Nasreddin Hodja is the name of the wise fool in so many Turkish tales, and tales beyond Turkey through the Middle East and North Africa and far into the Balkans, into Russia, as far as India and China… Hodja Nasreddin had a lamb that was now fully grown. His neighbours came. ‘Nasreddin Hodja, your sheep is fat. Let us go and slaughter it by the river. The sun is shining. We will have a feast!’ ‘I don’t think so,’ said Nasreddin. ‘But, Nasreddin, haven’t you heard? The world is going to end tomorrow!’ ‘The world is going to end…? Very well.’ And they led the sheep down to the ... read more

The Tale of the Magic Box Once upon a time, in a faraway land there lived a farmer with his two sons. He worked hard and looked after his farm, his cattle, and orchard regularly. He did not take a break and toiled with his laborers throughout the year. It was little wonder that he had fields finest in the village. His cattle and sheep were the best in the village. Choicest fruits and vegetables grew in his garden and orchard. During the monthly fair, where all village folks met to sell their wares, his was the best of the lot. His neighbors envied and said, "There goes Manohar, his sons ... read more

The Monkey and the Crocodile It was a beautiful lake surrounded by lush green grasses, beautiful trees, mountains and sweetest, tastiest jamun trees. There lived a monkey on one of the jamun trees located near the lake. The lake also had a few crocodiles. There was one crocodile that used to collect the jamun fruits from the lake that fall from the tree. As the crocodile visits the jamun trees every day, it became friends with Monkey. Crocodile and monkey met every day. The monkey helped crocodile by providing more and fresh jamun fruits from the tree. Their relationship continued and ... read more

MERE BOASTS DON'T MAKE BIG Once there was a trader who was often out on business trips. When he grew old, his son started handling the business but he was very boastful by nature. When he went on his first business tour, he was thrilled to see many new things. Returning home he felt impatient to tell about his experiences to his mates. When they all gathered around him, he told them many surprising things among which, he boasted of an exploit of his own. He said, "Friends! When I was in Canada, I participated in boxing competition and none could beat me. I was praised by all and becam ... read more

A Thirsty Crow There was a crow. At a very hot summer day he was feeling very thirsty. He flew from place to place in search of water, but he could not find it anywhere. He was very sad and disappointed at not getting a drop of it. At last he saw a jug of water. He flew down to the jug and sat on its edge. When he craned his beak to quench his thirst, he, saw to his great discouragement, that the water was just at the bottom. His beak could not reach such a low level of water. He even tried to overturn the jug but could not. It was too heavy for him to move. When he was just about ... read more