kings rather than to the sage.

Sage Vasishtha replied, “King, this cow has been presented to me by Indra. This cow helps me to feed hundreds of students studying here and also the innumerable guests who visit this ashram.”

The King offered crores of cows in return for Nandini but the sage refused.

King Kaushika got angry. He told the sage that he would take the cow by force. Accordingly he told his soldiers to capture the cow.

Seeing the soldiers coming to catch her, the cow Nandini ran to Vasishta to know the problem.

The sage replied, “ I will never wish to give you up. The king is trying to take you by force. You please resist.”

When Nandini heard this, she gave a huge roar. At once, fierce warriors emerged from her body and they chased the King’s soldiers. The soldiers ran away in fear.

The King felt very insulted. He felt bad that inspite of his strength and army he was not able to capture Nandini. He thought that this must be due to the greater spiritual power of the sage. Pondering thus, he decided that he should also acquire that power. Accordingly he gave up his kingdom and retired to forests to do severe tapas. Lord Shiva granted him divine weapons. Armed with this he again attacked Sage Vasishtha’s hermitage. Unable to withstand this attack all the inmates ad the animals began to flee in terror.

Sage Vasishta saw this and took up his brahmadanda and he came out of his Ashrama, while Kaushika continued to rain his weapons on Vashishtha. But all his weapons were powerless before Sage Vasishta’s brahmadanda. Even the king’s Agni Astra became powerless before brahmadanda. Kaushika got enraged and shot any other divine weapons at the Brahmadanda but they all met the same fate.

Now Kaushika understood the spiritual greatness of sage Vasishta. He took recourse to spiritual practices to become a brahmarishi.

He engaged himself in most severe penance. He pursued his spiritual practices until he overcame lust and anger. By long meditation he acquired sattvic qualities. His nature became serene, as he did not bear enmity towards others.

He became a great sage. He then came to be known as Vishwamitra the friend of the whole world. Vasishtha was happy to see this great transformation.

He hailed him as a Brahmarishi.

One day, Rama was holding court and discussing the state of the kingdom with his ministers, when the arrival of Vishwamitra was announced. Rama paid his obeisance to the sage and took him to a seat. As soon as he sat down, the sage said, “Rama, the king of Kasi, Yayati is arrogant. He has insulted me. You must kill him. You may take this as my command!”
Rama was aware that Yayati was a righteous king and he would not be unfair or unjust to anyone. But, the orders have come from none else than his Guru. He could not possibly refuse to obey his revered teacher. At the same time, he would lose an ally in Yayati, a king who did everything for the welfare of his people. How could he go and kill such a person? Rama was in a dilemma.

Vishwamitra was angry with Yayati because the king has failed to pay his due respect. It so happened that his subjects had gone to the king to complain about a herd of elephants that was destroying the crops and terrifying both the cattle and the villagers. As a king, it was his duty to ensure the welfare of his subjects, so Yayati decided to hunt down the elephants. He was driving them away into the forest when Vishwamitra came that way. Yayati did not notice the presence of the sage, who took it as an insult. Hence his command to Rama to take revenge on Yayati.

The king came to know that Rama was getting ready for a war with him. He was shocked. Queen Yashodhara and their children, Prince Chandrangad and Princess Chandramukhi were all devotees of Rama; they could not believe their ears when they heard the threat of a war from Rama himself.

Yayati wondered what crime he had committed to provoke Rama’s anger. “Rama does not forsake anyone if he were to seek refuge in him” said Yayati. “I shall go and fall at his feet and ask him to pardon me!” He was getting ready for his journey to Ayodhya, with his family when sage Narada reached there. Yayati told him what had happened.

“Are you out of your senses, O King?” remarked Narada. “Don’t you know that Rama will keep a promise once he gives it? If you go to him now, he’ll surely kill you, as he is angry with you. So, it would be better if you approach Anjana Devi and appeal to her. Her son, Hanuman, is with her now. So, go to them straight away.”

Yayati thought that the sage had given him the right advice. So, he started for the ashram of Anjana Devi, where he found her in deep meditation. “Devi!” he wailed before her. “I have sought refuge here, please save me!”

The king’s wailing disturbed Anjana Devi. She suddenly woke up from her meditation and stood up. When she saw Yayati in front of her, she comforted him, “Son, don’t be afraid, I assure you, that, on the strength and power of my son, that no harm will come to you!”

Hanuman reached there in search of his mother. Yayati bowed before him. “I’m Yayati, the king of Kasi. I’m a devotee of Rama. You alone will be able to save me from danger I’m facing now. I entirely depend on you.”

“Don’t worry on any count!” Hanuman assured the king. “My mother has already given her promise. I’m her son, and its my duty to carry out her promise. Don’t have any doubt. I shall save you from whatever danger you’re facing.”

“Now that Hanuman has also given his assurance,” said Anjana Devi, “please tell us what kind of danger is threatening you.”

“How can I describe it!” said Yayati with a sigh. “Rama, whom I worship, wants to kill me! I’ve no idea what crime I’ve committed to earn his displeasure and wrath. I haven’t done anything deliberate.”

“Is it true that Rama himself wants to kill you?” said Anjana Devi unbelievingly. “I wonder whether I’ve been too hasty in giving you a promise. How can my son fight Rama on your behalf? What shall I do now?” She wrung her hands in despair.

Hanuman saw his mother facing a dilemma. “Mother! You should not go back on your word. It’s our duty to protect whoever seeks our refuge. I shall not allow any harm come to king Yayati. We must face whoever happens to be his enemy.”

Soon word spread that Hanuman would fight on behalf of Yayati. The news reached Ayodhya as well, and both Rama and Sita heard it. She fell into a long silence. Yayati’s wife Yashodhara, along with her two children, came to meet Sita. “Devi, please save my husband. Please ensure that I am not widowed.”

“Yashodhara! Please do not worry.” Sita consoled her. “Its certain that Hanuman will protect your husband. He is right now with Hanuman and so he is safe, till he comes back, you may stay in Ayodhya with your children.” She then made arrangements for their stay in the palace.

In the meantime, Rama went in search of Yayati, taking his bows and arrows with him. His three brothers, ministers and an army accompanied him. Hanuman accosted them. He fell at the feet of Rama, “My lord! Please be kind to Yayati. Don’t kill him. He is innocent. Let him go free.”

But Rama was not willing to forgive Yayati. “I must kill him. That’s a promise I gave to my guru, and I must carry out that promise.” He then pushed Hanuman with his foot to make way for himself.

Hanuman got up and stood before Rama with folded hands. “Ah! I’ve now been blessed by the touch of your feet. Just as Ahalya Devi got redemption when you kicked the stone she was cursed into. I’m blessed by new strength and vigour!”

“Stop flattering me, Hanuman!” Rama pulled him up. “You’d better turn over Yayati to me! My guru has commanded me to kill him.”

“ I can understand your devotion and loyalty to your guru,” said Hanuman. “But your guru’s orders are unfair. Yayati is innocent. And my mother has given him a promise that she’ll protect him. I’m duty bound to keep that promise. So, if you wish to kill Yayati, then you must first kill me! As long as I am left with a breath of life, I shall not allow Yayati to be killed.” He then enlarged his figure and stood before Rama like a mountain.

“Are you terrifying me with your prowess?” asked Rama.

“No, my lord!” replied Hanuman calmly. “Its all your blessing!”

Rama sent a shower of arrows at Hanuman. He warded them off with his tail. Rama sent more arrows at him. Hanuman evaded all of them, Hanuman did not have to offer any fight, and the encounter lasted a long time. Just then Vishwamitra came there. Before Rama could see him, Hanuman had noticed the sage. “My lord! Your guru has arrived.”

“I’m not bothered!” Rama countered. “Beware! I’m going to use the Rama-ban arrow.”

“Rama! Hold on!” shouted Vishwamitra. “Stop your fight! It was all due to my false pride. Yayati is innocent. You let him go free!”

“That’s impossible, O guru!” said Rama. “I’ve already strung the arrow. Now, I must use it. I must carry out your orders. Please don’t put obstacles!” He saw Yayati taking cover behind Hanuman. “Hanuman! This arrow will pierce your heart! Before that, you would be well advised to hand over Yayati.”

“The name of Rama is always on my lips!” said Hanuman, coolly. “So, I’m not afraid of anything or anyone. It’s my duty to protect whoever comes to me seeking refuge. So, I’ve decided to protect and save Yayati by even sacrificing my life. If you’re keen on sending the arrow, I shall not prevent you from doing so.”

He then bared his chest, ready to receive the arrow. The arrow pierced his chest and went deep inside and disappeared. But nothing happened to Hanuman.

Everybody was able to see the brilliant image of Rama on Hanuman’s chest. They were all wonderstruck. Rama let go his bow from his hand. “Hanuman! You’ve won the fight. You’ve overcome me with your devotion.”

“My lord! This fight had no winner, nor any loser,” said Hanuman. “Your arrow had pierced my chest, but it has not remained there. It has gone back to you. That is your greatness. I don’t take any credit for that.”

“In protecting those who seek refuge,” remarked Vishwamitra, you and Rama are equal. You both will not disappoint them. You, Hanuman, have proved your ability and shown your strength. It’s not an easy thing to fight Rama. You’ve proved that you’re not mere Hanuman but Veer Hanuman! Your name and fame will remain till the world exists.” The sage then blessed Hanuman and expressed his repentance that he was the cause of a misunderstanding between Rama and Hanuman.

Hanuman took leave of Rama and all others and returned to Gandhamadana for his tapas.

Once there was a rich man. But not even once in his life had he done any charity. One day, he felt a sudden urge to do some “dana”. He decided to give gold small pieces to poor people everyday. Unfortunately, he told his wife about his intention. She said, “My beloved one, instead of giving small pieces, you can give a larger quantity of gold, by gathering all the pieces.
The rich man accepted her words as divine mantras. Hence from that day onwards, he started to gather the golden pieces. He decided to make them into a big golden ball and then give it away before his death. Years rolled on and he collected a good many small pieces, which he made into a golden ball and kept it inside his pillow.

All of a sudden, one day, he fell ill and his condition became quite serious. He could not even move his hands. His tongue lost its power and he could not speak. He hi-cupped and the sputum blocked his throat. He understood that death was near and resented very much for not performing the cherished ‘dana’ already.

He said to himself “Atleast now I should do the thing”. But he couldn’t even speak out what he was thinking. He could not move his hands and take the gold ball out of the pillow. He tried to remind his wife of their resolve.

Collecting all his energy, he showed by signs to his wife, “As we had discussed earlier, I have made a gold ball with the pieces of gold intended for giving in charity daily. The ball is now inside the pillow. Now, my end has come. But I have no strength to take it out and give it to the needy people. Without making any further delay, you please take it out and give it in charity”.

The wife understood what her husband meant. But she thought, “My husband is going to die soon. There is no surety that my children will take care of me, after they grow. So now is the time for me to act intelligently. I will not give the golden ball in charity now. Rather I can keep it with me until my lifetime. That is the only safety for my life”.

Her two sons standing nearby could not understand what their father wanted to convey by his signs. The younger one asked his mother, “Mother, Father shows signs of a ball, what he wants to say?”

The mother did not want to tell him the truth. She said, “Son, before you were born, we regularly took wood-apple fruit, and we both liked it. He used to bring the fruit and I would mix it with sugar and give it to him. Now also he wants that fruit”.

The elder son said, “Mother, it is our duty to fulfill the last wish of our father. So, we shall bring the fruit”. He started with his younger brother. It was not the season for that fruit. However after a great deal of searching the boys found out a wood-apple tree. But a new problem cropped up. None of them knew how to climbing a tree. They stood below worrying how to pluck the fruits. They were sad.

A few monkeys were living in that tree. Imitating the two boys they also mocked at them by putting up a sad appearance. On seeing that, the younger brother got an idea, “Brother, the monkeys show sad faces like us. Let us throw a stone at them. In return, the monkeys will hit us with those fruits”.

Immediately they picked up a stone each and threw them at the monkeys. The monkeys like very much to imitate the actions of human-beings. Immediately they plucked the fruits from the tree and threw them at the boys. The sons picked up the fruits and ran to their mother.

She took the pulp from the fruits, mixed it with sugar and gave it to her husband. The husband was already suffering with sputum blocking his throat and he couldn’t speak. But just to save the gold, the wife compelled her husband to eat that fruit. Due to her compulsion, he also had to eat it.

It is a well known fact that anyone who takes that fruit too much, while suffering with cold and sputum has to die. This is a common truth. It became true in the matter of that rich man also. He died.

This is a Jain story. What do we understand from this?

Good things are to be done immediately, because we don’t know whether tomorrow belongs to us or to the God of Death.

The thing that we want to do on a future day should be done tomorrow itself. That, which we intend to do tomorrow should be done today itself. Finally what we intend to do today should be carried out now itself. In Sanskrit they say - Subhasya Seegram.

Once an inquisitive devotee asked a realized saint, “Bhagavan, what is the form of God? Where does he live and where can I find him?”
The saint said, “God is everywhere and is all pervading. He is blissful, omniscient and immortal and He is your own self”. The devotee asked, “If it is so, why do I not perceive and have an experience of Him?” The saint replied, “As the God is all pervading, He is within your own mind as well but your mind is not in Him. Your mind is engrossed in the world.”

The saint in many ways tried to make him understand the existence of God but the devotee could not comprehend and realize God. The saint then told him, “Go to Haridwar, there in Ganga, there is a fish of a strange colour and it can speak in the voice of human beings. The fish will give you an appropriate answer to your question”.

The inquisitive devotee bowed to the saint, touched his feet and started on his way to Haridwar. There he sat down in a corner and began to wait for the arrival of the strange fish. Whenever he saw any fish he repeated his question and asked where God lived and how could he see Him?

After sometime the strange fish came and asked the devotee “where from have you come?” The devotee replied, “A saint asked me to see you and I want to know where does God live and how can I see Him?” The fish said to him, “I am thirsty for the last seven days. So tell me where I can get water from.”

On listening to the words of the fish, the devotee laughed and said, “Oh foolish one, water is above you, below you, it is on your right, on your left and there is water on all you sides”.

When the devotee spoke like this, the fish became serious and said, “Oh, you innocent devotee. You are also foolish like me. God whom you are searching is above you, below you, on your right, on your left, and in brief he is on all your sides.

The devotee was a bit satisfied and said, “If so, why am I unable to see the blissful God and why am I so miserable?” The fish said, “The same is my question. If water is on all my sides why is my thirst not quenched?

The devotee knew the construction of the body of the fish and knew that so long as the fish swam straight with its face upward, no water can enter its mouth. To quench its thirst the fish has to swim upside down. If the construction of the body of the fish is not been like this, water can enter its body freely and it will die. So the devotee advised the fish to take a turn upside down to quench its thirst.

