An Honest Woodcutter Once there lived a poor woodcutter. He used to cut trees in the woods. One day he was cutting wood on the bank of a river. His axe fell down into the river. The river was deep. He could not take his axe out. He sat on the bank and began to weep. Mercury, the god of water appeared. He asked the reason of his weeping. The woodcutter told the whole story. Mercury dived into the water and brought a golden axe. The woodcutter refused to take it. Mercury again dived and brought a silver axe. The woodcutter did not take it either. Then he brought an iron axe. The woodcutter ... read more

The Salt Merchant and His Ass A Merchant took his Ass to the shore to buy salt. On the way home the Ass tripped and fell into a stream. On rising, the load of the Ass was lightened because some of the salt had dissolved. The Merchant returned to the shore to replenish the salt and, on returning, this time the Ass fell into the stream on purpose to lighten the load. Again, the Merchant returned to the shore, but this time, knowing what the Ass would do, loaded the Ass down with sponges. On returning home the Ass again fell into the stream but this time the sponges filled with water and doubl ... read more

The Donkey and The Load of Salt Once, there lived a peddler. The peddler sold all sorts of goods....sturdy shoes for the farmers and pretty trinkets for their sweethearts, warm, woolly shawls to keep the women warm and sweet, sticky toffees for the children to munch on their way back from school. Some days he sold fruits and on other days, kettles. To carry all his wares, the peddler had a donkey. Every morning, the peddler loaded the donkey with his wares. The two would set out and walk from farmhouse to farmhouse, from village to village and from market to market. The peddler always ... read more

The Oak Tree and the Reeds The Oak tree always thought that he was far stronger than the reeds. He said to himself "I stand upright in storm. I don't bend my head in fear every time the wind blows. But these reeds are really so weak." That very night blew a storm and the mighty oak tree was uprooted. "Thank god!" sighed the reeds, "Our way is better. We bend but we don't break."

The Crow and The Eagle It was a bright spring day. The sun was high in the blue sky. A herd of sheep was grazing contentedly on the hillside. The little lambs with their soft white coats and curly tails were playing among themselves. The Shepherd, seeing that his flock was safe and happy, had fallen asleep under the spreading branches of a large old tree. Suddenly an Eagle swooped down from the sky. It pounced on a little lamb and carried it off so swiftly that none of the other lambs even had the time to bleat. The sleeping Shepherd heard nothing. A Crow was sitting on the tree under ... read more