Folk Tales

The shepherd's mistake:....................40

The desert creature: .........................40

An unpleasant smell:.........................41

The doctor who didn't cure: ...............41

The apple tree:.................................42

River talk:........................................42

The mighty: .....................................43

The lion's share: ...............................43

Appearances are deceptive: ...............44

The donkey monkeys around: ............44

The leap: .........................................45

The palm reader:..............................45

The groomed house: .........................46

The travelers:...................................46

The lion cub:....................................47

Abdullah's gold:................................47

Tail-cut:...........................................48

The eagle and the arrow:...................48

The favor:........................................49

The boy and the wolf: .......................49

Dream palace:..................................50

The instructor: .................................51

What's for dinner:.............................52

Modesty pays: ..................................53

Qui jun and the arrogant monk: .........53

A tale of two sons:............................54

The elephant's nose: .........................54

Forgive and forget: ...........................55

Silence is golden: .............................56

Preparing for winter: .........................56

40 FOLKTALES

The Shepherd's

Mistake

Early every morning,

a shepherd took

his flock of sheep

out in the fields to

graze. He would sit

by watching - as the

sheep lazily munched on fresh grass.

After they had eaten, he would round

them up and walk back home.

Sometimes while watching his flock, he

would curl up in a quiet corner and go

off to sleep.

One day, the shepherd caught a wolf

which had strayed into the field, eyeing

his sheep. However, it was some distance

away and it made no effort to

come nearer. The shepherd at first

stood on guard against the wolf, as

against an enemy, and kept a strict

watch over its movements.

But the wolf did not do anything.

When the shepherd herded the sheep

and headed home with his flock, the

wolf quietly followed them at a distance.

This continued for a while. The shepherd

would find the wolf waiting at the

edge of the field every morning. But it

made not the slightest effort to seize

the sheep and would just watch. So, by

and by, the shepherd let down his

guard a bit. A few days later, he began

to actually look forward to the wolf's

presence.

The wolf, who generally sat on a

large piece of rock, looked like a big

sheep dog from afar. The shepherd

thought that other wild animals or mischief-

makers would be scared of the

'dog's presence and not harm his flock

while it was around.

Now, he began to look upon the wolf

as a guardian of his flock. One day, in

the middle of grazing his sheep, the

shepherd was called back to home

urgently. Leaving the sheep entirely in

charge of the wolf, he left.

When he came back, what did he

find? That the wolf had eaten most of

his flock, with only a few sheep wandering

about. Carcasses of the dead

sheep lay around, everywhere.

The shepherd sat down in shock

after witnessing the slaughter. "Serves

me right," he moaned to himself, "after

all, I entrusted the welfare of my flock

to a wolf."

The Desert Creature

This happened thousands of years ago. Life

was hard as people had to do all the work by

themselves. A large number of people were

nomads - they would travel from one place to

another in search of food and shelter.

While traveling one day, a man arrived at the

edge of a desert. He was walking in the sands,

when suddenly, he came across a frightening

creature - it had extremely long, thin legs, a

giant hump and a long neck. It was this neck that

he extended towards the man, who, scared out of

his wits, ran away from the spot.

The following day, he met the creature again.

It was standing near a lake, drinking water. This

time, the man was fascinated at what he saw -

the creature putting its long neck into the lake

and drinking water continuously.

Then suddenly, aware it was being watched,

the giant creature looked up and stared straight

into the eyes of the man standing across. But this

time, an expanse of water separated the two,

and the man did not run away. He stood and

watched the animal, which made no effort to

come closer.

In the

following

w e e k s ,

the man

saw more

such creatures,

again

and again. It

seemed they were all

over the desert, aimlessly

walking about for

miles on end. The man

began to observe the creatures very closely. He

saw that they were vegetarian. Moreover, despite

their huge size, they were remarkably meek and

gentle.

And what stamina the creatures had! They

could walk the entire length of the desert without

being exhausted.

Observing them the man thought - "What if I

tame this creature and make it ferry all my stuff?

I could then make the desert my home."

So, one day, while one of the creatures was

dozing, the man went up to it and put a bridle in

its mouth. Then he rode around in it, after placing

an enormous amount of load on its back.

After a little more time, the man even allowed his

child to ride the creature all on his own.

With that, the taming of the camel was complete

(for that was who the creature was). And

ever since that day, the camel has faithfully lived

up to its title of 'Ship of the Desert'.

FOLKTALES 41

An Unpleasant Smell

A prosperous money-lender or Seth

bought a house located right next door to the

house of a tanner. From morning till evening

the tanner converted hide into leather by

treating it with tannin. From day one the

money-lender was

put off by the

unpleasant smells of

the tannery.

So, he visited the

tanner's house and

offered to buy his

house.

