Once upon a time, there was a boy called Atilola. His parents loved him dearly because he was their only child and they made sure he lacked nothing. They treated him like a delicate egg and would not allow anyone to reprimand him, even when he behaved very badly. Because of this, Atilola grew to be a selfish, spoilt child who found it difficult to obey instructions. One day, during the rainy season, Atilola, who was about ten years old at the time, told his mother that he was going outside to play with his friends. ‘Stay in the neighbourhood and do not wonder off into the valley; the sky ... read more

The Brave Little Boy This is a short story from India, originally written by the English Author, Norah Burke, during her stay in India during the early twentieth century. Kunal, Veer Singh's little brother lay in the hut, burning with fever and shooting pain in his stomach that was getting worse by the minute. Veer Singh was only about 11 years old, but was a happy and cheerful lad. He was a child of the jungle and his brother was about six years younger to him. He had other brothers and sisters, who unfortunately had died due to cholera or malaria. His mother brought some hot wate ... 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

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

The Camel and the Jackal A camel and a jackal lived together in a jungle. On the other side of the river flowing beside that jungle, there were fields having ripe sugar- canes One day the jackal came to the camel with a plan to cross the river and enjoy the sugarcanes. As he did not know how to swim, so he requested the camel to carry him on his back. The camel agreed to the jackal's request. They set out for the river and soon reached its bank. The camel carried the jackal on his back and crossed the river. On reaching the other side, they began to eat the sugarcanes. The jackal ... read more