FOX AND THE GOAT

Once a fox was roaming around in the dark. Unfortunately, he fell into a well. He tried his level best to
come out but all in vain. So, he had no other alternative but to remain there till the next morning. The
next day, a goat came that way. She peeped into the well and saw the fox there. The goat asked “what
are you doing there, Mr. Fox?”

The sly fox replied, “I came here to drink water. It is the best I have ever tasted. Come and see for
yourself.” Without thinking even for a while, the goat jumped into the well, quenched her thirst and
looked for a way to get out. But just like the fox, she also found herself helpless to come out.

Then the fox said, “I have an idea. You stand on your hind legs. I’ll climb on your head and get out. Then
I shall help you come out too.” The goat was innocent enough to understand the shrewdness of the fox
and did as the fox said and helped him get out of the well.

While walking away, the fox said, “Had you been intelligent enough, you would never have got in
without seeing how to get out.”

Moral: Look before you leap. Do not just blindly walk in to anything without thinking.
 LION AND HIS EAR

There was a lion who feared nothing except the crowing of cocks. A chill would go down his spine
whenever he heard a cock crowing. One day he confessed his fear to the elephant, who was greatly
amused. “How can the crowing of a cock hurt you?” he asked the lion. “Think about it!” Just then a
mosquito began circling the elephant’s head, frightening him out of his wits. “If it gets into my ear I’m
doomed!” he shrieked, flailing at the insect with his trunk. Now it was the lion’s turn to feel amused.

Moral: If we could see our fears as others see them we would realize that most of our fears make no
sense!

THE GOLDEN EGG

Once upon a time there lived a cloth merchant in a village with his wife and two children. They were
indeed quite well-off. They had a beautiful hen which laid an egg everyday. It was not an ordinary egg,
rather, a golden egg. But the man was not satisfied with what he used to get daily. He was a get rich-
trice kind of a person.

The man wanted to get all the golden eggs from his hen at one single go. So, one day he thought hard
and at last clicked upon a plan. He decided to kill the hen and get all the eggs together.

So, the next day when the hen laid a golden egg, the man caught hold of it, took a sharp knife, chopped
off its neck and cut its body open. There was nothing but blood all around no trace of any egg at all. He
was highly grieved because now he would not get even one single egg.

His life was going on smoothly with one egg a day but now, he himself made his life miserable. The
outcome of his greed was that he started becoming poorer poorer day by day and ultimately became a
pauper. How jinxed and how much foolish he was.

Moral: One who desires more, loses all. One should remain satisfied with what one gets.
 THE LITTLE MOUSE

Once upon a time there was a Baby Mouse and Mother Mouse. They lived in a hole in the skirting board
in a big, warm house with lots of cheese to eat, where they wanted for nothing. Then, one day, Mother
Mouse decided to take Baby Mouse outside of their home. Waiting outside for them was a huge ginger
tomcat, licking it’s lips and waiting to eat them both up.

Mother, Mother! What should we do? Cried Baby Mouse, clinging to his mother’s tail. Mother Mouse
paused, staring up into the beady eyes of the hungry cat. But she wasn’t scared, because she knew
exactly how to deal with big, scary cats. She opened her mouth and took in a deep breath.

Woof! Woof! Bark bark bark! She shouted, and the cat ran away as fast as he could.

Wow, Mother! That was amazing! Baby Mouse said to his mother, smiling happily. And that, my child, is
why it is always best to have a second language.

Moral: It’s always good to have a second language.

In answer to the third question, Birbal said, “Counting the exact number of men and women in the
world would be a problem as there are some specimens like our courtier friend here who cannot easily
be classified as either.

Therefore if all people like him are killed, then and only then can one count the exact number.”

Moral: There is Always a Way.

THE GREEDY DOG

Once a dog was waiting near a meat shop the hope to get by chance a piece of meat. Soon he found an
opportunity.

The shopkeeper had a good number of customers visiting his shop at a time, and he became busy in
talking to them and selling meat according to their respective laments.

In the meantime, the dog managed to bite a lump of meat from the shop and ran away as fast as
possible. He reached the bank of a river and wanted to cross the river by the bridge that was laid over it.
The dog climbed the bridge, and as he came near the middle of it, he saw his own shadow fell on the
bed of the river, which reflected that a dog was standing with a lump of flesh in his mouth.

