AN HONEST WOODCUTTER A poor woodcutter accidentally dropped his axe into the river. He was very upset, as he had no money to buy another axe. Just then a fairy appeared in the river holding out a golden axe to him. "I found this axe in the river. Is this yours?" "That's not mine", replied the woodcutter. The fairy then brought out a silver axe. The woodcutter disowned this one too. Finally, the fairy held out a wooden axe. Smiling with happiness, the woodcutter said, "That's mine. Thank you very much." The fairy felt very happy seeing his honesty and said, "Such honesty deser ... read more

PLAN OF MURDER One day, James was walking down the road. Suddenly, he heard some noises coming from inside a shop. He tried to hear what was going inside and heard someone saying, "First we will cut his arms and then his shoulders." James got frightened thinking that someone was planning a murder. He immediately ran and informed the cops. The police went with him and broke the shop's door. On investigating they found that it was a tailor's shop and the tailor was talking about a piece of cloth and not about any person. James felt embarrassed and went on his way.

Long, long ago and far, far away this story was told, and it has been told ever since, and I tell it to you now… There was, in the city of Basra, when the evening was falling, a rosy glow upon the buildings around the central bazaar. And there was a Little Beggar, famous throughout the city for his japes and jokes and songs. The Tailor and his wife were returning from carousing. They invited the Little Beggar to come home with them to entertain them. And there he was in their house regaling them with a story. And they fed him a piece of white meat from a fish. The Little Beggar choked ... read more

NATURE OBSERVES HER LAWS The sun-god was getting married. The happy news spread far and wide and reached the earth too. Most of the creatures were happy with the news except the frogs. They called a meeting and decided to have the marriage stalled. One of the young frogs asked, "But how to do that?" Another said, "We will request god Jupiter." So, the frogs started croaking day and night. Their croak reached the skies and the gods informed Jupiter of it. Immediately, he made for the earth to see the frogs. Reaching there, he asked, "What is you problem?" The frogs replied, " ... read more

Going To Law Once two cats, one white and one black, quarreled, over a large piece of cake. The white cat said that she had seen the cake first and so it was hers. The black cat refused to allow her claim and pretended to scratch her. A monkey saw the cats quarrelling. He asked them what the mat­ter was. He advised them not to fight. He said that he would be the guide and settle the quarrel justly. Both the cats agreed. The monkey broke the cake into two pieces. He said that he would divide the cake equally for them. He got a pair of scales and put one piece in each pan. One piece ... read more