The fish then said to the devotee, “As we have to take a turn to quench our thirst, you should also take a turn to see God. Turn away from the desires to see God. In other words, when you turn the flow of the thoughts of your mind from the world to the blissful omniscient God, then all your sorrows will come to an end. The devotee did accordingly and realized his real Self.

Once, in Heaven there was a discussion among the gods to decide where the miraculous secret power, the power by which man can achieve anything in this world was to be kept hidden. One of the Gods suggested that it could be kept hidden in the depths of the Sea. Another said it could be buried on top of high mountains. The third one thought of a cave in the woods as the right place. At last, the most intelligent among them said, ‘Keep it in the depths of man’s mind. He will never suspect that the power is hidden there because right from his childhood, his mind is prone to wandering and he will not look within. Only the intelligent among them will look within, and use the power and become great.’ All gods agreed.
So, do you see that the difference between two people lies in their minds? One knows how to tap its power and the other does not. So, the truth expressed here is that in the depths of man’s mind lies hidden the miraculous power, using which one can become great.

There was a very big lake in a forest. All the animals of the forest used to come to that lake to drink water from it. One day a hunter came to that lake. He bathed in it and drank the sweet water of the lake to quench his thirst. The hunter was very hungry as he hadn't eaten anything for the last so many days. He thought "The animals living in this forest will definitely come to this lake to drink water. And this will enable me to get a prey for myself easily," thinking this the hunter climbed a tree and sat on it.

Soon after, a female deer came to drink water from the lake. The hunter saw her, drew an arrow from his quiver and poised it on the bowstring. The female deer saw him doing this and was terribly frightened. She said, "Brother, hunter! I know I cannot save my life by running away from here; but I beseech you to have mercy on me. The two fawns, my young ones, must be waiting for me. Please allow me to go for the time being, and I promise that I shall come back to you after feeding the fawns and handing them over to a female deer who is a friend of mine."

The hunter laughed. It was beyond logic for him that the female deer would return to him despite knowing that he would kill her. But then he thought "I must allow her to go keeping in view the promise made by her. And if I am destined to get a prey, I shall get another one." He allowed her to go.

Just a little after the female deer had left, a beautiful looking male deer with hig horns came to the lake to drink water from it. The hunter was about to release his arrow when the male deer saw him. He said, "Brother, hunter! It's hours since I have been away from my wife and the young ones. They must be getting nervous and eagerly awaiting my return. Do kindly allow me to go so that I may go and see them and explain to them the situation. And it's a promise that I shall return to you after that. But, kindly allow me to go for the time being."

This irritated the hunter very much. He was almost on the point of starvation. He thought for some time and then consoled himself by saying "I must allow the male deer also to return. If I am destined to starve today, I must."

The female deer came to her fawns, fed them and let the fawns snuggle close to her for some time. Then she took them to another female deer, who was her close friend, and explained the situation to her. Meanwhile, the male deer also came there with tears welled up in his eyes. He also poured all his affection on them and then prepared to leave. But the fawns were not ready to part with their parents. Ultimately, the male and female deer, having no alternative, had to agree to take the fawns also along with them.

Reaching near the lake, the male deer said to the hunter, "Brother hunter! We all have come. Now you may kill us and assuage your hunger."

The hunter was extremely surprised to see the truthfulness of the innocent animals. He climbed down the tree and began theinking "How truthful are these deer despite being animals. They have returned tome, just to keep their word, without caring for their lives. And I, despite being a human being, am so sinful that in order to assuage my hunger, kill these innocent and mute animals. Now I take a vow that I shall not kill any animal from today.

The hunter broke his bow and threw it away. Just then a celestial car, moving in the air with gods and angels in it, landed on the ground there. One angel said to the hunter, "Hunter! these deer have atoned for their sins by having observed truthfulness. They will go to heaven. You too have atoned for your sins by having had mercy on these innocent animals. You will also be taken to heaven along with them."

Then the female and male deer were transformed into the forms of god along with the fawns. The hunter also was transformed into a god. It was their truthfulness and mercy that enabled them to go to heaven alive.

Long, long ago, there was a king in the south of India who ruled over Kerala state. His name was Samson. He was a just king and was known all around for this quality.

There was a big dry tree behind the palace of the king. The king tried to have the tree cut down, but the tree was such that despite the best efforts it could not be felled. At last the king made an announcement that whoever succeeded in cutting the tree down would be given away one thousand gold coins as a reward.

Many people came with their axes and tried to fell the tree. They used to put all their labor in cutting the tree and would succeed also to some extent, but as soon as they sat down to relax for some time leaving the tree half cut, it would gain its original form with no marks of cut left on it. And at last they would give up.

Now there was a lean and thin poor woodcutter whose name was Jack. He was very laborious. His wife Jeny also helped him in his profession. They thought of trying their luck and went to the palace.

The king looked at Jack carefully and then said, "You are so lean and thin. I am sure you willl not be able to fell this tree." But Jack requested the king to give him also a chance.

The king permitted. Jack began cutting the tree. After having labored for many hours he could cut only a little of it. He became so tired that he decided to take a little rest and sat down to relax for some time like others. By the time he overcome his fatigue, the tree had assumed its original form. There was no trace of even the slightest cut mark on the tree.

It happened twice, but Jack didn't lose courage. At last he came across a bright idea. This time when he got tired he asked his wife to continue in his place while he relaxed. Now Jeny, his wife, began cutting the tree. And Jack took from her when she got tired.

Thus, with day and night hard labor, they succeeded in cutting down the tree in four days. As soon as the tree fell the goddess of forests appeared before them and said to Jack, "You are indeed very laborious. I am very happy with your hard work and sincerity. You may ask me for a boon if you want."

The poor woodcutter could not decide as to what boon he sould ask for from the goddess of forests. He thought for some time and then said, "O goddess of forests! If you are really happy with me grant me a boon that I should be able to make whatever I want from the wood of this tree."

"Granted!" said the goddess of forests, "whatever you make from the wood of this tree will turn out to be a beautiful piece, and would be unique in all respects," saying this the goddess of forests disappeared.

The king ordered his minister to give Jack one thousand gold coins as reward. Jack said to the king, "My Lord! My humble submission is that I may be given the tree I have felled in place of one thousand gold coins. Kindly arrange to send it to my house."

The king accepted the request of Jack and arranged to send the tree to his house.

Now Jack began making a beautiful bedstead from the wood of that tree. And due to the boon granted by the goddess of forests, Jack was able to make a beautiful bedstead within few hours. Then he made a chair which was unique in itself.

The queen and the king send a word to Jack to bring the bedstead and the chair to the palace, so that they could also see the unique things made by him. Jack could not decline. The queen liked the things so much that she requested the king to buy them at any price. The chair made by Jack was no less elegant than a throne of fairy land, and the bedstead looked more beautiful than the bedstead of Lord Indra. The king paid ten thousand gold coins for both the things and bought them. And apart from this he also appointed Jack as chief carpenter in his court. And thus, woth his hard work and sincere labor the poor woodcutter became a rich man.

Someone has correctly said that if someone is hard working, sincere and courageous, he can change his fate.

One day, a stranger walked into the village. He was exceedingly obese with a pot belly. Whenever he walked on the street, with a black shawl draped around his body, he resembled an elephant. Even children were scared of him and the womenfolk would bolt their doors the moment they saw him.

The stranger would shout loudly as he walked:" I have a wondeful talisman with me. Whoever wished to have it, he can get it free from me!" But htere was hardly any takers. The villagers thought of him as a wizard and were not inclined to accept anything from him even if it was offered free to them. However, Madhav, an able-bodies young man, became very curious about the talisman. So, he approached the stranger one day and asked him,"What's so speacial about your talisman?"

"Young man!" said the stranger."You wouldn't be able to realise the greatness of the talisman unless you wear it. Come on, try it!" He took Madhav to a lonely spot and removed the gridle he was wearing. A talisman was found fastened to the gridle.He tied it around Madhav's waist."Keep wearing this for a few minutes to experience it's full power. Whenever you feel like discarding it, you tie it around the waist of someone else who is willing to wear it." He then left Madhav hurriedly.

What the stranger said was soon found true. The talisman proved its power on Madhav in a few moments, but not in the manner he had expected. Suddenly his body bloated and he turned into a fat man with a big pot belly exactly like the one stranger had. He found to his horror that he had ben cheated by the stranger and flew into a rage. He tried to chase him. But the stranger had by this time turned slim and took to his heels. Madhav with his over-weight body couldn't even run after him, and the stranger was soon out of sight.

Madhav in utter despair, removed the griddle and flung it off. It came back to him and positioned itself around his waist. He realised that he couldn't get rid of it. The only way was to offer it toa willing person. But who would like to accpet it from him? Soon, Madhav became an object of ridicule in the village. To make matters worse, he developed a terrible appetite and to appease himself, he had to consume large quantities of food. He spent out his income on food in no time. He didn't wish to go a-begging.

He was so frustrated that he decided to end his life by offering himself to wild animals. In the jungle, he met a lean young man. Sankar was also feeling frustrated since no girl was willing to marry hi, because of his emaciated looks.

Madhav now had a brainwave. He told SAnkar"Don't try to kill yourself! I've a wondeful talisman. If you wear it, you will become strong and sturdy and all the girls in the village wil be vying with each other to marry you!" Sankar was tempted and allowed Madhav to tie the gridle around his waist. Madhav hurried back to the village. He could thus get rid of not only the damned talisman but also his huge belly.

It was now the turn of Sankar to regret. He grew so fat that the girls who had declined to marry him because of his lean figure, continued to reject him now for the opposite reason. The frustrated Sankar left for an adjacent village and started begging from door to door. One day, while he knocked at the door of a house, an old spinster opened it. She couldn't get any suitor since she was ugly and hence remained a spinster. Sankar offered a clever suggestion to her. "Old lady! Even now, it isn't too late! I've a wonderful talisman with me. If you wear it, you will become beautiful and get married to someone of your age!" The spinster was tempted with the offer and gladly took the gridle from him. HAving disposed of the talisman, Sankar regained his original shape and ran away.

The spinster wore the gridle and became plump and ugly woman. She became the laughing stock of the whole village. Her neighbour, who was one of the maids to the princess, proposed to her one day that the princess ceased to laugh for many years and that nobody could make her laugh. She suggested that if the fat woman were to be seen by the princess, she would certainly laugh, and the king would give her valuable gifts.

THe woman agreed to and went to the palace. The princess broke into peels of laughter on seeing the woman and gave her a number of gifts. The spinster said"Thank you dear princess. I shall give you a talisman which will fetch you a handsome prince." Thus, the woman cleverly got rid of the talisman and ran away with royal gifts.

It was now the turn of princess to get vexed. She was looking like an elephant. The king became furious on knowing the trick played on his daughter by a wily old lady. Soon, he got her arrested. On the tip-off given by her, Sankar and Madhav were also caught. But the fellow who tricked Madhav couldn't be traced. Nobody in the kingdom was willing to accept the talisman and the king didn't want to force anyone. Ultimately it was announced that whoever came forward to wear the talisman, would be provided a place in the palace.The next day, a man turned up and offered the talisman and remain a permanent royal guest . He was none other than the stranger who tricked Madhav.

He remained in the hermitage of his teacher for years together and had his education. After having completed his education he went to pay the fee to his teacher and said, "Sir! having had education from you has given a definite meaning to my life. What is it that I could offer you as your fee."

Gurudev smiled and said, "Dear boy! I have already taken the darkness of your ignorance from you; now what remains to be taken. I only expect you to serve humanity and remove darkness from the face of the earth."

Hearing this the disciple said humbly, "I promiseto observe your command; but still you will have to accept at least something as Gurudakshina."

Seeing the disciple so insistent, Gurudev gave him a flag in black color and said, "Take this flag to all the places of pilgrimage and wash it with the waters of the holy rivers. You should consider having given my Gurudakshina once the black flag turns white."

The disciple obyed his teacher and set out with the black flag. First of all he went to places of pilgrimage in the country which were situated on the banks of the holy rivers. He washed the black flag everywhere but it didn't change its color. He was thoroughly disappointed. Then he went to the other places of pilgrimage; and there also he washed his black flag in the holy waters thoroughly, but all in vain.

Time kept rolling on and thus five years passed. Now he was tired of carrying the flag. He had traveled thousands of miles on foot. Sometimes he used to feel disappointed and think, "Will this black flag become white ever in my life?"

One evening while he was returning from a pilgrimage and was on his way through a forest, he climbed up a tree and sat on a branch with his flag to save himself from the wild animals. He could not sleep the whole night. In the last hours of the night he heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from a distance. And after a short time three men riding on horses came and halted under the same tree. One of them had forced a beautiful young girl to sit on his horse with her hands and feet tied.

The three men dismounted from their horses and made the girl lie down on the ground, and began talking to each other. One, who probably was their chief, asked the other two to go and fetch some drinking water for him, and himself lied down to relax.

The disciple sitting on the branch of the tree was watching everything. It didn't take him time to understand that the three men had actually kidnapped the young and beautiful girl. He felt pity on her. Now it was clear that these three men were robbers.

When the robber lying under the tree began snoring, the disciple climbed down the tree slowly and carefully, and challenged him.

The robber was nonplussed momentarily. But next moment he rushed forth to pick up his sword; but the young disciple was more swift than him. Before the robber could reach the sword the disciple had already taken it in his possession. And death played its role. The robber didn't get another chance. His head rolled down his shoulders, spewing a lot of blood around. Then he whipped the horses and chased them away so that when the other two robbers returned with water, they would not be able to chase him.

Now he untied the hands and feet of the young girl and asked her identity. The young girl said, "I am daughter of a businessman. My father lives on the other side of the forest. These robbers kidnapped me during my marriage ceremony."

"Please come with me. I shall escort you to your house," saying this the disciple climbed up the tree quickly, picked up his flag and climbed down. He made the young girl mount the horse along with him and clapped his spurs to the horse's flanks. The horse was almost flying in the air.

He reached the young girl's house before it became dark. There it seemed as if the whole house had been rocked by an outbreak of violence. Every member of the house seemed woe-begone.

When the young girl described how the disciple had risked his life to get her freed from the clutches of the robbers, everyone became very happy, and her father embraced him with a feeling of gratitude.

By the time he reached the out-skirts of the village, the sun had risen. Suddenly he saw his flag fluttering in the air. He looked at it with his mouth agape.

The rising sun gave him a glimpse of not black but white flag. He looked at it again; this time carefully. His heart was filled with happiness. He couldn't believe his eyes. His black flag had turned white. He remembered his teacher in his heart and said, "Gurudev! You are great. You have completed my education by teaching me to offer selfless service to humankind."

There was a family of larks which lived in a cozy nest in a field of ripe corn; they lived happily with all the bonds of love and affection.

One fine morning the mother lark, before going out to find her children's food, said, "The farmer will come soon to reap his corn. And in that case we shall have to find a new home. So you keep your eyes and ears open today and tell me what you see and hear, when I come home tonight."

