As Hari walked home after school one day, he suddenly felt faint with hunger and knew his mother would not have any food ready for him at home. He grew desperate and went from house to house asking for food. Finally, a girl gave him a tall glass of milk. When he tried to pay her she refused and sent him on his way. Years later, the girl, now a grown woman, fell very sick and could not find anyone who could cure her. Finally, she went to a large hospital with the city’s greatest doctor. The doctor spent months treating the woman until she was finally cured. The woman was happy but was also afra ... read more

Once upon a time, there was a peaceful kingdom. The king heard rumors that barbarians were going to attack his castle soon. So he called his two favorite pets - the huge grey goose and gander. “My dear goose and gander, our kingdom is in danger. Take my daughter to a safe place on top of the tallest hill," said the king. So the grey goose and gander flew the princess who sat in a red sheet over the one-strand river to the top of the tallest hill. Six months had passed but the kingdom was not attacked. The king regretted his decision and told the grey goose and gander to bring home his ... 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 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

A Unique Experience It was a cold and windy night. My friend and I had met after a long time, and were chatting for hours. We did not notice the time passing by, and soon it was close to ten in the night. We decided to take an auto rickshaw to go to our house. It started raining, and we hurried to get into an auto rickshaw and reach our place. None of the auto rickshaws stopped for us, except one. The driver asked us where we wanted to go and we told the place. Without saying anything about the fare, he said, "Please get in!" We thanked him and got in. Since it was very cold, I ask ... read more