THE TALKATIVE TORTOISE Once upon a time, two geese by the names of Sankata and Vikata and a tortoise by the name of Kambugriva lived near a river. They were good friends. Once, due to drought in the region, all the rivers, lakes and ponds went dry. There was not a drop of water to drink for the birds and animals. They began to die of thirst. The three friends talked among themselves to find a solution to this problem and go out in search of water. But despite their best efforts they could not find water anywhere around. Having no alternative the three friends decided to go to some dis ... read more

THE WIND AND THE SUN Long ago, there lived a wolf in a dense forest. The forest was surrounded by hills and gorges. A small river flowed through it. Once the wolf was drinking water at the head of a stream, when he saw a lamb drinking water from the same source down at some distance. The cunning wolf began to think of an excuse for attacking the gentle lamb and eating him. So he shouted down at the lamb, "How dare you make the water dirty I am drinking?" "You must be mistaken, sir," said the poor lamb gently. "How can I be making your water dirty, since it flows from you to me and not f ... read more

THE OLD WISE CROW There stood a huge banyan tree on the outskirts of a small town. Thousands of crows lived in this tree. Not far from the banyan tree, there was a mountain cave. Thousands of owls lived in it. The king of the owls accompanied by his soldiers used to hunt crows during the night. Soon thousands of crows were killed and eaten up by the owls. One of the main reasons for the killing of the crows at such a large scale was, that they were unable to see clearly during the night. And the owls, being nocturnal, could easily locate the crows sitting in the tree during night hours. ... read more

THE THIEF, THE GIANT AND THE BRAHMIN Long ago, there lived a poor Brahmin in a village. He used to perform poojas in the nearby villages to earn his living. Once a rich farmer gave him a cow and told him to sell cow's milk in the market to earn part of his livelihood. But the cow was very weak. The Brahmin then begged for alms and fed the cow. Soon the cow became fat and healthy. Once a thief saw the fat cow of the Brahmin and decided to steal it. One night he headed towards the Brahmin's house. A giant also used to live somewhere near the village. He devoured human beings. The thief me ... read more

THE SHEPHERD AND THE WOLF There lived a shepherd in a village. He had many sheep. He took them out every morning for grazing. One day, his wife fell ill and he had to go to the city to purchase some medicines for his ailing wife. 'There will be no one to take care of the sheep', he thought to himself. Then he called his son and told him, "Ramu, I'm going to the city to purchase some medicines for your mother. It will take me two or three days to come back. So take care of the sheep. Save them from being attacked by the tigers and wolves. There are many wild animals in the nearby forest. The ... read more