When the lark came home in the evening she found her family very disturbed. "Oh mother!" they cried, "Whe shall have to leave this place as soon as possible. The farmer came with his sons to make a survey of the field."

The farmer said to his sons, "The corn is ready for cutting. We shall have to call all our neighbours to reap it tomorrow."

The mother lark gave a patient hearing to her young ones and said with a smile, "There is no danger yet. Be on your alert tomorrow also. Keep your eyes and ears open, and tell me everything they discuss. This is very important."

Next day in the evening when the lark returned, she found the little larks terribly frightened, "We must leave this place by tomorrow at ny cost," they cried. "The farmer had come here again and said - this corn needs to be cut at once. If our neighbours don't come we shall call our relatives. Go and tell your uncles and cousins that we need their help to reap the corn tomorrow."

The mother lark smiled again and said, "Don't worry, my little hearts! The relatives of the farmer have their own crops to reap. They will give priority to their own work. But we shouldn't become carefree. Listen to their conversation tomorrow also and let me know everything."

Next day again she went out. When she returned in the evening, the baby larks cried, "Oh Mother! The farmer said today that since his neighbours and relatives were busy in their fields, he himself would come tomorrow to reap the corn. So now there is no point in staying here any more."

"In that case," said the mother lark, "We have to be quick. Let us leave this place without any delay. I am saying this because I know, if someone depends on others to do his work it will never be done. But once he takes up his work in his own hands and is determined to do it himself, there is no power on earth that can stop him from doing it. So, now this is right time when we must leave this place."

Indeed self-help is always preferable to others' help.

It's a story of those days when Buddivardhana was the king of Kalinga. King Buddhivardhana used to bring in force many kinds of plans for the well-being of his subjects; but Kalinga being a big kingdom there always used to be some kind of disturbance in one area or the other. Everyday people from different areas of the kingdom used to come and visit the king, but meeting everyone and solving their problems was not possible for him. Sometimes this used to cause dissatisfaction in the hearts of his subjects. Though his subjects were aware that it was not possible for the king alone to meet so many of them and listen to their problems, they would be saddened for not being able to have a glimpse of the king.

The king thought of a plan to solve thisproblem. He decided to appoint someone as a ling, between him and his subjects who would be capable, intelligent and man of character. The king thought that such person, who would be appointed as a link between him and his subjects, would be responsible for listening to the complaints and problems of his subjects and would also be responsible for contacting the officers of the concerned branch offfices in order to inspect the methods of bringing in force the action plan. The king decided that the appointee would be required to bring to his knowledge the other very important matters also.

King Buddhivardhana named the post - "Representative of the subjects," He expressed his views before his minister - Somdutta.

Somdutta appreciated the idea very much. He said, "My Lord! This is a very good idea. If the administration of the kingdom is to be run suitably, it is very necessary to appoint an officer in this respect. But apart from the qualities that you have envisaged in such an officer, it is also important that he shoud be tolerant, disciplined and should possess capability of bringing unity among your subjects. We shall soon launch a search for a man of such qualities."

The king liked the idea of Somdutta very much. Somdutta had correctly understood the special qualities required to be possessed by the representative of the subjects. King Buddhivardhana praised somdutta for his intelligence and prudence. An announcement was made fo rthe post of "Representative of the subjects." Many candidates appeared and were tested. All the talented and promising young boys aspired to qualify the test and hold the royal post. In the beginning everyone was asked the same kind of question and then the shortlisted ones were put to test separately. Then a debate was arranged. And it was so arranged that the participants had to speak on the subjects given to them in the nick of time.

And at last two young candidates - Sukumar and Gunsheel were preferred by king Buddhivardhana and Somdutta. Now it came to selection of one of the two candidates. King Buddhivardhana was in favor of Sukumar, and the minister, Somdutta, in favor of gunsheel.

King Buddhivardhana said to Somdutta, "Minister! I don't consider my decision as final. I know it for myself that you have a great understanding in regard to running of the administration and the appointment of officers. But today it is for the first time that we have disputed on a common point. So we shall send both the selected candidates to our spiritual preceptor-Shwentank-and his decision in this regard would be final."

Somdutta liked this idea very much. He thought -"in case of dispute on a common point between two persons, it is always advisable to take the advise of a third person who is capable of bringing the matter to fruitful end." And then Sukumar and Gunsheel, both were sent to the spiritual preceptor, Shwetank, immediately.

Next day, when both the young men returned to the palace, Somdutta was also present at the court. He asked them, "What is the message of Guru Shwetank?" The young men handed over to Somdutta the things that Guru Shwetank had given them.

Sukumar had brought an axe and Gunsheel a needle. Somdutta saw them and smiled. But King Buddhivardhana looked at Somdutta in a way as if he had not been able to understand the deep meaning the axe and the needle conveyed.

Somdutta said, "My Lord! I have very well understood the meaning of these two things sent by Guru Shwetank. But it would be wiser to let the candidates explain the meaning of these things. This would put their intelligence to further test. Kindly allow them to explain."

King Buddhivardhana nodded in agreement and signalled to Sukumar to explain the maning of the axe.

Full of pride and happiness Sukumar began speaking - "My Lord! As far as I think, Guru Shwetank has tried to convey my capability by sending this axe to you. The sharpness and brilliance of this axe is symbolic of the sharpness and brilliance of my brain. Just as this axe can cut and fell the biggest of the trees, my brain too is capable of solving the most complicated problems without any difficulty. This axe, given to me by Guru Shwetank, is aimed at conveying that this is the touchstone of my brain and intelligence. So, I think Guru Shwetank has selected me as a candidate for the post of the 'Representative of the subjects."

Heaing the interpretation given by Sukumar the king became very happy and he seemed satisfied with the explanation given by him.

Then Gunsheel began giving interpretation of the needle. He said, "My Lord! please don't think that I am, in any way, trying to insult the other candidate. The interepretation of the axe given by Sukumar is correct. But one thing that he has forgotten is that an axe only cuts trees, be it acacia tree or sandalwood tree; whereas a needle, though small in size, sews the pieces of clothes even if torn into two or more pieces. So, where an axe is symbolic of destruction, a needle is symbolic of unity."

The king was perplexed to hear Gunsheel speak thus. He began looking at Somdutta in a state of perplexity.

Then Somdutta began explaining to the king, "My lord! What Gunsheel says is absolutely true. Though Sukumar is full of wisdom what he laxks is the quality of tolerance and unity. Guru Shwetank has acted according to our requirement and selected Gunsheel for the post of the 'Representative of the subjects,' keeping in view the qualification that is requred to be inherited by a suitable candidate. How meaningful is his selection, is clear from the statements given by these two candidates. Getting a thing sharp and big in size from Guru Shwetank, caused Sukumar to have an inflated ego, and he thought that he was the most suitable candidate for this post. And Sukumar, despite knowing that Guru Shwetank had selected him only for the post, explained the symbolic meaning of the needle humbly and kept quiet. So in every respect Gunsheel is the most suitable candidate for this post."

King Buddhivardhana found the suggestion of Somdutta very satisfactory and apointed Gunsheel as the 'Representative of the subjects.'

A very long time ago, Udaibhanu used to be the king of the group of goldent islands. He had a vast kingdom. He had everything in his kingdom including diamond, gems and jewelry. Still he was not satisfied. He had a lust to expand his kingdom.

One day riding his horse he went on a hunting trip and chasing a deer he reached the bank of a river.

The deer vaulted, crossed the river and disappeared in the forest. The king came to a standstill watching the deer disappear. It was dusk time and the sky looked red all around. Birds were warbling in the trees. He could hear the sweet sound of jingling of bells of the cows returning to their places.

For a moment the king was enamoured of the beauty of the place. He forgot that he had come on a hunting trip and had come there chasing a deer. He was so lost in the natural beauty of the place that he halted there for some time enjoying the landscape.

He returned to his palace and sent his soldier to that place to ask the chief to come and see him. But the chief refused to go and see the king. The chief said, "This area does not come under the jurisdiction of the kingdom of King Udaibhanu and we are not his subjects; and so, I refuse to go to see him."

But the king was greedy. He was accustomed to seizing the properties of others. He, without waiting another moment, took his large army and launched an attack on that village.

It was a village of fishermen. All they had were only sticks to face the large army of King Udaibhanu. But the greatest weapon they had was - firm determination to die for their freedom. And it was this weapon with which they fought against the powerful army of king Udaibhanu. There was a fierce fighting for two days. One by one most of the fishermen of the village were killed. The water of the river became red with the color of their blood. When only a few fishermen were left to fight, the women, children and old people of the village also joined them in the battle.

King Udaibhanu was simply perplexed. He had never, in his life, faced a defeat. He had conquered many very big kingdoms within no time and without any problems. Now how to accept a defeat before these fishermen? It was next to impossible. He was very angry. He decided togo to the battlefield himself. Once again his army was arranged in a definite order. The king leading the army as a commander filled the soldiers with a new zeal.

Once again King Udaibhanu ordered his army to launch an attack on that village. This time it was clear from his eyes that he was bent upon bringing an end to the lives of all the fishermen of the village. Suddenly there was a little commotion outside. A soldier appeared with an old man before him.

"What's the matter? who is this old man?" the king asked his soldier staring at the old man. But before the soldier could say something, the old man stepped forward, saluted the king and said, "My Lord ! I have a humble submission. I would request you to listen to me before you make a fresh attack on the village."

The old man looked glorious with white beard, while eyebrows and broad forehead. He had such a power in his voice that the king was left dumbstuck. He could speak with great difficulty, "Say, what is it that you want to convey?"

The old man took out a piece of bone form his pocket which was smaller than a thumb, and placing it on his palm he said, "My Lord! it would be very kind of you to give me gold equal to the weight of this piece of bone."

The king took the piece of bone in his hand, weighed and roared with laughter. He said, "O man! It's not so great a problem. This piece of bone weighs hardly twelve or twenty-four mashas. You will get it right now."

At the order of the king the piece of the bone was kept on one pan of the weighing balance and gold on the other pan. But, what was all that happening? The pan with the piece of bone proved to be heavier. They kept on putting more and more gold on the other pan, but it could not equal with the weight of the piece of bone.

The king again took the piece of bone in his hand to check the weight. It was a very ordinary piece of bone with only a little weight. No magic - no miracle. They again tried it with gold and again met with the same result.

Now the scene had changed. All the fishermen and the soldiers had gathered around the weighing balance and watching the strange happening. And for the king it had become a prestige issue. He got all the gold of his treasury brought there and put on the other pan of the weighing balance; but still it could not equal the weight of the piece of bone.

Now the king was thoroughly perplexed. He thought, "My kingdom is definitely going to be plagued by some kind of catastrophe." This happening had brought an end to his vanity. He folded his hands and fell at the feet of the old man. He asked, "Old man! what is the secret of this piece of bone? Why my whole treasury has not been able to equal the weight of this piece of bone?"

The old man gave the piece of bone in the hand of king Udaibhanu and said, "My Lord! you may please keep this piece of bone. You may keep you gold also. I don't need any of these. This piece of bone is symbolic of your lust for wealth. Like your hunger for wealth and expansion of kingdom cannot be assuaged, and your lust goes on increasing, likewise this piece of bone which is symbolic of your lust will also go on increasing its weight when you try to weigh it with gold. My Lord! keep this piece of bone in your treasury carefully, so that in future you may please avoid playing a bloody game in trying to conquer someone else's kingdom."

Hearing the old man speak thus King Udaibhanu changed completely. He began recollecting all the atrocities he had committed on others blinded by his lusts. Asking for forgiveness he again wanted to touch the feet of the old man, but whose feet to touch? The old man had disappeared.

King Udaibhanu was so repentant that he distributed all his gold among the fisherme, and took a firm decision that never in future would he commit atrocities on innocent people. The sermons of the old man had opened his inner eye.

The incident took place a very long time back. Once the gods and demons, in order to get nectar, churned the ocean. Fourteen precious gems surfaced out of churning of the ocean. And one of the fourteen gems was - Airawat elephant. It had seven trunks and was as white as the foam on sea waves.

King of gods - Lord Indra - was allured to see this elephant. And so, he selected the Airawat elephant as his mode of conveyance.

Now, Airawat after becoming the mode of conveyance of Lord Indra, became king of elephants. This brought vanity in him. He began bragging around. Sometimes Nandi, who used to carry Lord Shankar on his back, would come and salute him by prostrating on the ground and sometimes, mouse, peacock and owl, the other modes of conveyance of other gods would come and offer their salutations. His grandeur was recognized all around. All the four directions were witnesses of his pomp and glory. Day by day his false vanity was filling him with greater pomp.

One day Lord Indra, mounted on the back of Airawat, was going somewhere. He met Maharshi Durvasa on the way. Maharshi Durvasa offered Lord Indra a garland of Parijat flowers. Lord Indra placed the garland on the forehead of Airawat. And Airawat pulled the garland by his trunk, threw it on the ground and trampled it under his feet.

Seeing his present being insulted thus Maharshi Durvasa became terribly angry. He cursed Lord Indra that he would be deprived of his prosperity and said to Airawat, "You will soon be taught a lesson to bring an end to your vanity."

After a few days Maharaja Bhrigu, who belonged to solar race came to Airawat. Airawat asked him conceitedly, "Say, O King! what brings you here?"

Maharaja Bhrigu said in reply, "O king of elephants! I have come for accomplishment of a task to you. My ancestors were incinerated in the fire of the anger of Maharshi Kapil. Three generations of my ancestors have sacrified their lives one after the other in an attempt to bring Ganga down on the earth for the deliverance of their souls. Now by the grace of Lord Shankar I have succeeded in getting hold on Ganga, but unfortunately she is caught in a pit near the Himalayas. She says if you break the wall of the pit with the mighty force of your tusk, she would be freed. And then the water released by her will flow freely and reach the plains also. Thus, my ancestors would be freed from the curse of Maharshi Kapil."

Hearing the message of Ganga, Airawat, the king of elephants spoke with a trumpet, "She wants to be freed from the pit and that too without anything in return? Tell Ganga that I shall free her from the pit only when she agrees to become my Queen Consort."

Maharaja Bhrigu returned to Ganga and conveyed the message of Airawat to Ganga. Ganga smiled. Now it was time to teach a suitable lesson to the arrogant elephant. She said to Maharaja Bhrigu, "All right! Go and tell Airawat that I agree to concede to his precondition."

Now Airawat was very happy. He came to the pit and began trying to break its walls with his tusk. And as soon as the wall was demolished Ganga began flowing with great force. Airawat was also caught in the forceful flow of water. Huge Airawat began drowning in the water of Ganga. Calling for safety of his soul he began praying to Ganga to save him from the drowning. Mother Ganga is after all an incarnation of kindness. She could not bear to see Airawat wailing before her. She pacified her waves and said to Airawat, "O King of elephants! Vanity brings an end to one's grandeur. Go! You are forgiven. Never fall prey to vanity in future."

