The Vain Stag A stag was thirsty. He went to a pool to drink water. The pond water was calm and clear. He bent down to drink water. He saw his reflection in it. When he saw his horns, he felt proud of them. He said to himself, "How beautiful and lovely my horns. While he looked to his legs, he felt sad and disappointed and cursed God for this injustice. He was yet to quench his thirst, when he saw a hunter with his hounds. Seeing his life in danger, the stag ran as fast as he could. He was soon out of sight. He reached a thick forest but unluckily his horns got stuck in a thick bu ... read more

The Light on the Hills "I WANT to work at my picture," he said, and went into the field. The little sister went too, and stood by him watching while he painted. "The trees are not quite straight," she said, presently, "and oh, dear brother, the sky is not blue enough." "It- will all come right soon," he answered. "Will it be of any good?" "Oh yes," she said, wondering that he should even ask, "it will make people happy to look at it. They will feel as if they were in the field." "If I do it badly, will it make them unhappy?" "Not if you do your very best," she answered; "for ... read more

The Lazy Farmer Sinha, the farmer was a very lazy man. He had fertile lands, but because of his laziness, he cultivated crops only in a part of his land. One night, it rained heavily and the roads turned muddy. Sinha was very happy that it had rained. He was to water the crops the next day. However, because of the heavy rain, he did not have to water them as the crops got sufficient water. However, he wanted to assess the status of his fields after the rain. He also had two loads of hay to be sold at the market. Since the roads were muddy, he stayed at home. He decided to take a visit ... read more

The Donkey and the Load of Salt Long ago there lived a merchant. He used to deal in salt. He had a donkey to carry load. He used to sell his salt loaded on the donkey. He had to cross a stream to go to other village. Once his donkey fell into the stream and much of the salt was dissolved in water. The donkey easily crossed the stream due to the light weight of salt on his back. The donkey was happy. The donkey on his next trip knowingly fell into the stream. The merchant suspected the animal's intention. On the other day too the donkey intentionally repeated the same trick. His master ... read more

The Patient Little Girl Once a famine broke out in a country. Everyday the children of the city flocked at a rich man's house to get loaves of bread. As soon as the servants brought out loaves, they fought among themselves and struggled hard to get them. One little girl did not fight. She waited pa­tiently for her turn and got the smallest loaf last of all. One day as usual, she brought the smallest loaf. When she cut it, she found two rupees in it. She went back at once to return the money. The rich man was pleased at her honesty. He gave her not only those two rupees, but two rup ... read more