The Rabbit and the Turtle One day a rabbit was boasting about how fast he could run. He was laughing at the turtle for being so slow. Much to the rabbit’s surprise, the turtle challenged him to a race. The rabbit thought this was a good joke and accepted the challenge. The fox was to be the umpire of the race. As the race began, the rabbit raced way ahead of the turtle, just like everyone thought. The rabbit got to the halfway point and could not see the turtle anywhere. He was hot and tired and decided to stop and take a short nap. Even if the turtle passed him, he would be able to rac ... 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 Milkmaid and her Pail Patty the Milkmaid was going to the market carrying milk in a pail on her head. As she went along, she began calculating what she would do with the money she would get for the milk. "I'll buy some fowls from Farmer Brown," said she, "and they will lay eggs each morning, which I will sell to the parson's wife. With the money that I get from the sale of these eggs, I'll buy myself a new dimity frock and a chip hat, and when I go to the market, won't all the young men come up and speak to me! Polly Shaw will be so jealous, but I don't care. I shall just look at her ... read more

Struggles of our Life Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. T ... read more

Father and Sons A father had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion. One day he told his sons to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so, he placed the fagot into the hands of each of them in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. They tried with all their strength, and were not able to do it. He next opened the fagot, took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them into his sons’ hands, up ... read more