There was a king. He ran the administration of his kingdom with great sincerity and devotion. He took care of his subjects with firm dedication. He was so dedicated that he would think of the bettermeant of his subjects day and night. But his used to make him totally exhausted at the end of the day. One day he went to his mentor who lived in a forest in a hut and led the life of an ascetic. He said, "Gurudev! I am fed up of the problems of my kingdom. I solve one problem and find that there is another problem awaiting solution. I solve another problem and there is yet another problem. Everyday there are new problems and complications. I am fed up of this kind of life. Please tell me what to do. I need your guidance."

Gurudev said, "King! You may disconnect yourself from the kingdom if your problem is such."

The king said, "But Gurudev! How can I do that? And moreover, this is no solution to the problem. My officials and subjects would go berserk. And my neighboring king will definitely take advantage of it."

Gurudev said, "Then in that case you may hand over your kingdom to your son; and come and live with me. You will be able to lead a carefree life like I do."

"But Gurudev! My son is too young. How will he run the administration of such a big kingdom." said the king worriedly.

Gurudev said, "In that case you may hand over your kingdom to me. I shall run the administration."

"Yes, this is acceptable to me," said the king.

"All right! Now make a solemn declaration that you have handed over your kingdom to your mentor," said Gurudev.

The king did as commanded. He made a solemn declaration and handed over his kingdom to his mentor. Then offering his salutes he prepared himself to leave.

Gurudev said, "where are you going now?"

The king said, "Maharaj! I shall take some money from the royal treasury and go to some other country. I shall do some business there to pass the rest of my life." Gurudev laughed and said, "Once you have handed over your kingdom to me, the royal treasury also becomes mine. Now you cannot take any money from there."

The king spoke with his head low, "Gurudev! What you say is correct. I indeed have no right to take money from the royal treasury. Now I shall not return to my kingdom."

"What will you do then?" asked Gurudev. "I shall go away from here and engage myself in someone's service," said the king.

Gurudev said, "If you at all have to serve someone, why not serve me? After all I have to engage someone to run th administration of such a large kingdom. Both of us need each other. Now tell me! Is it acceptable to you?" The king thought for some time and said, "Yes, Gurudev! It is acceptable to me."

"All right then! I engage you in my service from today to run the administration. But, you must remember one thing - now the kingdom is mine, not yours. Whatever the circumstances - good or bad, loss or profit - you must not be affected; you will be on salary only." The king agreed. He returned to the kingdom and began looking after the administration. Gurudev came to see him after a month and said, "King! How do you like running the administration now? Do you still feel dejected? Do you still consider your life sorrowful?"

The king said, "No, Gurudev! I am totally detached now. Nothing worries me any more. I know I am nothing more than a mere servant."

Gurudev said, "Listen, King! This is the only way one can remain detached while performing one's duties. Don't consider yourself a master; consider yourself a servant. All this is not yours. You have come here only to perform your duties. Do your duty and return."

The king had never looked at things from this angle. The meaningful teaching rendered by Gurudev opened his eyes. He was no more the same king. He ran the administration without any tension ever since.

A very long time ago there used to be a kingdom Nawalgarh. And the king was King Naval Singh. He was very capable and always cared for the genuine rights of his subjects. Extending every comfort to his subjects used to be his primary concern. And in return his subjects also loved him very much and cheered him every day. The king knew that it was all because of his wise Prime Minister's prudence and intelligence.

Time relled on. One day the prime minister fell seriously ill and despite administering the best medicines by the best doctor, he could not be saved. He breathed his last; and for the king it was as if he had lost his right hand. So long as the Prime Minister was alive the king didn't have to worry about anything, and was confident that no injustice or atrocities could take place. But now it was difficult to run the administration of the country without him. He began thinking of a genuine substitute.

The son of the late Prime Miniter Somdev was also in the ministry. He had already begun looking after the important matters of administration during the lifetime of his father. The other members of the king's ministry were also of the view that Somdev was the one who could be appointed as Prime Minister. The king also thought that the Prime Minsiter's son should be his successor.

But king Naval Singh had his eyes on another young man as well. The young man, named Digraj, was the son of the chief of the bodyguards of the king. The king knew it only too well that Digraj was more intelligent and prudent than Somdev, the son of the late Prime Minister; but for fear of criticism he was not able to gather up enough courage to appoint Digraj as his prime minister.

King Naval Singh kept thinking of a possible solution, and one day he hit upon an idea. He decided to put their intelligence to test. Next day he called them at them at the court and gave them each one golden sheath with swords in them. He said, "Digraj! Go to the neighbouring kingdom situated in the east and present it to the king." The he said to Somdev, "Dear Somdev! Go to the neighbouring kingdom situated in the south and present it to the king."

Everyone present at the court was curious to know as to why the king was sending those gifts to the neighbouring kings. Anyway, both the young men set off with the gifts to be presented to kings.

After a journey of a few days Somdev reached the kingdom in the south. The king was mighty pleased to learn that king Naval Singh had sent a gift for him. He welcomed Somdev and received the gifts with honor. Everyone at the court was looking at the sheath of the sword with curiosity. Even the king was getting impatient. The minister unsheathed the sword with the permission of the king. The tip of the shining sword was painted in red.

The king wanted to know if any of his ministers could solve the mystery of the red color; but none could. At last the king gave up and asked Somdev, "O royal messenger! I am pleased indeed to receive a gift from your king; but I fail to understand why he has sent this gift to me, and what does the red color on the tip of the sword mean. Kindly do explain to us."

Even Somdev didn't know what the red color meant to convey; but not being able to explain would have been more embarrassing. He began thinking "I have come here as a respresentative of a powerful king; but not being able to interpret the meaning of the red color would let me down." Thinking thus, he spoke conceitedly, "King! you are our friend; but you are no match to our mighty king. The red color at the tip of the sword means to convey that you should accept the might of his sword, or else, there will be unnecessary bloodshed in your kingdom."

The king was greatly infuriated to her him speak thus. He looked angrily at Somdev and said, "So that's what your king wants to convey. He is very proud of his might. All Right! go and tell your king that now the might of the blades of our swords will be tested in the battlefield only."

Similarly, Digraj also took the gift of king Naval Singh to the king of the neighbouring kingdom in the east. He bowed before the king respectfully and offered his king's gift to him. The king offered him a suitable place to sit. This convinced Digraj that the king was a true friend of King Naval Singh. Digraj unsheathed the sword and presented it to the king with due honor. This sword too had red color on its tip. The courtiers were surprised to see the tip of the sword colored in red. Everyone tried to interpret the meaning of it, but none could get anywhere close to the mystery of the color. At last the king himself asked Digraj to explain as to what the red color meant to convey.

Digraj thought for some time and then said, "King! our king Naval Singh has great respect for you. This sword is symbolic of his respect for you. The red color on the tip of this sword is aimed at conveying that our king and his entire kingdom is ready to shed each and every drop of blood for this friendship."

The king was greatly delighted to hear Digraj speak thus. He said, "O royal messenger! I not only accept your king's gift with due honor, but also thank him for exhibiting such friendly gesture. Now I belong to him in every respect."

At the time of departure of Digraj, the king sent a big regiment of his army to escort him safely to the border of his kingdom. And apart from all this, he also gave him very valuable and precious gifts.

On the other side, after the departure of Somdev, the king who had taken the gift as a great insult for him, had launched an attack on the kingdom of King Naval Singh with his big and powerful army. King Naval Singh was extremely worried to have got into this kind of situation. He was not prepared for war. But in order to safeguard his prestige he had to accept the challenge. His army came out of the ramparts of the city under his orders.

Both the armies were standing face to face with each other in the battlefield, but the battle had not started yet. Meanwhile, Digraj also arrived there with a big regiment of the army of the friendly neighbouring king and launched an attack from behind the army of the enemy king. Now the army of the enemy king was thoroughly sandwiched. Out of nervousness the soldiers of the enemy king's army lost their firmness and the entire army field.

Next day the court was held and king Naval Singh was to select one of the two boys as his Prime Minister. He said to his courtiers, "All of you are witness to the fact that I had given swords to Somdev and Digraj and had asked them to gift these to two different neighbouring kings. But as you see, Somdev made the king declare was against me, and on the other hand, Digraj not only brought valuable and precious gifts in return for me but, also the friendship of a powerful king. It's a matter of prudence and intelligence. Somdev was at his wits end when he was asked to explain the meaning of red color on the tip of the sword, and the result is before you whereas, Digraj made use of his intelligence and the presence of mind, and brought fruitful results. Now I leave it to you all to select one of the two for the post of Prime Minister."

Everyone at the court said in unison, "O King! It is Digraj ! It is only Digraj who deserves to become your Prime Minister."

Thus, Digraj was appointed as Prime Minister and the king was satisfied that, using his wits, he had been able to get a suitable person for the post.

Once, in a town, there lived a potter called Yudhisthira. One day he got drunk and fell down by stumbling on some broken pots. The sharp edges of the pots cut a deep wound on his forehead. Because of improper care the wound took a long time to heal and when it healed, it left a long scar on his forehead.
After a few years there was a famine in the country. With some royal servants the potter went to another part of the country and got himself employed in the king's service.

The king thought to himself when he saw the scar on the potter's head. "There is no doubt that the wound on this man's face was caused while fighting face-to-face with an enemy. He surely is a brave man."

So the king placed the potter amongst the bravest princes of his kingdom. Once, when a battle was being fought, the king took the potter aside and asked, "Prince, please tell me your name and in which battle did you get this wound."

"Your majesty ! I am not a prince. I am a potter by profession and this wound was caused when I fell over some broken pots," replied the potter.

On hearing this the king got very annoyed. "This potter has deceived me, drive him away," he told his soldiers. As the soldiers began to drive the potter away, he screamed, "Please don't do this, put me to test in a battle."

On hearing this the king replied, "No doubt you have some excellent qualities, but you better go home," and said further, "But since none in your family has ever fought a war, so it is better you forget about it and go back to your village."

Once, there lived two friends named Parth and Ankratha. Parth was poor but Ankratha was rich. One day Parth thought, "If I go to some other city to try my luck I might make some money." He had only one thng left with him, that was a huge bar of iron whichwas beautifully carved. So, he went to Ankratha to give him that bar. Parth said, "Dear Ankratha, I'll be grateful to you if you take care of this bar till the time I come back. I am going out of this city to try my luck in some other place," saying so, he went away.
He stayed out for two years and made a lot of money. Then he decided to return home. After coming back he went to Ankratha's house and said, "Dear, can I have my iron bar back, please?"

Ankratha said, "I am so glad to see you back, Parth but I am extremely sorry to say that your iron bar was eaten up by mice." Parth went back and planned a trick to get back his iron bar.

Parth asked his servant to go to Ankratha's place when he was not there and ask his wife to send his son to Parth's place. The servant went to Ankratha's place and asked his wife, "Madam, please send your son to Parth's house, Ankratha has called him there."

So the lady sent the child. Later, when Ankratha came back he asked, "Parvati, where is our son ? I have not seen him." His wife came out of the kitchen and said, "Didn't you call him at Parth's place ?" And then she told him all that had happened.

Ankratha rushed to Parth's house and asked for his son, Parth replied, "Dear Ankratha, I am glad to see you here, but I am sorry to say that when my servant was coming with your son, a hawk came and picked your son up and flew away."

Ankratha screamed at Parth, "You liar, I've never heard anything like that before. How can a hawk fly away with such a grown up child?"

The two friends started shouting at each other and a quarrel started between them which attracted a big crowd. At last the two decided to take the matter to the court.

The moment they entered the court, Ankratha started shouting, "Your majesty, this cheat has hid my son somewhere, I request you to order him to return my son."

The king looked at Parth and asked, "What have you got to say in your defence."

Parth said, "My lord, how can I return his son who was carried away by a hawk."

The king got angry and shouted at Parth, "You liar, how can a bird fly with a boy?"

Hearing this Parth replied, "Pardon me, sir, if mice can eat an iron bar, then certainly, a hawk can fly away with a boy."

The king was confused now and ordered Parth to narrate the whole incident in clear words. Parth narrated the entire sequence of events to the king, who laughed and ordered Parth to return his son and Ankratha to return the iron bar.

And this way Parth got his iron bar.

MORAL : TIT FOR TAT

Once upon a time, there lived a very intelligent and learned brahmin. But he had a bad quality of stealing things of others.
Owing to his misdeeds in previous birth, he had become a thief. Once, four rich and learned brahmins came to his village. They had very expensive items and jewels with them. The thief brahmin made a plan to cheat them. He went to them and became their friend by his soft speaking nature and ability of impressing others.

But the brahmins were more intelligent. They sold out their goods and bought more jewels. They put these jewels inside their skin and applied an ointment so that nobody could guess where they had hidden them.

But the brahmin had planned to cheat them, so he made plan of poisoning them at a secret place. He went to the four brahmins and said, "Friends, after sometime you'll go. I'll be left alone again. Kindly take me with you. I'll help you and serve you."

so the brahmins decided to take him as he requested a lot before them. While they were on their way, they passed through a village which belonged to tribes. Those tribesmen were very dangerous and could do anything. They had a special species of parrot birds who could tell what a particular person had with him. When these five entered the village, the bird shouted, "Rich men are coming, be prepared."

The parrot cried further, "The travellers have jewels with them." The parrot repeated these words many times. The head of the tribesmen heard what the parrot had said. He decided to take the jewels from them. He sent his people to bring the travellers to him. They were brought to the chief and searched thoroughly for the jewels.

Not finding anything the headman thought to himself, "Maybe, the parrot is wrong this time."

Then he freed the travellers. The moment the travellers were freed the parrot cried with a greater force, "The travellers have jewels with them."

This time the headman firmly believed the bird and thought, "This bird has always proved right in the past, how can he be wrong this time?" Again, the travellers were caught and brought before the headman.

He said to them, "My parrot has never spoken lies in the past. You have surely hidden the jewels somewhere in your bodies."

The thief and the four brahmins were completely silent now. The headman said, "If you will not tell me yourself, I shall cut open your bodies to find the jewels."

The thief thought to himself, "There are no jewels in my body. If I tell the headman to cut me first, he will not find anything in my body shall think that no one has any jewels inside his body."

He further thought, "I have to die in any case, It would be wise to save their lives."

So thinking, he offered himself to the headman, "Please check my body first and if you don't find anything, please set my friends free, because I can not see them dying."

The headman agreed to his proposal. The thief's body was cut open and nothing was found inside. The headman felt guilty and said, "I am sorry, I am responsible for killing this man for nothing. Set the others free."

The four friends looked upon the body of their dead companion and left the place in a very sad mood. Later on, they sold their jewels and earned a fortune, but they always remembered the fellow who had saved their lives and sacrificed his own life.

MORAL : GREAT THOGUHTS TURNED TO PRACTICE BECOME GREAT ACTS.