The dog became greedy and wanted to a way that piece of meat also. So he jumped into the river to
catch hold of the meat. And he was soon carried away by the strong current of the river. Thus the dog
had received the result of his greed.

A MONKEY AND A TWO CATS

Once a cake was stolen by two cats from a house. But they did not want to share it.

Each of the cats claimed that it was his earning and that he was not prepared to give a share to the
other. When their quarrel reached the climax, a monkey appeared on the scene. He offered himself to
solve the dispute. He heard the case and opined that as they were good friends, they should share the
cake equally. And he offered himself to divide the cake into two equal parts for them.

Somehow the cats agreed to his suggestion. Then the monkey took and 'divided the cake into two parts.
He weighed each of the parts separately, and found that one was heavier than the other. So he gave a
good bite to the heavier piece to make it of lesser weight, and weighed it again. Now he found the other
part heavier. So again, he gave a good bite to the heavier piece and put it one the scale. Now it
appeared to be of lesser weight. Again, he gave a good bite to the presently heavier piece to make it
equal in weight to the other. But none of the two pieces appeared to be perfectly equal in weight.

Now the cake was almost eaten up by the clever monkey this Way. So the cats wanted the remaining
parts back from the monkey. At this, the monkey said that they cannot get them back, because he
claims them as remuneration for his service to them. So saying, the monkey swallowed the tuning two
small pieces of the cake and jumped high to of a tree, beyond the reach of the cats.

UNGRATEFUL TIGER

There lived in a forest a ferocious tiger who found pleasure in killing animals, even when he was not
hungry. Every bird and beast used to avoid him.

Once the tiger killed an animal, and while eating it, a small bone stuck to his throat. This gave
tremendous pain to him. He crying requested each and every bird and beast in the forest to take out the
bone, and announced a reward for the job, as will be desired by the rescuer. But no one dared to come
forward to help him, because they knew that the tiger was not at all dependable. As soon as the bone
was taken out, he would kill his helper.
Seeing the deplorable condition of the tiger, at last a kind crane came near him and said, "See, your
reputation is bad. No one believes you. If you promise me a reward and also that you would not kill me
as soon as I take out the bone, I am ready to help you."

The tiger said, "How can I kill a benevolent friend who would bring me relief from this pain? I promise
not to kill you, and also promise to reward you according to your wish."

At this, the crane inserted his long neck into the tiger's mouth and with his sharp beak, he soon
uprooted the bone. Then he asked the tiger to suitably reward him according to his promise.

The tiger replied, "You foolish crane, how do you dare to ask reward from a tiger? By the good luck of
your forefathers, you've been able to save your life from me, or I would have eaten up, your head when
it was inserted inside my broad mouth. And that is your great reward."

THE CLEVER RABIT

Once upon a time, deep in the jungle, there was a tiger who hunted for his dinner day and night.

The rest of the animals lived in fear of the tiger because he was the biggest and most powerful animal of
them all. Day and night they feared that they would be hunted down and gobbled up by the big, fierce
tiger. The antelope were scared, the pigs were scared, even the monkeys were scared but nothing could
be done about the fierce tiger.

The only animal who was not scared of the big, fierce tiger was the clever rabbit. He lived in a burrow
beneath the ground and only came out for food when he was sure that the tiger was asleep and the
jungle was safe. But the rabbit was also kind and generous, and he felt sorry for the animals of the
jungle that were forced to live in fear of the tiger.

One evening, all of the animals were gathered together at the meeting place.
‘What can we do about the tiger?’ asked the monkeys.

‘We're a bit tired of being scared,’ said the pigs.

It was then that the clever rabbit stood up in front of all the animals and said: ‘I shall deal with the tiger.
You leave him to me and very soon we shall all be safe again!’

The animals were very grateful to the rabbit, but they did not believe that such a small creature could
help them get rid of the big, fierce tiger.

‘You are only small,’ they said. ‘What can you do against a big, strong, fierce tiger?’

‘Just you wait and see,’ said the clever rabbit, and he hopped off towards the tiger’s house deep in the
jungle.

