The Wise Old Man A wealthy man requested an old scholar to wean his son away from his bad habits. The scholar took the youth for a stroll through a garden. Stopping suddenly he asked the boy to pull out a tiny plant growing there. The youth held the plant between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out. The old man then asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant. The youth pulled hard and the plant came out, roots and all. “Now pull out that one,” said the old man pointing to a bush. The boy had to use all his strength to pull it out. “Now take this one out,” said the old man, i ... read more

Emperor Akbar was in the habit of putting riddles and puzzles to his courtiers. He often asked questions which were strange and witty. It took much wisdom to answer these questions. Once he asked a very strange question. The courtiers were dumb folded by his question. Akbar glanced at his courtiers. As he looked, one by one the heads began to hang low in search of an answer. It was at this moment that Birbal entered the courtyard. Birbal who knew the nature of the emperor quickly grasped the situation and asked, "May I know the question so that I can try for an answer". Akbar said, ... read more

Eklavyas Loyalty This is the story of a long-gone era. In the country of India, nearly five thousand years back, lived a boy named Eklavya, the son of a tribal chief in the forests of the kingdom- Hastinapura. Eklavya was a brave, handsome boy. He was loved by all. But he was not happy. His father saw that something troubled Eklavya. More than once he found his son lost deep in thought when other boys enjoyed the pleasures of hunting and playing. One day the father asked his son, Why are you so unhappy, Eklavya? Why don t you join your friends? Why are you not interested in hunting? Fath ... 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

A fox was once very hungry and went in search of some food. He searched everywhere, but he couldn’t find anything that he could eat. Finally, with his stomach rumbling, he came upon a farmer’s wall. On top of the wall were the biggest, juiciest grapes the fox had ever seen. The rich purple color told the fox that they were ready to be eaten. The fox jumped high in the air to catch the grapes in his mouth, but he missed. He tried again and missed again. He tried a few more times but missed each time. Finally, the fox decided to go home all the while muttering, ‘I’m sure the grapes were sour any ... read more