In a small town there lived a donkey, named Uddhata. He belonged to a washerman. The donkey was loaded by washed and dirty clothes. He had to work very hard. He carried clothes on his back everyday.
Despite all this hard work, the wassherman did not feed him well. As a result, the donkey had grown very weak. But the washerman did one favor to his donkey.

He let the donkey loose at night so that he might graze in the nearby fields and satisfy his hunger and grow stronger. Every morning he returned to the washerman on time in order to avoid being tied up at night.

One fine night, while the donkey was strolling around the fields, he met a jackal and became friendly with him. So, they became good friends in a few days. They used to roam around together every night.

Once, both the friends came across a cucumber field during their night stroll. The plants were laden with ripe cucumbers. They enjoyed them to their fill. Not only this, they now used to visit the field daily to enjoy such tasty cucumbers.

The donkey, being fat, could break down the hedges, and lead the jackal to the cucumber field. While the donkey would feast on the cucumbers the jackal would devour poultry from the nearby farm.

At dawn they would return to their respective homes. One night, standing in the middle of the cucumber field, the donkey called out to the jackal and said, "Nephew, look, how beautiful the starry sky looks with a full moon. I feel like singing, tell me what raga should I sing?"

"Uncle," answered the jackal, "You have come here to steal and you would be inviting trouble by singing." "Also, your voice is not so sweet as would be liked by the listeners," added the jackal.

"My dear, you don't know anything about music. The farmer will definitely reward me," said the donkey. "You are a stupid, a big stupid. Do you think that I can't sing sweet songs? Now listen to me........" So saying, the donkey lifted his head to bray.

"Very well, uncle," said the jackal, "You can sing as much as you like but I shall go and wait for you outside the field." So the donkey brayed as loud as he could. As soon as the farmer heard, he rushed towards his field.

The farmer along with his men rushed there with heavy sticks and started beating the donkey. The stupid donkey was still braying while the farmers were beating him. They beat him so brutally that the donkey fell down.

The farmers tied a big stone round his neck with a rope before they left.When the jackal saw the donkey dragging himself out along with the heavy stone, he said with a smile, "Dear uncle, congratulations, what a song ! and what a beautiful necklace you have received as a reward for singing !"

So the donkey realised his mistake and went back to his master.

MORAL : THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU ACT.

Once there lived a brahmin, named Sukhram, in a village. He used to go from village to village in search of food. Once a rich man got impressed with his knowledge and gave him a goat's kid as reward. He lifted it onto his shoulders and started for his village.
While the brahmin was travelling through a forest, three crooks saw him carrying the goat's kid on his shoulders. The crooks were hundry.

One crook said, "Look friends, that brahmin is carrying a nice healthy goat's kid."

The other crook said, "Yeah sure, if at all we could lay our hands on it, we can have a grand feast."

The third crook said, "That's right, but how do you think you can take this pretty goat's kid from the brahmin?"

The first crook said, "I have decided a novel way of getting the goat's kid, listen carefully to my plan." The three crooks came close to each other and the first one told them by whispering something in their ears about how to carry out the plan. All of them agreed and proceeded in different directions.

The first cheat went to the brahmin and said, "Oh holy brahmin ! where are you carrying this dog ? You are going out of religious path. A brahmin should not carry a dog."

The brahmin said, "Dog ! have you gone mad ? Are you blind ? You are telling me that this kid is a dog."

So the cheat said, "I am sorry sir, please don't get angry, I've told you what I've seen. If it is your desire to carry the dog, do as you wish," saying so the cheat went away.

The brahmin had not gone far when the second cheat came across. He said, "O brahmin ! why are you carrying this dead calf on your back ? It is not your job. It's shameful on your part to do so."

"A ded calf ? What the hell are you saying, its a live kid," shouted the brahmin. "Oh no! don't scream, It will affect your health. If it is your desire to carry the dead calf, so do it. I am nobody to say anything to you." saying so, the second cheat also went away.

The brahmin moved forward. He looked at the goat again and again. Soon the third cheat came across him and said, "Good morning, learned brahmin." So the brahmin spoke softly to him, "God bless you, my child."

Later, the cheat said, "It doesn't suit a learned man like you to carry a foal on your shoulders. It's too bad for a brahmin even to touch a foal. Its too untidy. I would suggest you to throw it on the ground before anyone else sees you."

The brahmin was shocked now. Three different persons had told him that the animal was not a kid. He was completely confused because one man had said that he was carrying a do, the other described the kid as a dead calf and yet another said that he was carrying a foal on his shoulders. He could not decide whether the kid was a goblin or a demon.

The brahmin thought, "It must be some demon, that is why it seems different everytime people see it." So, he threw the kid on the ground and dashed towards his village in a sad mood.

The cheats had come out successful in their plan. They picked the goat's kid up and went away. That night they enjoyed their meal.

MORAL : BEWARE OF CROOKS.

Once upon a time there lived a jackal who strayed into a city in search of food. He was hungry and was being chased by a group of dogs. He accidentally entered the house of a dyer and fell into a vat of indigo(blue), and was stained blue from head to toe. When he escaped from the house back into the forest, all animals were surprised at his appearance and could not place its identity. Taking advantage of the situation, the jackal decided to play the situation to his advantage. He proclaimed that he was Fierce Owl, sent by the king of Gods, Indra, to earth to gaurd the forest.

The gullible animals believed the jackal. The jackal then appointed the Lion as his Prime minister, tiger as his gaurdian of the bed chamber and the elephant was made the door keeper. He then drove all the jackals out of sight from the forest for fear of being recognized. The animals would hunt food and bring it to the self proclaimed king and the king would distribute the food to all equally just as a king would do. So he was leading a life of luxury.

One day a herd of jackals were passing by howling to their glory. Unable to control his natural instinct, FierceOwl showed his natural voice and howled at the top of his voice. Hearing this howl, the animals realised that they had been fooled by a jackal and killed the jackal instantly.

MORAL: Excess of Greed is harmful.

Once upon a time there lived a ferocious lion in the forest. It was a greedy lion and started killing animals in the forest indiscriminately. Seeing this, the animals gathered and decided to approach the lion with the offer of one animal of each species volunteering itself to be eaten by the lion everyday. So every day it was the turn of one of the animals and in the end came the rabbits' turn. The rabbits chose a old rabbit among them. The rabbit was wise and old. It took its own sweet time to go to the Lion. The Lion was getting impatient on not seeing any animal come by and swore to kill all animals the next day.
The rabbit then strode along to the Lion by sunset. The Lion was angry at him. But the wise rabbit was calm and slowly told the Lion that it was not his fault. He told the Lion that a group of rabbits were coming to him for the day when on the way, an angry Lion attacked them all and ate all rabbits but himself. Somehow he escaped to reach safely, the rabbit said. He said that the other Lion was challenging the supremacy of his Lordship the Lion. The Lion was naturally very enraged and asked to be taken to the location of the other Lion.

The wise rabbit agreed and led the Lion towards a deep well filled with water. Then he showed the Lion his reflection in the water of the well. The Lion was furious and started growling and naturally its image in the water, the other Lion, was also equally angry. Then the Lion jumped into the water at the other Lion to attack it, and so lost its life in the well. Thus the wise rabbit saved the forest and its inhabitants from the proud Lion.

MORAL: Wit is superior to brute force.

Once, there lived two friends named Dharmabuddhi and Papabuddhi. They were very good friends. Dharmabuddhi was kind and honest but Papabuddhi was cruel and dishonest. Dharmabuddhi didn't know this quality of his friend.
Once Papabuddhi thought, "I am poor as well as dull, if I go out to some other place with Dharmabuddhi to make money, it will be a good idea. I can cheat him of his share and live comfortably." So he went to his friend and said, "Dear, it is written in vedas that if one does not go out to learn languages and customs of other places, his birth is useless. So, let's go out and make some money." Dharmabuddhi agreed.

Both of them stayed out for one year and made a lot of money. Then they decided to return home. While returning, Papabuddhi made a plan. He said, "Dharmabuddhi, how is it. if we bury some money here and take the rest with us, because our relatives will ask for the money." Dharmabuddhi agreed and they buried some money under a huge banyan tree.

Later, in the night Papabuddhi returned to the same place where they'd buried the money and took the money out. After a few days he went to Dharmabuddhi's house and said, "Dear, I've a big family and the money left with me is going to finish very soon. So, let's go and take out the rest."

Both of them went to the banyan tree and dug the place where they had kept their money. When, after digging so deep, they couldn't find the bad, Papabuddhi said, "You thief, I've trusted you more than anyone. I want you to return me the money of my share."

He further added, "If you do not return my share of half the money, I'll lodge a complaint and ask for justice from the court." Dharmabuddhi was shocked to hear such words from his friend but he kept his cool and said, "Papabuddhi, I am really surprised at your behaviour. My name is Dharmabuddhi which means pious minded and how do you think I can commit such an act."

But Papabuddhi was bent upon going to the court. He said, "No argument can satisfy me." Dharmabuddhi had no answer. Papabuddhi took him to the court of law. The Kazi, listened to both of them but could not decide anything. He said, "If any of you have a solid evidence then only I can make a true judgement, other wise I'll put both of you in the jail. Papabuddhi immediately said, "Sir, I've got the tree goddess, as my witness. She'll prove that it's Dharmabuddhi who is the thief."

The case was postponed for the next day. On that night, Papabuddhi went to his father and said, "Father, I've stolen Dharmabuddhi's share of money. Kindly help me get out of this trouble. Please go and sit in the big hole of that banyan tree."

Father said, "All right, I'll act as Goddess of tree and speak in you favor." The next morning, Dharmabuddhi along with Papabuddhi and the kazi came under the banyan tree. The kazi said, "Respected goddess of the tree, please help me to find the thief among these two."

Papabuddhi's father, who was hidden in the tree spoke, "Dharmabuddhi has stolen the money. He is the thief." The kazi was really surprised to hear the tree goddess speaking. He was wonder-struck and could not decide anything. He discussed the matter with his subordinates who were with him. The kazi asked them to suggest suitable punishment for Dharmabuddhi according to law.

In the meantime Dharmabuddhi rushed to get some dry sticks. He surrounded the banyan tree with dry sticks and grass and then lit the fire. Papabuddhi's father, who was hiding inside the hollow of the tree, rushed out screaming. His body was half burnt and he was bitterly crying and saying, "Please forgive me, Kazi, for my misdeed."

Then the soldiers held Papabuddhi and the Kazi sent him to the jail.

MORAL : DO EVIL AND LOOK FOR LIKE.

Once upon a time, there lived a weaver called Mani Chandra. He wove cloth of the finest quality. The cloth that he wove was so costly that everyone could not afford to purchase. His clothes were worn only by the members of the royal family. But Chandra was unable to make enough money. While the other weavers, who wove lower quality cloth, were growing richer day by day, he found it difficult to make both ends meet.
One day Chandra said to his wife, "Dear, have you ever noticed the way I weave cloth? But I don't get anything in return. I'll go to some other place to make some money."

His wife did not agree with him and said, "My dear, why have you got this misunderstanding that you can make money by going abroad, But it is not true, you can make money by staying at your native place." She further added, "This is all a matter of luck. You can never get what is not in your destiny, therefore, I suggest that you carry on working at this place."

The weaver replied to his wife, "What you say is also not justified because one can get nothing without effort. It is only the action that bears fruit. You have to stretch your hand and open your mouth in order to eat, even if destiny provides you food. Only industrious persons prosper, those who depend upon destiny are cowards. Therefore, I'll certainly go abroad."

So Chandra left the place. He went to some other place and earned lots of gold coins. Within a year he made about hundred gold coins. Then he decided to go back.

On his way, he felt very tired. He decided to take a nap. When he slept he had a dream about a conversation taking place between Destiny and Action. Destiny said, "Action, why did you give him so much money, his luck doesn't favor it."

"I gave him because of his hard work and feel that he deserves it. Destiny, do what you like," said Action.

When Chandra got up, he didn't find his money bag. But he was a man of high spirits. He again went back to make money. After making his fortune in one year, he again decided to go back home with more gold coins. He felt tired and slept in the same way. Again he had the same dream with the same conversation. At last, Destiny said, "He won't understand this way. Send him to Virat city to the homes of two merchants named Divya and Nitya."

Chandra got up and left for Virat city. First he went to Divya's house, who was a rich man and had many servants and lived in a big house. But Chandra was not treated well there. He was given royal food, but very rudely. Then he slept.

Again he saw the same people talking in his dream. Action said, "This Divya spends a lot on food which he should not."

In the morning, Divya got an attack of cholera. He had to spit everything he ate and spend lots of money on doctor. Then Chandra left for Nitya's house. Everyone gave him a warm welcome and he was given normal food to eat, which was full of love and affection. The same night Chandra had the same dream. Destiny said, "This man spends so much on guests. He deserves something good."

Next morning, king's men came and gave some money to Nitya.

Chandra understood the whole thing. He went back to his village to try his luck there. He became rich by weaving the same quality of cloth and enjoyed his life.

MORAL : LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.

One day, a fox was very hungry. He wandered, but he could not find any food to eat. He was very tired and he could hardly walk. With great difficulty, he reached the outskirts of a village.
suddenly, the fox noticed two sheep fighting with each other. Now who would not like to witness a fight? The fox went a little closer to enjoy watching the fight between the two sheep. It appeared to be a fight to the finish.

Both sheep would strike their heads violently against each other's. They would then retreat a few steps, only to rush forward and again strike their heads violently.

The fox was enjoying himself. He thought, "If these two sheep keep on fighting in this manner, one of them is sure to die soon. And I will get enough food to satisfy my hunger."

As the fox was thinking this, the two sheep again struck their heads against each other's. Both began to bleed. The fox got the fine smell of fresh blood. His mouth started watering.

Now the two sheep were fighting even more violently. Blood began to tricke down their heads and the ground was covered with drops of fresh blood.

The fox was tempted to lick the fresh blood.

The fox went closer to the spot where the two sheep were fighting. He looked at the blood trickling down onto the ground. "What a waste of fresh blood!" thought the fox. "Let me lick it up quickly.. slurp... slurp.."

Once again, the two sheep struck their heads against each other's. As they retreated a few steps to strike again, the fox dashed the spot, licked some blood and returned to his place hastily.

The sheep struck their heads against each other's again. Some more blood tricked down onto the ground. And again, the fox rushed to that spot and licked the blood with a slurp. But before he could return his place, the two sheep rushed forward and struck against his head.

The fox began to feel dizzy. He fell down on the ground and died.

The two sheep calmed down. They looked at the dead fox for some time and then walked away quietly.

There lived a lion in a forest.
One day, the lion wandered the whole forest, but he did not find any prey. Soon he was tired.

The sun was about to set, but the lion still could not find a prey. "Oh! I had to fast today. Never mind," said the lion, with a deep sigh, trying to console himself.

As the lion waas returning to his cave, he saw another cave.

"Ah! let me go and see if I can find a prey in that cave," thought the lion, as he walked into the cave.

