The Strange Bird with Two Heads Once upon a time, there lived a strange bird with two heads; one facing the left and the other facing the right. The two heads used to fight and argue with each other, even for very simple reasons. Though they shared the same body, the two heads behaved like rivals! The strange bird lived in a big banyan tree, along the bank of a river. One day, while flying over the river, the left head of the bird saw a beautiful tree that had a bright red fruit. The left head of the bird wanted to eat the fruit and the bird flew down to pick the fruit from the tree. ... read more

There was once a boy whose father one day told him that he is old enough to look after the sheep. Every day he had to take the sheep over the grass fields and watch them as they grazed to become strong sheep with thick wool. The boy was unhappy though. He wanted to run and play, not watch the boring sheep. So, he decided to have some fun instead. He cried ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ until the entire village came running with stones to chase away the wolf before it could eat any of the sheep. Once they saw that there was no wolf, they left muttering under their breath about how the boy was wasting their time ... read more

The Rope The night fell heavy on the heights of the mountains and the man could not see anything. There was zero visibility; the moon and the stars were covered by the clouds. When he was just a few feet below the top of the mountain, he slipped and fell into the air, falling at great speed. He could see only black spots as he went down, and feel the terrible sensation of being sucked in by gravity. He kept falling, and in those moments of great fear, all the good and bad episodes of his life came to his mind. He was thinking now about how close death was getting, when all of a sudden ... read more

The Bogey-Beast is a delightful fairy tale about how luck is all relative. From English Fairy Tales, retold by Flora Annie Steel (1922), illustrated by Arthur Rackham. There was once a woman who was very, very cheerful, though she had little to make her so; for she was old, and poor, and lonely. She lived in a little bit of a cottage and earned a scant living by running errands for her neighbours, getting a bite here, a sup there, as reward for her services. So she made shift to get on, and always looked as spry and cheery as if she had not a want in the world. Now one summer evening, as ... read more

Once upon a time, in a village far away, there lived six blind men. One day the villagers were very excited, and when they asked what was happening they told them, "Hey, there is an elephant in the village today!" They had no idea what an elephant was, and so they decided, "Even though we will not be able to see it, we can feel it. Let's go." So, they all went to where the elephant was, and each of them touched it: "Hey, the elephant is a pillar," said the first man, touching its leg. "Oh, no! it is like a rope," said the second man, who was touching the tail. "Oh, no! it is ... read more