The Crystal Ball In the south of Spain, there was a small village whose people were very joyful. The children played under the shades of trees in the gardens of their homes. A shepherd boy named Nasir stayed near the village with his father, mother and grandmother. Each morning, he took his herd of goats up the hills to find a suitable place for them to graze. In the afternoon he would return with them to the village. Each night his grandmother would tell him a story - the story of stars. This story really interested Nasir. On one of those days, as Nasir was watching his herd and play ... read more

There was an old owl that lived in an oak. Everyday he saw incidents happening around him. Yesterday he saw a boy helping an old man to carry a heavy basket. Today he saw a girl shouting at her mother. The more he saw the less he spoke. As he spoke less, he heard more. He heard people talking and telling stories. He heard a woman saying that an elephant jumped over a fence. He also heard a man saying that he had never made a mistake. The old owl had seen and heard about what happened to people. Some became better and some became worse. But the old owl had become wiser each and every da ... read more

Two best friends were walking a lonely and dangerous path through a jungle. As the sun began to set, they grew afraid but held on to each other. Suddenly, they saw a bear in their path. One of the boys ran to the nearest tree and climbed it within a jiffy. The other boy did not know how to climb trees by himself so he lay on the ground pretending to be dead. The bear approached the boy on the ground and sniffed around his head. Thinking that the boy was dead, the bear went on its way. The boy on the tree climbed down and asked his friend what had the bear whispered in his ear. He replied, ‘Do ... 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

One afternoon, a little boy had lost his kitten. He looked under his bed. He looked all over his house. But still there was no puppy. Finally, he looked for his puppy in the garden. After a few hours, he still could not find the puppy. The little boy was tired and was about to give up. Then he saw his neighbour, Mrs Hardin. “I beg your pardon, Mrs Hardin. Is my puppy in your garden?" asked the little boy. “Oh yes, she is. She is chewing on a mutton bone," replied Mrs Hardin. The little boy climbed the fence and saw his puppy chewing on a mutton bone. He was so happy that his pu ... read more