The Lazy Dreamer Once, in a small village, there lived a poor Brahmin. He was very learned, but did nothing all day. He lived on the alms the villagers gave him every day. One day, as usual, the Brahmin got up in the morning, performed his morning rituals and set out to beg for alms. As he went from door to door, people gave him several things. Some gave dal. Others gave him rice and yet others gave him vegetables. But one generous lady gave the Brahmin a large measure of flour. "Ah! What good luck. I will not have to beg for alms for a long time," thought the Brahmin to himself. H ... read more

Three neighbors were having trouble with their crops. All three fields had crops that were wilting and infested with pests. Each day they would try different ideas to help their crops. The first one tried using a scarecrow, the second used pesticides, and the third built a fence on his field, all to no avail. One day, the village head came by and called all three farmers. He gave them each a stick and asked them to break the sticks. The farmers could break them easily. He then gave them a bundle of three sticks and asked them to break it. This time, the farmers struggled to break the sticks. T ... 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."

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 woul ... read more

There were two best friends – an ant and a grasshopper. The grasshopper liked to relax the whole day and play his guitar. The ant, however, would work hard all day. He would collect food from all corners of the garden while the grasshopper relaxed, or played his guitar, or slept. The grasshopper would tell the ant to take a break every day, but the ant would refuse and continue his work. Soon, winter came. The days and nights became cold and very few creatures went out. The grasshopper couldn’t find any food and was hungry all the time. However, the ant had enough food for him to last through ... read more