When the clever rabbit got to the tiger’s house, he was very scared but also very determined that he
would help the other animals.

‘I have come to tell you,’ the clever rabbit said in his bravest voice, ‘that there is a bigger and fiercer
tiger than you in the jungle.’

‘That is impossible!’ roared the tiger. ‘I am the biggest and fiercest tiger of them all and I will gobble you
up right now to prove it!’

‘But I am telling the truth,’ said the clever rabbit. ‘This tiger captured my brother and warned me that he
would be back to challenge any animal who thought that they were bigger and stronger than he was.’

‘Show me where he is,’ demanded the tiger, ‘and we shall see who is the biggest and fiercest of them
all!’

‘If I show you where the other tiger is,’ said the rabbit, ‘do you promise not to gobble me or my brother
up?’

‘I promise,’ said the tiger.

And so the rabbit and the tiger set off together, walking through the jungle.

After a while, the rabbit flopped to the ground and pretended that he was too tired to carry on. ‘I'm very
tired,’ he said. ‘Will you carry me, please?’

The tiger agreed to carry the clever rabbit with his big paws so they carried on through the jungle.

It was not long before the tiger and the clever rabbit reached a small clearing in the jungle where there
was a very deep well with water at the bottom.
‘The tiger that is bigger and fiercer than you lives in the bottom of that well,’ said the clever rabbit.

‘And he has your brother?’ asked the tiger.

‘Yes, he does. But you must not gobble us up because you promised.’

The tiger just smiled and crept slowly towards the edge of the deep well. When he reached the edge of
the well, he looked down into the water below and thought that he saw a tiger holding a rabbit in its
paws.

‘Now you must keep your promise and rescue my brother,’ said the clever rabbit.

‘I shall do no such thing!’ roared the tiger. ‘I shall gobble you and your brother up and I shall fight the
tiger that challenges me in my own jungle!’

But as soon as the big tiger had said this, the clever rabbit jumped off the tiger’s paws. The tiger did not
realise that he was looking down at his own reflection in the water at the bottom of the well!

The fierce tiger jumped into the well, thinking that he was attacking the other tiger. But instead of
another tiger waiting at the bottom of the well, he found only cold water!

The big, fierce tiger struggled and splashed in the water but could find no way out.

‘You may be big and strong,’ said the clever rabbit, ‘but I am the cleverest!’

When the rabbit returned to the meeting place, he told the rest of the animals that he had trapped the
fierce tiger down the well.

‘Now you can all live without being scared of being gobbled up,’ the clever rabbit said.

The animals were very happy and very grateful to the clever rabbit, and that night there was a big
celebration because at last the jungle was safe from the big, fierce tiger!

WHO IS CLEVEREST, SHEEP OR LION?

A very long time ago, there was a crafty lion and a clever sheep. One day, the clever sheep was eating
some grass in a clearing with his friend when the crafty lion came creeping across the fields towards
them. When the lion came out of the tall grass the sheep prepared to run because they were scared of
his sharp claws and his big teeth. ‘You don’t need to run away,’ said the lion in a friendly voice. ‘I am
simply here to tell you about a lovely fresh water lake just beyond these fields. Why don’t you come
with me and have a drink.’
The clever sheep knew better than to trust the lion, but his friend was very thirsty and so agreed to go
for a drink with the lion. The clever sheep warned his friend but the friend did not listen.

And so the lion lured the sheep into the tall grass with the promise of fresh water. The lion looked all
about to make sure that no other animals were around to help the sheep, and when he was sure they
were alone he pounced on the unsuspecting animal, and ate him for his dinner.

Later that day, when his friend did not return to the herd, the clever sheep was sure that the crafty lion
had eaten him. ‘That is ten sheep this month,’ he thought to himself. ‘I must do something to stop the
crafty lion before I lose all of my friends!’

And so the clever sheep warned the rest of the herd about the crafty lion and his tricks. But the silly
sheep did not listen, and as the weeks and months passed, the crafty lion lured more and more sheep
into the tall grass with the promise of fresh water. And it was there that they met their grizzly end.

One day, the clever sheep decided that it was down to him to do something about the crafty lion and his
wicked ways.