"I would love to

sell the house if you

buy it Seth," said the

tanner. He had no

intention of doing any

such thing but he

liked to play pranks. "Give me a week or so

to wind up some things, will you?" The seth

agreed and went away.

A week later, the overpowering smell coming

from the tannery brought the seth to the

tanner's doorstep again. "I understand sir,"

said the tanner with wide-eyed sympathy

when the money-lender told him that the

smell had reduced his appetite largely. "But

my mother is visiting me this week. I can't

sell the house as long as she is around.

Please wait for a month, until she goes

away."

The seth agreed with great reluctance. He

began to wait with bated breath for the

guest's departure. In the beginning he

counted each day, impatiently waiting for one

to finish and the other to begin. After a while

though, he found he

was no longer all that

interested in the

month coming to an

end. And when the

month did end, the

seth did not go the

tanner's house to ask

him to leave. He had

simply forgotten

about it.

He did not ask the

tanner to leave when

they met next,

either. You see, by then the seth had become

accustomed to the tan-yard's smell. "What

have you done to drive away that infernal

smell?" he asked the tanner. "Have you diluted

the solution?"

The tanner smiled and nodded. He had

been waiting for the day the seth would get

used to the smells from the tannery and stop

bothering him. That was why he had asked

the seth to wait in the first place.

The Doctor

who 'did not' Cure

An old woman had lost her eyesight completely.

So she went to a doctor to help her

see again and made a bargain with him in

the presence of a few witnesses. The bargain

was that: if he could cure her, he would be

paid handsomely. But if he couldn't, she

would not be obliged to pay him anything.

The doctor had a special ointment. When

it was applied in the eyes for a certain period

of time, it restored the eyesight of anyone

who was sightless.

The doctor began to visit his new patient

daily to apply the ointment. But knowing that

she couldn't see, he started stealing the

valuables in her house, one by one. When

there was nothing more left to steal, he

decided to cure her and demanded his payment.

When the old woman recovered her eyesight,

she saw that her valuables had been

stolen and guessed that the doctor was the

thief. So, saying that she was not cured, she

refused to pay him. The doctor was astonished

when she refused to pay and he insisted

on his fees. But the old woman refused

again and the two went to court.

The judge asked the old woman why she

refused to pay the doctor. To this she said:

"The doctor is telling the truth. I did promise

to give him money if I recovered my sight.

However, if I remained blind, I was to give

him nothing. Now he declares that he has

healed me and so I should pay him. But I am

still blind."

Everyone in the court looked at the old

woman in great surprise. "How can you say a

thing like that? Everyone in the courtroom

can see that your eyesight has been

restored." said the judge sternly.

"Your honor," replied the old woman. "I

really can't see. Before I lost the use of my

eyes, I had seen a lot of valuable goods in

my house. But now, though the doctor

swears I am cured of my blindness, I am not

able to see a single thing of value in it."

The judge agreed that the old woman was

indeed still blind, and let her go without a

trial.

42 FOLKTALES

The Apple Tree

There was an old apple tree in a farmer's

garden. It was so old that it had stopped

bearing fruit a long time ago. The only purpose

it served was to provide shelter to the

sparrows, grasshoppers and squirrels in the

neighborhood.

One day, the farmer decided to cut the

tree down. He felt it had become completely

useless. Besides, he wanted to get some furniture

made and what better way to ensure

the wood supply from the tree? The wood

was still strong.

So, taking a sharp axe in his hand, the

farmer struck at the roots of the tree.

At once there was great commotion

among the many creatures that inhabited the

tree. The grasshoppers, the sparrows and

the squirrels came out of their dwelling

places and hovered around the farmer.

"Please sir," they begged him. "Spare this

tree's life. It is our only home."

But the farmer only struck harder at the

roots. "We promise to sing to you in the

afternoons when you toil away. It would

lighten your labors so," entreated the creatures.

But their cries were in vain. The farmer

continued his task with single-minded concentration.

He was in a hurry to finish off the

chopping by afternoon. As he raised his axe

one more time, something in the hollow of

the tree caught his eye. A bee hive. Upon

looking closer, the farmer found that it was

full of honey. He tasted the honey. Ummmm,

heavenly.

Suddenly the farmer realized that the tree

was not so useless after all. Its hollow was

the ideal place for a beehive to rest. And if he

took away the honey now, the bees would

make more. They would certainly not abandon

such an attractive residence.

"Hey you up there," he announced as he

threw away the axe. "I'm sparing the life of

this tree. You can live in peace now."

The sparrows, grasshoppers and squirrels

breathed deep sighs of relief. What a blessing

that the farmer had found something of

use to him in the tree! After all, it was the

only reason the tree was still standing.

River Talk

The rivers were disgruntled lot. They had started out as tiny clear streams high up

in the mountains and meandered through valleys and plateaus and plains. Their

waters had swollen up during monsoons and had then reduced to a trickle during

summer. But on the whole, they had flourished.