But the cave was empty.

The lion sighed.

Suddenly, he had an idea. He thought, "The sun is about to set. The animal, which lives in this cave, should come here soon. Leet me hide inside the cave. I will get a prey without any effort. That should satisfy my hunger."

Thinking this, the lion hid himself inside the cave and waited for the animal to come.

The cave belonged to a fox.

After sometime, the fox came there. The fox is clever and cunning animal. As he walked towards the cave, he looked around cautiously, pricked his ears to hear the slightest sound and twitched his nose to smell an animal.

Even in the faint light of the setting sun, the fox spotted some marks on the groung.

"Ah! The footprints of a lion," said the fox, surprised.

"These footprints lead to the cave. But there are no footprints coming out of the cave," thought the fox. "This means that the lion is still inside, waiting for the prey to enter the cave. It was a good thing that I came here before nightfall. Had I come here late, I would not have spotted the lion's footprints."

The fox thought of a plan.

He shook his tail happily and said, "O cave! O cave!"

Having said this, the fox remained quiet for sometime.

Once again, the fox said, "O cave! O cave! Why are you quiet today? Every day, when I call you, you greet me saying: 'Welcome friend! How was the day?'"

The lion, who was hiding inside the cave, thought, "I think the cave must be welcoming the fox with these words wvery day. But today, my presence here has frightened it and so it does not open its mouth. Let me speak instead of the cave."

"O cave! O cave!" said the fox again.

"Welcome friend! How was the day?" said the lion as softly as he could.

But a lion can never suppress his majestic voice. The cave echoed with his voice. All the animals living in the soprrounding area were alerted by his roar.

The lion thought that the fox would enter the cave. But he heard the fox saying, "O lion, can a cave ever talk? Well. goodbye."

The lion peeped out of the cave.

He saw the fox running away to save his life.

On the banks of the river Ganga, there was a beautiful ashrama. Many tapasvis, who were always absorbed in meditation lived in this ashrama.
Yadnyavalkya was the chief of this ashrama. One day, while offering his prayers during bath in the river Ganga, a hawk dropped a mouse into his hands. He put the mouse on a leaf plucked from a nearby banyan tree and by the power of his meditation, he transformed the mouse into a little girl.

Then he took the girl to his house. On reaching his home, he spoke to his wife, "My dear wife, we have no child of our own, so please bring up this baby girl as our own child."

The holyman's wife was too glad to have a daughter and thought of rearing her as a princess. After careful upbringing the girl attained the age of twelve. She now looked a striking beauty.

When the holyman's wife noticed that the girl was of marriageable age, she decided to speak to her husband. "My dear husband, now it's time our daughter got married, so please do something seriously," she told her husband.

"I agree," he said, "I shall get her married to someone who deserves her."

"And now if she agrees, I shall call Ravi, the Sun God and give her to him."

"Yes," replied the wife, "kindly do that."

So the holyman summoned the Sun God and the Sun came down and asked, "O, brahmin devta, why have you called me ?"

The holyman replied, "I want you to marry my daughter because I feel that she is just the right match for you."

He asked his daughter if she would marry him, "No, father, he is too fiery tempered, find someone better for me," replied the daughter.

"O, Ravi, Is there anybody better than you?" asked the holyman.

"Yes, Megha, "the cloud", is better than I am, for when he covers me, I am no longer visible," answered the Sun god.

So the holyman called the Cloud and the Cloud came down and asked the holyman, "O holyman what can I do for you ? Before the holyman could answer the young girl said, "No father, he is too dark and cold, find me someone better."

"O Cloud, is there anybody better than you ?" asked the holyman. "Yes, Vayu. "the Wind," is better than I am, as he makes me drift," replied the Megha.

Vayu was the next to be summoned by the holyman. He asked his daughter, "Are you ready to marry him ?"

"No father, he is very dynamic and keeps changing, please find someone better for me, " said the girl.

The holyman asked, "Oh Lord of the Wind, is there anyone better than you ?" "Yes, there is the Mountain, although I am strong, he stops me from blowing where I want to, " said Vayu.

The Mountain was summoned, "Daughter, do you agree to marry the Mountain," the holyman asked his daughter. "No father, he is very hard, I can not marry him, please find someone better for me."

"O Mountain, is there anybody better than you ?" the holyman asked.

"Yes, the mice are better than me because they can dig holes in my body," replied the Mountain.

So in the end the king of mice was called. "Do you agree to marry him ?" asked the holyman. The girl was delighted to see the mouse and said, "Yes father, please transform me into a mouse so that I can fulfill my household duties perfectly."

"Then the holyman considered for a while and applying his supernatural powers, transformed the girl into a mouse and married her to the mouse king.

Thus, a female mouse chose a husband of her own kind.

MORAL : BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER.

In the southern city of Mahilaropya,” said Hiranyaka, “lived a hermit named Tamrachud in a Shiva temple on the outskirts of the city. Every day, he would go out into the city, collect alms and cook his food. After the meal, he would store whatever is left in his begging bowl and hang it to a peg and go to sleep. He would give the leftovers to poor people in return for services rendered to the temple. They would every day wash it, clean it and decorate it with patterns of chalk.”
“One day, some of my relatives complained to me, “O lord, the hermit is storing the food in his bowl and hanging it high to a peg. We are not able to nibble at it. You alone can reach any place. Why should we go anywhere else when you are there? Let’s go to the hermit’s place and with your help feed ourselves.”

“Accompanied by my relatives, I went to the hermit’s place and springing at the bowl brought the stored food down. All of us then had a good meal. We repeated this act every day till the hermit found what we were doing. He brought a split bamboo and began striking the food bowl with it. That noise used to frighten us and we would spend the whole night waiting for a respite from this noise. But the hermit never stopped striking the bamboo.”

“Meanwhile, a visitor named Brihat came calling on the hermit. Tamrachud received him with great respect and did whatever he could to make the honoured guest happy. At night, the guest would relate to the hermit tales about his travels. But Tamrachud, busy scaring the mice with his bamboo, would not pay much attention to what his guest was narrating. In the middle of the story, the guest would ask him questions to which he would give indifferent replies.
“Angry with Tamrachud’s absent mindedness, the visitor told him, “Tamrachud, you are not a great friend of mine because you are not attentive to what I am telling you. I will leave your place tonight and seek shelter elsewhere. The elders have always said that you must not accept the hospitality of such a host who does not welcome you gladly, does not offer you a proper seat and does not make inquiries about your well-being.”

“Status has gone to your head. You do not any more care for my friendship. You do not know that this conduct will take you to hell. I am really sorry for what has happened to you. You have become vain and proud. I am leaving this temple at once,” Brihat said.

“Frightened at his visitor’s words, Tamrachud pleaded with him, “O worshipful guest, please don’t be harsh on me. I don’t have any friends other than you. Here is the reason why I was not attentive to your discourse on religion. There is this mouse, which every day steals my food however high I keep it. As a result, I am not able to feed the poor people who do the job of keeping the temple clean. The temple is now in a bad shape. To scare this culprit, I have to keep tapping the food bowl with the bamboo stick I keep with me. This is why I was not able to pay attention to the great and learned tales you have been relating.”

“Realising what really was the problem, the visitor asked the hermit, “Do you know where the mouse lives?”
“Sir, I have no idea,” said Tamrachud.

“The visitor said, “This mouse must have stored a lot of food somewhere. It is this plenty that gives him the energy to jump so high and eat all your food. When a man earns a lot of wealth, that pile of money increases his strength and confidence.”

“Brihat continued, “There is an explanation for everything in this world. There is a reason for Shandili trying to exchange husked sesame seeds in return for degraded sesame seeds.” “Tamrachud asked Brihat to tell him who this Shandili was and the story of sesame seeds...

There was a beautiful forest, full of lush green trees.
One day, a hunter was passing through the forest. Suddenly, a bird sitting on a branch of a tree shed its droppings, which fell on the hunter's shoulder. The hunter looked at the droppings. There was gold in them!

The hunter was surprised. "I have been catching birds since my childhood," thought the hunter. "I am fifty now. But I have never seen gold in a bird's droppings."

The hunter looked up at the branch on which the bird was sitting. He was even more surprised! It was a golden bird! Once again the bird shed its droppings. And once again the hunter found thart there was real gold in them!

The hunter cast his net and caught the golden bird, and took it home.

"At last... I will not have to go to the forest and catch birds to earn my living," thought the hunter, who was rather pleased. "I can easily get gold at home. I will sell the gold and earn my living. I need not worry at all now."

"But what if someone wants to know from where I get the gold?" wondered the hunter. "And if the king comes to knoe the secret, he will surely send me to the gallows. He may get angry with me for not presenting this uniue and wonderful bird to him. Let me go and give this bird to the king."

The hunter took the cage and went to the king. He narrated his story to him. The king was delighted. "Gicve the best food to this bird and see to it is treated well," commanded the king to his attendants.

At once the Chief Minister said, "How can there ever be goild in a bird's droppings? This hunter has gone mad. Therefore, I request you to free the bird."

The king agreed with the chief minister.

The hunter opened the cage.

The golden bird flew out and sat on apillar in the court.

It then shed its droppings. And, gold was shining brightly in them!

Everyone present there was astonished.

Suddenly, the golden bird said in human voice, "I am the first fool, because I shed my droppings on the hunter's shoulder.

The second fool is the hunter. Inspite of catching me, he could not keep me.

The third fool is the chief minister. He advised the king to free me even before making sure whether I shed droppings with gold in them.

The fourth fool is the king. Why did he heed the chief minister's advice?"

Having said this, the bird lapped its wings and flew away.

Once upon a time, a frog king named Gangadutta lived in a well. He was always disturbed by the constant nagging of his relatives. So, he climbed up and came out to teach them a lesson.
But how could he do that ? He thought to himself, "I must find some way of teaching a bitter lesson to them, so that I can live comfortably." While thinking he noticed a snake who was entering his hole. On seeing the snake, the frog king thought to himself, "If I take this snake to my well and ask him to eat up my relatives, I'll get rid of my troubles."

He went to the snake and said, "My name is Gangadutta, I am the king of frogs, I have come here to make friends with you." The snake said, "It is unbelievable, how can fire and water become friends ? I am surprised, I've never heard a frog and a snake being friends. We are enemy by birth."

"I know you are my enemy but I've come here for your help," said the frog.
"Is anyone disturbing you?" asked the snake.
"Yes, my relatives. I want you to eat them up", said the frog.
"Where do you live?" asked the snake.
"In a well," the frog replied.
"But, how can I enter into the well?" asked the snake.
"That's my problem. I'll tell you an easy way to get in. There is a hole in the wall of the well. I shall guide you to that hole through a secret entrance from where you can sit and eat them."

So, the snake agreed to eat the frog's relatives.

"But you eat only those whom I shall point out to you. Don't eat my friends. Now follow me," said the frog.

So, the frog took him into the well and snake started eating up the frogs. One day, when all the enemy relatives of the king frog ended up, the snake asked, "Dear frog, offer me some more frogs, I am hungry."

The frog had offered him all his relatives and now only he was left, he spoke to the snake, "You have accomplished the task for which you were brought here, I am thankful to you for eliminating my enemies. Now you should go back to your place through the secret way."

The snake said, "My place must have been occupied by someone else. I will not go anywhere, so arrange food for me." Sensing trouble the frog made a plan to escape. He said to the snake, "Dear, now I am leaving this well and will contact you soon. I am going to another well and when I'll win the faith of frogs out there, I'll call you."

So the snake let the frog go and started waiting for him. But the frog didn't come back. The snake sent a message to the frog to be back as soon as possible.

But the frog replied, "I am not a fool who'll be back to be eaten up. I don't want to be killed. The snake has killed all my relatives. I shall never go back in that well again." And then he wept bitterly.

This way the frog king escaped from his enemy whom he had made a friend.

There was an old peepal tree in a forest. It had a big hollow in the lower part of its trunk. A partridge came there and made his house in it.
One day, the partridge left its hollow in search of food. Soon he caught sight of ripe food. He began to eat his favorite food.

He decided to inform other birds about food and called them. Many partridges came there and all of them enjoyed the food for many days.

On the other hand a rabbit was looking for a home. Roaming around he found the same hollow in which the partridge lived. As no one was there, he decided to live in there.

When the partridge returned, he found the rabbit living htere.

Angrily, the partridge spoke to the rabbit. He said, "Hey, you get out of my house." The rabbit said, "Sorry sir, I've been living here for seven days. Now, its my house and I'll live here only."

"You talk of days. I have lived here for years," said the partridge. "I won't leave this place at any cost. Do whatever you want to do." said the rabbit.

So a dispute between the partridge and the rabbit took place. All the animals gathered there. They decided to find a judge to solve the dispute. They reached the bank of the holy river Ganga. There they saw a cat who looked very pious. Both of them decided to go to that cat. When they reached near, the cat said, "God bless both of you," and thought, "How tasty meal will I have today."

Presently she said, "May I help you, my children?"

The partridge said, "I had been living in this place for a long time. I went out for a few days and this rabbit took over my property." The rabbit protested strongly.

The cat wanted both of them to come near her so that she could pounce upon them. She asked the two to come near her.

As they got within the cat's reach, she threw her beads and pounced on them. She caught them and ate them up in no time. After eating them up, she again sat back and started counting her beads.

There lived a pair of sparrows in a forest. They had built their nest on a branch of a tree. Mother sparrow laid eggs in the nest and looked after them. Both sparrows lived happily.
On a hot afternoon, a mad elephant wandered into the forest. He was tired and thirsty. He stood under the same tree in which the sparrows had built their nest. The elephant raised his trunk, caught the branch on which the sparrows lived and pulled it down. The nest also fell down on the ground and all the eggs broke.

Mother sparrow began to wail. Father sparrow tried to console her, but in vain.

A woodpecker heard Mother sparrow lamenting. He came to her and sod, "It is no use crying now. You cannot get back your eggs. Do not grieve for what you have lost for ever."

Mother sparrow said, "you are right. But the cruel elephant has destgroyed my eggs. If you are my friend, think a way to kill him."

The woodpecker said, "All right. I will prove to you hoe clever I am. I will take the help of my friend, the fly. With her help, I will easily kill the elephant."

Mother sparrow said, "I will come with you."

Father sparrow said, "Come, let's all go together."

The three friends went to the fly and narrated the sad story of the sparrows. The fly said, "We must kill this cruel elephant. I think we should also take help of the frog. He is my good friend."

The four freinds then went to the frog. The frog herd the sad story. He said, "Unity is strength. If we all get together and think of a plan, there is no reason why we cannot kill the elephant."

The five friends - Mother sparrow, Father sparrow. the woodpecker, the fly and the frog - began to discuss the problem of killing the elephant. After a long discussion, they thought of a plan.