The clever sheep waited until nightfall and then crept out into the clearing next to the long grass. When
he was sure that he was alone, he began to dig a very deep hole in the ground. When this was done, he
built a huge fire at the bottom of the hole then covered the hole over with reeds and grass so that the
smoke would be hidden from view.

The clever sheep waited patiently until dawn, and just as the sun was rising over the fields he heard a
familiar voice coming from the tall grass.

‘Why don’t you come with me, little sheep. I know of a fresh water lake just beyond the fields where you
can enjoy a cool drink of water.’

The clever sheep did not move from his spot. Instead, the sheep said, ‘why don’t you come out of the
tall grass and I will show you where you can find lots of sheep to eat.’

The lion was indeed very crafty, but he was also very greedy and could not resist the temptation of such
a huge dinner.

‘Come with me,’ said the sheep once more, ‘and I will show you where the herd lives.’

And sure enough, the lion stepped out from the tall grass into the clearing. But as soon as he stepped
from the grass, he fell down into the deep hole and burned in the roaring fire set by the clever sheep.

‘That is the end of you and your wicked ways,’ thought the clever sheep to himself. ‘Now us sheep will
be safe, for a while at least.’
When the clever sheep returned home he told the rest of the herd about his victory over the lion. They
all cheered and congratulated their friend, and they all asked how he was able to kill the crafty lion
when the beast was so big and strong yet he was so small and fragile.

‘It was simple,’ replied the clever sheep, ‘all I did was watch and learn from the mistakes of others.’

The clever sheep then went on to explain how he had watched the crafty lion lure his friends into the
fields, and he also explained that this was how he had learned of the lion’s greedy nature.

The rest of the herd listened closely to the clever sheep and so they too learned never to trust the lions
again, and they also learned how important is was to listen to good advice given by a friend.

WHY ELEPHANT CAN’T FLY?

A long time ago, much longer than most people can remember, elephants could fly! They had four
enormous wings and they whizzed through the sky so fast that it amazed the other animals. But these
big beasts were sometimes also stupid. But shhh… the other animals would keep quiet about it and
never discuss it.

Because the elephants were so strong and so fast, God decided to take their help. He could ride on
these big beasts and they could help Him to put the finishing touches to the world. In a moment He
could be in China and from there, within the blink of an eye, He could zoom off to Iceland! And these
elephants were so strong that they pushed and pushed at mountains and icebergs, shifting them until
everything in the world was perfect. For example, they helped God to put the Himalayas in India – and in
Tanzania, they had Mount Kilimanjaro. By riding on these elephants, God sorted the whole world out
and made it absolutely perfect.

Once this big job had been completed, God told the elephants that they could have a permanent
holiday. Uh… that is, until He had something else for them to do. Now the elephants did not have very
much to do. Then do you know what happened?

The elephants became idle and to pass their time, they talked about the old days. They talked about
how strong they had been. They talked about how fast they were, and how God had favoured them.
And the more they talked, the more they came to think that they were much, much better than all the
other animals on Earth.

They were definitely the most important!

The elephants chattered idly to each other. ‘Look at that peacock,’ they would say unkindly. ‘See how
ugly and brown his little wings are compared to ours!’ And they would always make sure to raise their
voices high so that the little peacock could hear their mean words. And the poor peacock, who was kind
and humble at heart, could not disagree with the elephants. He thought, ‘The elephants are right. I am
small. My wings are not beautiful like those of the fairies and nor am I strong like the elephants.’

As time went on, the elephants began to pride themselves. They began to think that they could do
whatever they wanted. The greedy elephants would take all the bananas from the banana tree, leaving
none for the other animals. The other animals were sad because they did not get even one banana for
their meal. And you know what the elephants did with these bananas in their trunks?

The elephants would come down into a village, any village they liked – and they would spread their
wings like a carpet and sit down to have their picnic. The whole village would be squashed under the
weight of the elephants. The houses would be flattened and the fields would be ruined and the villagers
would be deeply upset.

The poor villagers were very angry at the destruction of their homes, and the animals with their empty
stomachs were also very cross. And so God decided enough was enough. These proud and greedy
elephants had gotten far too big for their trunks, and needed to be taught a lesson!

