The Fox and the Grapes Once a fox was very hungry as he could not get anything to eat for a long time. He strolled in search of food. He wandered all along the jungle but his efforts were in vain. There was a garden near the forest. She went there in search of food. There he saw bunches of fine, ripe grapes hanging from a vine. His mouth began to water. He wanted to eat them. So he jumped again and again, to reach them, but in vain. The grapes were hanging too high for him to get at them. At last he gave up the attempt and went away saying, "the grapes are sour. If I eat them, they ... read more

THE LITTLE PINE TREE Once there grew a little pine tree deep in the forest. It had needles that were evergreen. Yet it was glum. It said, "My needles are not as pretty as leaves. I wish I had golden leaves." Next morning, it found its wish had been granted. It had shining golden leaves. A man passing by saw the golden leaves and started plucking them. Soon the little pine tree was stripped bare. It again said, "I was wrong. I wish I had glass leaves. They would look pretty and no one would steal them. " The next morning the tree saw that it was covered with glass leaves. They sp ... read more

The Tale Of The Tyrant And The Butler Bernardo Visconti, the despot of Milan was in his day more feared than any other ruler was. Although he was pitiless, there was always a shade of justice in his cruelty. This is the story of a wealthy man and owner of one of the castles given to him by Bernardo. He was well known for his miserliness. One instance he was summoned to the court for having failed to feed his bullmastiffs (dogs), which had become vicious and attacked cattle. Therefore, he was condemned by Bernardo to pay a fine of four florins (gold coins). Upon hearing the amount, the mi ... read more

BENEVOLENT JUMBO Jumbo, a big elephant, was very kind and caring towards others. One day, he saw a little boy crying. Jumbo went to him and asked him the reason for crying. The boy replied, "I was carrying water to my home, when I noticed a hole in my bucket. All the water had been drained out. Now how will I take water to my home?" Jumbo consoled the boy and thought of a plan. He filled his trunk with water and went along with the boy to his home. There he poured the water from his trunk into another basket. The boy felt very happy and gave Jumbo bananas to eat.

A LION AND A RABBIT Once a lion said to all the animals in the forest that if one of them will come to him as his meal for the day, he would not kill anyone else among them. All the animals agreed to this. One day, it was a rabbit's turn and it took quite long reaching the lion. The lion asked it the reason for being late. It acted wisely and said, "Sir! I was stopped by another lion, who was claiming to be the king of the jungle and he wants to meet you." "So do I", said the furious lion. The rabbit took the lion to a well and showed him his reflection in the water of the well. Th ... read more