The elephant was resting under a tree. The fly went there and began to buzz into his ear. Before the elephant could do anything, the woodpecker sat on his forehead and pecked his eyes. The elephnt became blind. Unable to bear the pain, he began to cry loudly. The elephant could not see anything and he did not know what to do or where to go for help.

Meanwhile, the frog, who was sitting near a deep trench, began to croak loudly.

The elephant was parched. When he heard the croaking of the frog, he thought that there was a lake in that direction. So he ran towards the trench thinking it to be a lake. And he fell into the trench with a thud. After a few days, the cruel elephant died of thirst and starvation.

Thus, the five friends united and killed a big animal like the elephant.

Father sparrow was proud of Mother sparrow.

Once upon a time, there lived a king whose children were very fond of monkeys. They had many monkeys in their palace. These monkeys lived with their king in the palace. The king monkey was very intelligent.
There was no job for monkeys as such they roamed around freely in the palace and ate whatever they desired. They were becoming fat day by day.
On the other hand, there was a pair of rams in the palace. They were used to pull the carts of the princes. They were also free to eat anything and frequented the royal kitchen at will.

The king of monkeys noticed this. He was very intelligent and far-sighted. He thought that monkeys can be killed due to this pair of rams. How this thought struck his mind ? He imagined that since rams keep entering the kitchen quite often they can accidentally catch fire.

If they catch fire, they will panic out of the kitchen and may rush towards the royal stable. Since the stable is filled with dried grass kept for horses, the grass might catch fire. If the grass catches fire it will spread all other the stable in no time.

The horses will get burn injuries, even if the fire is controlled well in time. Since the horses are more important than other animals, the king will order royal physicians to make them better as fast as possible. For this the physicians will suggest monkey's fat to be applied on the burn wounds of the horses. For their fat the monkeys will be killed.

He thought and said to his fellow monkeys, "My people, listen to me," "I've seen the behaviour of these rams. They are not stopped from moving in or out of the royal kitchen, so if they get burnt they may rush to the stable where they will burn all the horses and then we'll be killed for our fat. Our fat will be required to apply as an ointment. Since horses are more important, they will kill us. So let's run as we are here just for the sake of fun."

The other monkeys laughed at him and said, "We won't go from here. We are getting good food. If you want to go, you may go."

The king became sad and thought, "these foolish people will never understand the plan behind such good food."

After a few days the rams entered the kitchen and a cook smashed a burning stick in anger, one of them caught fire. It ran towards the stable and burnt everything. The horses got burns all over them. So as the monkey king had thought the royal physicians suggested to apply monkey's fat to heal the burns.

The king monkey somehow escaped but all other monkeys were killed for their fat. So the king monkey decided to take revenge by killing everyone in the palace. One day he reached a beutiful lake. He saw the bones of some animals and men all around. He thought that there might be some monster in the lake, so he drank the water through a hollow stem.

While he was drinking water, the monster appeared, wearing beautiful ornaments, from the lake and said, "Though you are a monkey yet you're much smarter than a man. I am very impressed, ask for anything you wish."

The monkey asked, "How many people can you eat at one time?"

"More than a hundred," replied the monster.

"All right, then give me your necklace. It is beautiful," said the monkey.

The monster gave the necklace to the king monkey, he wore the necklace and went to the king's palace. The king saw the necklace and said, "From where did you get such a precious necklace?"

"There's a beautiful lake in the jungle which is full of diamonds and jewels. But one has to enter with hundred people to get the jewels."

All the workers of the palace, the king's whole family and king himself started for that lake.

On reaching there, the monkey said, "King, you wait here. Now, everyone jump in the lake."

All of them jumped in that lake and to the king's surprise no one came out. Then the monkey said, "King, this is my revenge, you've killed all my people and now I've killed them all. Since I am left alone that is why I have left you to live alone and realise your fault."

Thus, the monkey took his revenge.

MORAL : A BOUGHT COMFORT IS NEVER A BLESSING.

Once upon a time, a washerman, named Kali, lived in a village. He had a donkey who was very lean because he did not get enough grass to eat.
One day, while roaming around in the forest the washerman saw a dead tiger. An idea struck his mind, "If I take off this tiger's skin and put it on the donkey, the farmers will get afraid of him and the donkey can freely eat the grass in their fields and thus recover his health."

Thinking so, the washerman took off the tiger's skin. He covered the donkey with this skin and let the donkey free in the fields. The donkey started eating to his fill from that day onward. The washerman freed the donkey during the night and the donkey in the tiger's skin enjoyed his meals and returned to his master in the morning. The donkey used to frighten the villagers, farmers and children and enjoyed himself. He broke windows, pots and many other things of the villagers.

He became proud, thinking himself to be a tiger, "I can scare anyone who comes in my way. No one can dare to stand in front of me."

It so happened that one night while the donkey was grazing in the fields he heard a female donkey, braying at some distance. On hearing the female donkey the donkey in the tiger's skin could not stop himself and started braying loudly.

When the farmers saw the tiger braying they realised their fault. The tiger was in reality a donkey with only a tiger's skin. The farmers came out of their houses. They caught the donkey and started beating him. The donkey could not bear severe blows of sticks and died on the spot.

MORAL : ONE CAN'T ESCAPE REALITY.

Once upon a time, there lived a lion named Madotkata in a forest. He was very big and strong. Other animals of the forest brought presents for him from different places. But the more he received the more he desired.
One day he thought, "As a king I should have some ministers in my court."

Then he summoned a jackal and said, "I want you to be my minister and advisor, because I believe that you are an intelligent creature."

The jackal bowed to the lion and said, "Thank you, your majesty, for honouring me."

Lion then ordered the jackal, "Dear minister, go and bring in a crow."

The jackal went to a crow and asked him, "Dear crow, the king wants to see you."

On reaching back the crow bowed to the king and asked, "What can I do for you, my lord ?"

The king replied, "I want you to be my minister and messenger." The jackal and the crow became lion's faithful ministers.

One day, while taking a round of the jungle, the lion saw a very different creature. He asked the crow to get full information about that animal.

The crow rushed back and said, "My lord, that animal is called camel. He is a gentle, kind and brainless animal. Moreover, he has been seperated from his caravan."

The king felt pity for such a poor animal. He went to the camel and after listening to his tale of woe, invited him to join his group and assured him, "As long as you are here in this jungle, I'll take care of you."

The camel agreed and joined them. Days passed and one day the king fell sick, as he was injured by a mad elephant with whom he had a fight. The jackal, the crow and the king started starving. The lion asked the crow and the jackal to look for an animal who is fully fleshed and can be shared by the three of them.

The crow and the jackal went out to hunt but didn't get any animal. After sometime the crow saw that poor, brainless camel. The crow then discussed a plan with the jackal and went back to the king and said "My lord, in the entire jungle we didn't find any animal fit for you, there's only one left and that is the camel."

The king felt very angry and said, "You fool, how can you even think of that?"

"I've promised him that I shall take care of him. Don't even think. Otherwise I'll kick you out of my group."

But the crow and the jackal were hungry. They immediately made a plan and asked the lion, "But what my lord, if the camel himself offers you his body."

"He says that he will feel proud if you eat him up." the jackal said. The king just nodded his head.

Both of them went to the camel and said, "Our king is dying, he wants to see all his loved ones."

After taking the camel there the crow said, "My lord, please eat me up, I can't see you hungry like that."

The king said, "How can I eat you ? I love you."

The jackal said, "My lord, please eat me up, my flesh will be able to suppress your hunger." The king replied the same.

When the camel saw this he thought, "Both the crow and the jackal have spoken nicely, the king has not eaten anyone, so, I should also offer myself." The camel thought again, "What if I offer him my body, he's anyway going to refuse."

Thinking so, the camel bowed to the king and said, "My lord, you are the one who helped me at the time when I was alone. I have never been helpful to you. But a friend in need is a friend in deed.

Dear crow and jackal are so kind and loveable like you. Moreover you're the king of the jungle. I offer myself to you. Eat me and satisfy your hunger. I shall go to heaven for this sacrifice."

And as he bowed to the king after saying these words, the lion jumped on him and tore him into pieces. The three of them enjoyed the meal.

MORAL : BEWARE OF HYPOCRITES.

Once upon a time there lived a monkey named Red-face on a tree by the side of the sea. The tree was an apple tree and the fruits it bore were sweet as nectar. Once a crocodile named Ugly-Mug swam ashore and Red-face threw apples at him and asked him to taste them. Ugly-Mug started coming everyday ashore and eat the fruits thrown by Red-face and soon they became good friends. Ugly-Mug used to take some fruits to his home to his wife.
His wife was a greedy lady and asked him as to where he got the nectar filled apples. Ugly-Mug told about his friend the monkey. The lady was greedy and pleaded with her husband that she would like to eat the monkey's heart, as a person who gave such tasty fruits must have a heart filled with nectar. Ugly-Mug was angered and did not agree to deceiving his friend. But she then insisted on not eating anything till he brought her his friend's heart. Out of desperation, Ugly-mug started making plans for killing his friend.

He came back to Red-face and entreated him with an invitation to his house for supper stating that his wife would be thrilled to have him home and also that she was very anxious to meet such a nice friend. Poor Red-face believed the story but was asking his friend as to how he could cross the sea to reach the house of the crocodile on the other side. Ugly-mug then offered to carry him on his back and the monkey agreed.

In the middle of the sea, Ugly-mug took the crocodile deep into the ocean to kill the monkey. The monkey was frightened and asked the crocodile why he was doing this. Ugly-mug told him that his wife wanted to eat the monkey's heart filled with nectar. Red-face immediately asked it to take him back to the tree as he told him that he had left his other heart which was full of nectar back at the tree. The foolish crocodile then swam back to the tree and the terrified monkey jumped up the tree never to return. Upon being asked as to why she was not returning, the monkey answered to the crocodile that he had only one heart and he had been fooled and scolded his friend for misusing his friendship.

The crocodile was ashamed at what happened and asked the monkey if he could make any amends. And he was also scared that his wife would not let him back in because he had returned without the monkey's heart. Just then he heard that a huge he-crocodile had occupied the house of his. The monkey advised him to fight the he-crocodile and drive him out of his home and gain his wife's confidence. His advice the crocodile followed and he was back happy with his wife.

Once upon a time there lived a merchant
He had five sons who were his descendants. They asked their father for their own share Co's congestion of space they couldn't bare. The wise father laid a bet So that in future they don't regret

He asked his sons each stick to get.Which he would use for his bet. The father told his son, "Break these."
And they broke each one with perfect ease.The father gathered the sticks from each And tied a bundle to make them teach
The bundle of five was so strong. No one was able to break that bond
They tried and tried and tried again.It wasn't possible, it was a pain.This is a moral we must recall. United we stand divided we fall.

Once there were four Brahmin friends. Three of them were scholars of scripture, while the fourth was illiterate. He was considered wise since he was the son of a Brahmin. One day the four decided to travel around the world to become rich.
They set out on their journey. They managed to earn a lot of money. One day, not long after they had set out, one of them was absent. The eldest scholar said to the other two, "Thank God he is not with us today. Now I have the opportunity to speak. We three are the great scholars, while he is illiterate. We have knowledge through education, while he does not. We can read the holy books and perform religious ceremonies, and he can only help since he can not read. Why, then, should we share our earnings with him?"

"I agree," said the second scholar. "Let us send him away."

But the third scholar was not happy with the suggestion. "No we can't do that. We have grown up together. It is not fair to abandon him now.

Eventually the three forgot their differences and remained friends with the fourth Brahmin. Soon the four were on the road again to continue with their long journey. "We must stop all this wandering about in search of wealth," though the fourth Brahmin. "We need to find jobs, and settle down."

Soon they came to a dense green forest, filled with birds and the sound of other animals. The forest was known to be home to tigers, lions and cobras.

"I don't want to go through the forest," said the first scholar. "The whole place is infested with snakes and birds."

"Well," said the fourth, "we have no choice. I am sure the animals will be too busy to notice us at this time of the day. Just the same, we should move very fast and very quietly."

They were halfway through the forest when they came upon a pile of bones beneath a large tree.

"Hey, look at that," cried the first scholar, considered to be the most intelligent of them all. "Let's use our knowledge and put these bones back together, to bring this animal back to life."

"Oh no, don't do that. You don't know what it is," said the fourth Brahmin.

"Why don't you keep quiet and let us do the thinking?" said the third scholar to the fourth. "You are the always afraid of something, because you are not learned as we are. You had better sit back quietly and let us do the right thing."

"All right," said the fourth Brahmin. "If you are so determined to bring life into these bones, let me first climb up a tree. I do not wish to stand by and watch a ferocious animal taking shape before my eyes." And, he quickly climbed up a nearby tree while the others stood and laughed at him.

"You are stupid and ignorant," jeered the first scholar after him.

But the fourth Brahmin ignored them. He sat on a branch and watched in silence as the first scholar collected the bones and arranged them into a skeleton. The second one added the skin, blood and flesh into the skeleton with his mystical powers. The third was about to put life into the body when the fourth called from the tree, "Watch out. It's the body of a lion. He will kill us all if you bring him to life."

But the others only laughed at him. "You just sit there and watch the magic of our skill and knowledge. It is a great thing to bring a dead creature to life," laughed the first scholar. "Only the learned can do so. You cannot understand the joy of mastering this skill."

The three then proudly carried on with their work. But as soon as the third scholar brought the lion to life, it sprang upon the three and killed them all. After making a great feast of his foolish creators, the created walked away for a deep slumber beneath the shade of a tree.

The fourth Brahmin watched it all, and when the lion went away, he cautiously climbed down the tree and ran home. He told everyone what had happened and added, "It is not knowledge but wisdom that is great. Alas, my learned friends did not understand this, in spite of being so well educated."

A heron once lived beside a big pond in a forest in South India. He enjoyed eating fish and other creatures from the pond for many years, until he became old and feeble. When he could no longer fish for himself, he had to think of a plan to get his daily food.
One fine day he stood in the middle of the pond, meditating on one leg, and let all the fish and frogs pass by unhurt. All the creatures of the pond were surprised at this.

A crab came to him and said, "Uncle, why are you so inactive these days? You have not caught even a single fish or frog."

"My child, times have changed," replied the heron sadly. "We are soon going to face very hard times. The creatures of the pond are going to die. I am told."

"How?" the crab asked in surprise.

"The pond has been sold off," explained the heron. "Soon it will be filled in and turned into a farm, which means that the creatures living here are going to die."

"Oh no," exclaimed the crab. "This is very serious. I must warn all the creatures immediately."

"That will be an act of mercy," said the heron. "God will bless you for your great deed of kindness." He watched with amusement while the crab rushed about, informing the other creatures of the pond's near end.

The fish were the first to be frightened. They rushed to the heron and said, "We've learnt about your concern for us. Please save us from this situation."

The heron looked at them thoughtfully and then said calmly, "I am just a bird but I think I know how to help you out of this plight. There is a big pond not far from here which, I am sure, is not sold, nor it is going to be sold, because of the poor quality of land around it. If you are willing and will cooperate, I can safely carry you there."