God invited all the elephants for a chat. He said to them, ‘Oh mighty elephants, listen to Me. I am very
grateful to you for helping me make the world perfect. So I want to throw a party. Only for the
elephants.'

All the elephants were very happy. One elephant said to another, ‘See! Even God can see how strong
and brave we are – how much we have helped Him. It is right that He should have a party just for us!’

So the greedy elephants, all puffed up with pride and confidence, turned up to the feast one by one. As
promised, God had found the best food, and there were mountains of it! Bright yellow bananas, deep
red pomegranates, tangy guavas, juicy mangoes… whatever fruits you could imagine, they were there.
The greedy elephants were delighted. And they ate it all up. Every last bit.

By the end of the meal the elephants were so full that one by one they dropped off to sleep, surrounded
by discarded banana peels and mango skins. This was the moment God had been waiting for. When the
last elephant had closed his eyes, God took out a very big knife. Quietly, He went to each elephant and
chopped off their wings. And He gave these beautiful wings to the little peacocks. The little peacocks
were so happy that they ran into the forest to sing and dance.

Have you seen the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance?

Have you seen the peacocks dance, all around the trees?

Yes, I’ve seen the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance,

Yes, I’ve seen the peacocks dance, all around the trees.
And now think of the elephants. When the elephants finally awoke from their long sleep, they were
shocked to see the beautiful peacock swishing his impressive feathers at them. They were really, really
angry. But God had no time to listen to their complaints. Instead He said, ‘I want you elephants to
become nicer, kinder. I want you to use your strength and help the villagers to re-build their houses.’

The elephants felt very ashamed of what they had done. They resolved to help the villagers as much as
they could. So even today, in every village, there are elephants that come and go, helping people as they
pass by.

THE HUNGRY MOUSE

A mouse was having a very thought time. She had no food for many days and made strenuous efforts
get her food. All her efforts went in vain. She looked everywhere to find her food. As the days pass by,
she became very thin.

One day, the mouse found a basket with corns. She also noticed a tiny hole in the basket, which was
sufficient enough to move her in. She easily moved inside the hole.

Since she had no foods for many days, she ate a large amount of corn. Without realizing her, she
continuously ate more and more corns. She realized very later that she ate a lot more than she actually
required. After eating a whole lot of corn, she became very fat!

Satisfied with corns, the fat mouse tried to come out of the basket through the small hole.
Unfortunately, the tiny hole could not accommodate the big mouse!!!!

The mouse started screaming 'Oh god! Let me come out, how can I come out?'

A rat after hearing mouse's screaming voice from the basket, asked her what happened!

Mouse told the story and asked rat a solution.

Rat told, 'if you want to come out the basket, wait for sometime or even days to lose your all your fat
until you grow thin.'

Mouse started to starve now but with lots of food to come out of the trap!

Anything too much is good for nothing!

A dog and a cock, who were the best of friends, decided to leave their farm as they wanted to travel and
see the world.

They were curious and wanted to see what was there beyond their farm. So, they decided to leave the
farmyard, and set out along the road that led to the woods, that would lead them on their path to see
the world. The two friends were extremely happy about their decision to travel to see the world, and
were hoping for many adventures on their way.

As night approached, the cock, searched for a place to roost as was his usual custom. He spotted a tall,
hollow tree, on the border of the forest, and felt that the tree would be an excellent place for spending
the night. The cock also thought that his friend, the dog could sleep inside the hollow base of the tree.
And as per plan, the dog slept below, and the cock flew to one of the branches, and spent the night
there. Both having found a safe and nice place to rest, they slept comfortably.

As the first glimmer of dawn approached, the cock forgot for a moment where he was. He woke up
thinking that he was still at the farmyard. As it was his duty to arouse and wake the rest of the animals
at the farm at daybreak, he stood tip-toes on the branch, flapped his wings, and crowed proudly. Having
crowed two or three times, he suddenly realized that he was not at the farm anymore, and stopped
crowing.

However, the damage had been done, and instead of waking the farm animals and the farmer, he had
awakened a fox, who was not too far in the woods.

