Ali Baba and Forty Thieves The story takes place in Baghdad during the Abbasid era. Ali Baba and his elder brother Cassim are the sons of Ali Baba and forty thievesa merchant. After the death of their father, the greedy Cassim marries a wealthy woman and becomes well-to-do, building on their father's business - but Ali Baba marries a poor woman and settles into the trade of a woodcutter. One day Ali Baba is at work collecting and cutting firewood in the forest, and he happens to overhear a group of forty thieves visiting their treasure store. The treasure is in a cave, the mouth of which ... read more

Nasir found a crystal ball behind a banyan tree in his garden. When the tree old him it would grant him a wish, he thought and thought but could not think of anything he wanted. So he kept the crystal ball in his bag and waited to decide on his wish. Days went by without him making a wish but his best friend saw him looking at the crystal ball. He stole it from Nasir and showed it to everyone in the village. They all asked for palaces and gold but could not ask for more than one wish. In the end, everyone was angry because no one could have everything. They became very unhappy and decided to a ... read more

The Crane and The Snake In a forest close to the river bank mere lived a crane with his wife. They were very unhappy. Every time the wife laid eggs in their nest, a big black cobra who lived in a hollow in the tree, would eat them up. The crane had a friend the crab. He went to his friend the crab and shared his misery. "I feel so hopeless....That sneaking thief has eaten our eggs again," complained the crane angrily. "Don't worry," said the crab comfortingly. "You need not be hopeless when you have a friend like me. We will come up with a solution." The crab sat to think of a plan. S ... read more

Union is Strength or United We Stand Once there was an old farmer. He had five sons. They were very selfish. They always quarreled with one another. He was worried about them. When he was on his death bed, he wanted to teach them a lesson. He advised them to live in unity. But they did not care. He asked his servant to bring a bundle of sticks. Then he called his sons one by one and asked them to break the bundle. But no one could do that. Then he ordered the servant to untie the bundle. Now each one of them could break the sticks easily. He advised his sons to live like a bundle of stic ... read more

The Merchant and The Foolish Barber In a small town there lived a merchant named Manibhadra. He and his wife were very generous and kind. Everyone in the town knew them and visited their house and enjoyed their hospitality. One day. Manibhadra lost all his ships in a storm at sea. They were loaded with valuable cargo. All the people who had lent him money for trading demanded immediate repayment. Manibhadra had to sell all his possessions and pay them. In the end he was left with nothing. Along with his wealth, all his friends also left him. Manibhadra was very discouraged. "Even my f ... read more