The fish surrounded the heron and pleaded, "Please take me first, I trust you, take me first, I am ready."

"I am not young or strong enough to carry all of you at a time," replied the heron. "I can only carry one at a time, holding you in my beak."

The fish were happy at that. They were very frightened and all that was important to them was to be transported to the other pond.

Over the next few days the heron carried them one at a time. But instead of taking the fish to the pond, he flew to a big rock and ate them with great relish.

The crab was observing all this wish suspicion. One day he came to the heron and said, "Uncle, please take me this time. I want to be saved too. You have been only taking the fish. This time, give me a chance."

"Of course, I will take you," replied the heron with pleasure, thinking that he would have the opportunity to try flesh of a different taste. He picked up the crab in his beak and began to fly.

From a distance the crab saw a pile of bones on the rock and instantly understood that they were the bones of all the fish who had left the pond in recent days. "Uncle heron, how far is the new pond from here?" he asked, summoning his courage.

The heron replied, "Which pond? This of your god and get ready to meet your death."

But the crab was smart. Very tightly, he grabbed the heron's neck in his claws, digging into his flesh. The heron had to open his beak and let the crab free. The crab was able to dig further into the heron's neck, who tried in vain to escape. Finally, the heron fell to the ground, choked to death.

The crab dragged the dead heron back to the pond and told the other creatures how the heron had betrayed their trust.

All the creatures of the pond thanked him for saving their lives and said that they had learned a lesson.

"Yes", said the crab. "A sweet tongue can be deceitful and one should beware of it."

A lion once lived in the jungle near the city of Dehra Dun, in the north of India. He lived with his devoted servant, a fox. The lion would hunt for himself and, after he had eaten the best part of his prey, he would give the fox the leftovers. The two lived happily together in peace for many years until they both grew old and feeble. One day the lion was wounded in a fight with an elephant. He found it hard to move and hunt for his food.
"My dear fox, we are both going to starve to death this way," he said to the fox one evening. "I cannot go out to hunt any more. It is time for you to bring me an animal to kill here."

The next morning the fox set out in search of the prey. Soon he saw an ass grazing outside the city of Dehra Dun.

"Hello," said the fox to the ass. "You look very sad. What is the matter?"

"Oh, I am sick of my life as a beast of burden," replied the ass. "I carry the clothes of my master, a washerman, every day yet he is never grateful. Instead, he beats me with his stick and speaks to me rudely. I have no one to talk to because I am never free to find myself a friend. I am so tired of this life."

"That is very sad," said the fox. "It's not fair that your master should be so mean. You can not be a slave to this man for the rest of your life. Come with me, and find happiness in the jungle. Everyone is free and peaceful there. You will get plenty of food, good shelter and , if you desire, a bride."

The ass looked at the fox with interest, "A bride too?" he exclaimed, with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Yes, a bride too," said the fox. "I know a female ass that would make a good bride for you. She is also lonely and looking for a husband. She wants to marry and raise a family. This is no life for you," he added.

"I think you are right," the ass said thoughtfully. "I will come with you and teach my master a lesson. I have a right to a better life."

He went to the jungle with the fox and soon they came to the lion's den. Before he knew what was happening, the old lion jumped from the den onto the ass, but with his injury and old age missed his aim. This frightened the ass, and he ran away from the den as fast as he could.

"What an impatient creature," cried the fox in anger. "The prey escaped because of your foolishness. Could you not have waited for a while, and then pounced at him?"

"Well," replied the lion, "it was not fault. You did not bring him close enough to me. I was scared I would miss him, so I jumped at him in a hurry."

The fox shook his head in despair and said, "Okay, I'll bring him once again. This time, be ready to pounce on him properly and kill him, before he has time to escape."

The fox ran after the ass, who was heading back towards the city. "Hey, wait for me," he called out. "What happened? Why did you run?"

The ass stopped and looked back at the fox. "Who was that with those bright eyes?" he asked. "Why did he jump at me like that?"

Realizing the ass had not known the lion, the clever fox replied, "My dear ass, that was the bride. She has been doing a lot of fasting and prayers to find a good husband. All the fasting has made her very thin. Nothing except her bright eyes can be seen. She was so happy to see after many years spent longing for a husband that in her eagerness she jumped at you, and you ran away."

"Oh, I am so sorry," said the ass. "I shall return and see her again." He wanted so much to be married and have a companion for life.

They returned to the den. This time the lion was careful and said in a soft voice, "Come closer, my dear. I love you."

The ass blushed and went further into the dark den, thinking his bride waited in the shadows. The lion raised his claw and, instead of the ass receiving the garland he expected, he was given a blow which killed him instantly.

The fox was happy this time. His master had killed the prey, and they were going to enjoy a good meal after so many days of hunger. He had an idea and said to the lion, "Master, you are tired. You should go and refresh yourself with a good bath at the river before eating the meal."

"That's true," said the lion. "I feel hot and exhausted already. You keep a watch over the body until I return." With that, the lion left the den and went down to the river to swim.

The fox was hungry. He looked at the dead ass, and thought, "I have earned this game by my intelligence. The lion is going to take the major share of the meal for himself, as usual. It is not fair. Well, this time I will not let it happen. I am going to finish my meal before he gets back."

So the fox set upon the ears and the brain of the ass and ate it with relish. When the lion returned, he looked at the dead ass and inquired angrily, "What has happened to the ears and the brain? Who has eaten it? I asked you to keep a watch while I went for a bath."

"My dear Master," replied the fox, "the ass had neither ears nor a brain. If he had any, do you think he would have come here again the second time?"

"Of course he would not have, you are very correct," agreed the lion. "I shall feed myself first, and then you can take the leftovers. You worked very hard this time. You deserve to eat also."

The fox sat down in one corner and chuckled to himself while the lion at what was left of the ass. He had deceived the mighty lion with his intelligence and ingenuity.

There was once a donkey who became the friends with a fox during his night-time wandering. Since the donkey was older in age, the fox addressed him as Chachaji, which means uncle or father's brother, out of respect. The donkey called the fox Bhatija, or nephew.
One night the donkey and fox found their way into a cucumber farm. They ate the fresh cucumbers to their hearts' content. For the next few weeks they were at the farm every night enjoying the cucumbers.

"Oh, these are so delicious, I cannot stop eating them, Chachaji," said the fox one night.

They are luscious, dear Bhatija, but look at the sky and the bright full moon," replied the donkey. "It is so romantic. The night is so pleasant with the cool breeze. I feel like singing."

"Chachaji, please don't do that," begged the fox. "We will be in great trouble if the guards hear your singing. It is best to be quiet and enjoy the cucumbers."

"My dear, I cannot help singing in these beautiful surroundings," sad the donkey, clearing his throat for a song.

"Chachaji, you know you do not have a melodious voice. Your singing will only make the guards angry," said the fox.

"What do you know about music and rhythm? You do not appreciate the beauty of music," replied the donkey with hurt in his voice.

Now Chachaji, please stop it. Your singing will please no one but yourself. It will only make the watchman rush out and give you the kind of reward which you will remember the rest of your life."

"You think I cannot sing?" said the donkey proudly. "I know I can sing very beautifully. Sit down and listen to me quietly, my dear Bhatija."

It was obvious that the donkey was not going to take the fox's advice and that soon they would be in trouble with the watchman.

The fox decided to save himself. "Chachaji," he said, "wait a little. Let me go out and keep watch over the guards. You can sing to your heart's content once I have gone."

The fox hurriedly left the farm before the donkey could begin his loud, harsh singing. The watchmen were already on the lookout for the animal who had been taking the cucumbers at nigh and, as soon as they heard the singing of the donkey, they rushed out towards him with their heavy sticks. They beat the donkey until he fell unconscious to the ground. They then tied a stone to his neck before leaving him to die.

Fortunately, the donkey recovered, and somehow dragged himself out of the farm to where the fox was waiting for him.

"So in spite of my warnings you did sing, Chachaji," said the fox, laughing. "And is this the reward the guards have given you? Well, accept my congratulations."

"Bhatija, do not taunt me," moaned the donkey in a gruff voice. "I am already depressed. I was a fool not to have listened to good advice given by a friend. I have suffered heavily as a result. Please leave me to lament over my foolishness."

In the morning when the washer man found the donkey, he swore at his own fate. "What good is a wounded donkey to me? I have to work and provide for my family, I cannot waste time on a foolish donkey who gets himself injured overnight." The washer man hurried off, carrying the bundle of dirty clothes on his head and leaving the donkey behind.

Once a tortoise lived near a pond in a forest. One day he met a pair of geese who had come to drink water from the pond. "Hello", said the tortoise. "It is a beautiful day. Too good to sit inside the house. Where do you live?"
"Not far from here" replied Shanti, one of the geese. "We often come to drink water, but we have never seen you before."

"I usually stay indoors," replied the tortoise.

He and the geese became friends and started meeting every day. The tortoise would come out of the pond and the three would spend a long time wandering around the forest happily talking and gossiping.

Not long after, there was a famine and the trees in the forest died as the rivers and ponds dried up. Many birds and animals died because there was no water available. Those that lived in the forest started looking for somewhere else to live. Even the geese decided to leave for a better place.

Before leaving, they came to the tortoise and said, "We have decided to go away from this dry forest before we also die. We have come to say goodbye to you and wish you all the best."

"So you are leaving me to face my death?" cried the tortoise. "What kind of friends of you? I am so frightened living here alone and facing this deadly environment. Take me with you," he pleaded.

"How can we take you with us?" Shanti replied. "You cannot fly. We do not wish to leave you here to face death, but we don't know how to take you with us."

"I know I can't fly," the tortoise said with tears in his eyes. "But you can help me. I can tell you how, if you are willing to take me along."

"How?" the geese asked. "We will take you if we can."

"All right then," said the tortoise with a sign of relief. "Get a strong stick and hold it on either side with your beaks. I can hold onto the middle, with my mouth. Then you can fly carrying me along."

Shanti and her partner immediately accepted the proposal and set out to find a suitable pond for the tortoise's new home. Once they found one, they returned to the tortoise with a large stick.

"Now that is a good strong stick," said the tortoise. "Let us start our journey. This place is becoming a bit too dry."

"All right, let us start our journey," replied Shanti. "But first, remember that you must not speak at all. If you open your mouth, you will fall. So remember to stay quiet throughout the journey."

"I am not a fool," replied the tortoise. "I know what could happen."

"Well then, let us go," Shanti said. "I want to take you with us to our beautiful pond where we know you are going to be happy, and we can live the way did in the forest. We don't want to lose you."

They began their journey towards their new home. The tortoise was taken up with the sights he saw along the way, and very often he felt like saying something about them. But he remembered Shanti's advice.

Soon they were flying over a large city, where there were a lot of people. Suddenly they saw a crowd clapping hands and pointing to them, saying, "Look, look there! The geese are carrying away a foolish tortoise."

The tortoise became very angry. He could not bear it any more and opened his mouth to tell the crowd off. He fell right into the middle of the crowd and died.

"What a foolish tortoise," laughed one of the crowd. "Did he think he could fly by himself?" The others joined him in making fun of the tortoise's stupidity, while the geese cried for their loss. They were sad and their hearts were filled with pain. "Our poor friend," cried Shanti. "He did not understand that real happiness comes from keeping quiet."

There once lived a lion in the thick jungle at the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. He was ferocious and cruel. He hunted and killed more creatures than he required for his meals.
One day the animals of the jungle got together and decided that they would have to speak to the lion, otherwise, with the way he was killing, there would be no creatures left in the jungle. So they went to where the lion lived to convince him to change his ways.

"Your majesty," said the monkey, "We have noticed that you hunt many more animals that you can eat. There will soon be no animals left in your kingdom. You will be a king without any subjects. We suggest that you do not go hunting any more. Instead, allow us to send you an animal each day for your food. You will get your food, and no more lives shall be lost unnecessarily."

"All right," replied the lion in a gruff voice. "But I warn you that if one day I do not receive my food, I'll kill everyone of you."

All the animals bowed their heads in respect to the lion and agreed to his warning. From that day on, an animal was sent to the lion for his daily meal without fail. For a while everything went very well. Then one day it was the turn of an old and intelligent rabbit. He set out to the lion's den with four of his nephews. He was telling them about his youth, when he was able to run swiftly to defend himself from the ferocious animals of the jungle. The old rabbit did not want to die.

"I don't want to give myself to the cruel old lion," he said. "I am sure I can save myself, even now when I am old. I don't need to run at this age, but need to use my intelligence."

Suddenly he saw an old well and thought of an idea. "My dear nephews," said the rabbit, "you must wait for me near this old well. Stay quiet when the lion turns up. I will be with him. I am sure I can save myself - and the other animals too."

When the rabbit arrived at the lion's den, the lion was furious at him turning up so late.

"Why are you so late? It is past my meal time," the lion roared in anger.

The old rabbit bowed his head low to show respect to the lion. "Sorry your majesty," the rabbit said quietly, "but it is not my fault. It is not even the fault of the other animals. They had packed me off with four other rabbits because they said I was too tiny for your voracious appetite."

"Then where are the other rabbits?" should the hungry lion.

"On the way we met another lion who stopped us and said that he was the king of the jungle," said the rabbit shaking in fear. "We told him about you, and that you were very big and strong, and that is why no one but you could only be the king of the jungle."

"And then what happened?" asked the lion, feeling proud and mighty.

"He asked me to leave my nephews with him and to bring you to him," replied the rabbit. "He said that he would fight a duel with you, and the one who wins will be considered the king of the jungle."

This made the lion angrier. "How dare he! I am the only king of this jungle. Come, show me this arrogant lion. I shall crush him to death in no time and teach him a lesson for life."

The rabbit bowed his head again and said, "Quite right, sir. He should be punished. Let us hurry before he kills the other four rabbits, and takes your food away from you."

The rabbit took the lion to the old well and said, "The other lion lives in a castle inside the well. Be careful of him. The hidden enemy is more dangerous. Fight him and kill him on the spot, and then you can enjoy your meal in peace."

"Where is the lion?" roared the lion as he climbed the edge of the well and peered inside.

"There he is, sir," said the rabbit pointing to the lion's reflection in the water. "He is showing his temper. Look sir. How dare he try to show is temper. We know that you are the most powerful king of this jungle. How dare he try to equal you!"

The lion saw his reflection in the water and roared in anger. The thought that the other lion was doing the same, and in his anger he jumped inside the well, desperate to kill his enemy.

The lion fell with a great splash into the water. His head hit the rocks at the bottom of the well and he died. The rabbit was fully of joy because his trick had worked. His nephews came out of hiding and they celebrated the death of the lion. They ran to the other animals and informed them of the death of the hunter. Everyone was full of praise for the old rabbit.

"Intelligence is surely far superior to physical strength," the wise old monkey said to the rabbit that afternoon as they peacefully rested by the mango tree.