The fox was hungry as he had not eaten anything the previous day, and was on the lookout for a prey.
He saw the rooster perched high on the tree, and had rosy visions of a delicious breakfast. However, the
fox noticed how high the cock was positioned, and was thinking of a plan to bring down the rooster, so
as to kill him for his breakfast...

He immediately hurried to where the rooster was, and said very politely" a humble welcome to our
forest, dear sir! I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you in our forest. I am sure that we can become
the best of friends."

The cock realizing that something was afoot, asked the fox, "why, how can that be possible?"

The fox very calmly told the rooster, "Have you not heard about the new decree of peace and harmony
that was recently issued by the lion, the king of the jungle."

The rooster replied "no, I haven't, but what is this decree all about?"
The fox added that the new treaty issued by the king lion, emphasizes that, all beasts, birds and every
other creature in our forest, shall not hurt each other, but instead, should live in peace and universal
brotherhood".

Hence, we are not supposed to hunt, hurt or prey upon one another, but instead live in peace and
harmony. So, please do come down and we can discuss this matter of such great importance.

By now, the rooster had realized that the cunning fox was up to something and did not say anything, but
kept looking at the bottom of the tree, as if he was searching for someone.

Noticing this, the fox asked the rooster, whether he had lost something or searching for someone.

The rooster replied that he was flattered to hear the new decree and requested the fox to go to the
bottom of the tree and wake his friend, and convey this news to him.

The hungry and unsuspecting fox, thinking that there were other roosters down below, rushed to the
tree's hollow, as advised by the rooster, and was a bit taken aback to see the sleeping dog.

Noticing the dog, the fox immediately started running to the forest.

The rooster called out to the fox and said, "Please don't go... the dog was his master's pet, and that he
was also a good friend of the rooster's."

The rooster continued, "I was just on my way down. We shall wait for my friend the dog, to wake up,
and we shall discuss about this new treaty that the king lion has issued, and celebrate the new reign of
universal peace."

The fox who, was already on the run said, "I would be happy to meet and greet your friend, but I am
afraid, that he may not have heard about the king lion's new treaty of peace."

Moral: It is obvious that cunning often outfoxes itself, and that those who try to cheat others, would
likely be paid in their own coin.

THE ANT AND THE DOVE

One hot day, an ant was searching for some water. After walking around for some time, she came to a
spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped
and fell into the water.

She could have drowned if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble,
the dove quickly plucked a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant moved
towards the leaf and climbed up onto it. Soon, the leaf drifted to dry ground, and the ant jumped out.
She was safe at last.

Just at that time, a hunter nearby was about to throw his net over the dove, hoping to trap it.
Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter
dropped his net. The dove was quick to fly away to safety.

One good turn begets another.

THE WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING

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 it put it on over its
own pelt and strolled down among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the
Wolf was wearing, began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep's clothing; so, leading the Lamb a little apart,
he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying
hearty meals.

Appearances are deceptive.

THE TRICKY FOX

A greedy fox stealthily entered a garden to eat the grapes. But its tail was cut down by a trap when it
tried to escape from the trap.

It worried because all other foxes would mock at its lost tall. Hence it planned a trick.

When all foxes ridiculed it and said, "I have cut down the tail myself because it is a great hindrance. Now
I am free and happy without my tail. So you too cut down your tails. It will be very convenient to all of
you."

An old wise fox laughed at the tricky fox and said, "I will also join you after losing my tail when I try to
steal the grapes. It looks very nice to be with a tail and I am proud of it."
Now all other foxes understood the trick of the fox and mocked at it. The ashamed fox ran away into the
forest.
Moral: Don't believe selfish person's words.

THE SELFISH DOG

A farmer had an ox and a dog. The ox helped him in his fields and the dog watched the house at night.
One evening the ox returned home very tired. He was very hungry He went to the manger to eat hay.
But he found the dog sitting on it.

The dog barked at him and would not let him eat it. The ox said to the dog, "Please, get aside and let me
eat the hay. It is of no use to you."

But the4H natured dog replied, "Since I myself cannot eat the hay. I will not let anyone else have it." So
the ox had to go hungry that day.

There are some selfish people in the world also. They would not let others have what they themselves
cannot get. They follow the "Dog in the Manger Policy."