This is a story about Akbar, the Emperor of India, and his loyal and witty advisor Birbal. It was a fine morning in the palace. The royal courtroom was buzzing with conversation as Akbar’s advisors awaited the arrival of their Emperor. Soon enough Akbar arrived, but he was not in his usual pleasant mood. He seemed bothered and frustrated. The advisors quietened on seeing the Emperor’s stern face. ‘What is the problem, Your Majesty? Is something bothering you?’ asked one of the advisors. ‘Today someone dared to pull on my moustache!’ exclaimed Emperor Akbar. ‘What punishment do you thi ... read more

Union Is Strength There was an old farmer who lived in a village. He had four sons, o were lazy and idle. They often quarreled among themselves. The old man was very much annoyed with it. So he called his four sons and told them that since his end was near, he wanted to teach them a lesson. So he told them that since his end was near, he wanted to give them a useful piece of advice. He sent for a bundle of sticks, it was brought. He asked all his sons turn by turn to break the bundle of the sticks. All tried hard, but none of them was able to break the bundle. Then he asked one of ... read more

AN ASS, A COCK AND A LION Once a cock and an ass were sitting under a tree sharing a meal. Suddenly, a lion came there. Seeing the cock and ass there he said, "I don't need to hunt far and wide. Under the tree sits my next meal." Seeing the lion, the cock flew on to a branch of the tree and crowed in fear. Hearing this strange sound, the lion got scared and ran away. The ass, thinking that the lion was frightened of it, started following him without realizing that it was the cock's crow that had scared the lion. When the lion and the ass went out of hearing of the cock, the lion tu ... read more

The Clever Boys It was a busy high way that connects all major roads in the city. People rush in their vehicles and it leads to chaos in the busy road. Driving the vehicles beyond the speed limit became the major problem in the city. A police officer decided to watch for the vehicles that are driven beyond the speed limit. He found a perfect place to hide himself to watch for the rash driving vehicles. Very surprisingly, one day, the police officer was very surprised that everyone who drove on the road was under the prescribed speed limit. There was none that crossed the speed limit. Out of ... read more