And now, at the end of their journey, they had to merge with the sea. They

would lose their precious freedom forever.

And yet, they couldn't stop themselves from flowing, could they? So they

flowed till they reached the sea. "This is too unfair!" they said sadly to each

other. "It's bad enough that we have to merge. It is worse that our sweet

and drinkable water becomes terribly salty and tasteless when we merge

with the sea."

The sea heard the rivers and looked amused, "If that's the way you

feel, I see no point why you should join me at all. Go away, and enjoy

your cool, sweet waters by yourself."

Of course, there was no way the rivers could do that. Even if by

some miracle they could change their course and not flow into the sea,

their very survival was at stake. For, very few rivers lasted on their

own without uniting with the sea. Most dried up and died. What use

was independence if one did not live to enjoy it? So the rivers made

peace with their situation and flowed into the sea.

The Mighty

At the edge of a forest, stood a

big tree. Its branches spread out

majestically and so did its roots. It

shielded people from the sun under

its shady leaves, and provided

shelter to countless birds and other

small creatures in its branches. It

buzzed with activity all the time.

At the foot of the tree grew a little

plant. The plant was willowy

and delicate, and tended to keel

over at the touch of the slightest

breeze.

One day, the two neighbors

were having a little chat.

"Well, little one," said the tree to

the plant, "Why do you not plant

your feet deeply in the ground, and

raise your head boldly in the air as

I do?"

"I see no need to do so," whispered

the plant with a smile.

"Actually, I think I may be safer

this way."

"Safer!" sneered the tree. "Are

you suggesting that you're safer

than I am? Do you know how deep

my roots are buried, how thick and

strong my trunk is? Even if two

men hold hands they would not be

able to surround my trunk. Who

could possibly pluck me by the

roots or bow my head to the

ground?"

And the tree turned away from

the plant in a great huff.

But the tree was to regret its

words very soon. One evening a

great hurricane arose in the region.

It hurled the trees off their roots

and almost completely destroyed

the forest. It uprooted the neem

tree and hurled it away with great

force.

When the storm had passed, the

villagers living nearby surveyed the

damage. Mighty trees that had

once almost touched the sky, were

now reduced to stumps or worse.

The forest was littered with their

carcasses.

But there was one exception.

The little plant. The plant had been

tossed and turned under the fury of

the hurricane, and bent completely.

But when the hurricane ended,

it sighed and stood upright again.

No trace remained of its mighty

neighbor though.

The Lion's Share

One day an

ass and a fox

entered into an

agreement with

the lion that they

would assist each

other while hunting

for food. They

felt that their combined

efforts would

ensure that none of

them would have to

starve.

Of course, both

the ass and the fox were a little nervous about

accompanying the lion in the hunt. But the thought

of the game they would acquire with his help, made

them salivate. They put the nervousness down to

nerves.

It was an excellent hunt. The three had combed

the jungle in their search for food. When they came

to a clearing by the lakeside, they dispersed. It was

decided that the ass would keep an eye out for animals

to prey on; when he spotted one, he would go

up to the animal and introduce himself. The introductory

bray would alert the other two, who were

hiding.

The fox would come out at first, growling at the

animal. The frightened animal would try to run, the

fox would give chase and in trying to avoid him, the

animal would run directly in the path of the lion. The

lion would then finish the animal off in one swoop.

In the evening, the tired but happy trio assembled

in front of the lion's den with their large booty.

The lion ordered the ass to allot to each of the three

partners, his due portion in the treaty.

The ass was very happy. He felt that, by asking

him, the lion had bestowed a great honor on him.

Very carefully, he divided the spoil into three equal

shares. "Sirs, I have done the needful. I modestly

request the two of you to take your shares," he said.

The lion stared at the shares for a minute. "Oh!

So you think each one of us deserves an equal

share. You think that your feeble attempts to chat

with the game compares with my efforts to kill

them," he said and jumped on the ass. He killed the

ass in one second.

Then he told the terrified fox to make the division.

The fox accumulated all that they had killed into one

large heap and left to him the smallest possible

share. The rest he requested the lion to have.

"Who has taught you, my dear fellow, the art of

division? You are perfect to a fraction," said the lion,

pleased as punch. "I learned it from the ass sir, by

witnessing his fate," replied the fox. He made up his

mind never to take a lion as partner in any future

venture.

FOLKTALES 43

44 FOLKTALES

Appearances

are Deceptive

One day Bina the ant was

scurrying about in search of

food. Summer was almost

over and autumn was

approaching. Soon it would

be winter and food would be

difficult to find. Bina knew it

was necessary to stock as

much as possible so that her

ant colony could have

enough to eat during the difficult

months ahead.

She had collected quite a

bit already. Now she was on

the lookout for bits of sweetmeats

that younger members

of her colony loved to

munch on after their meal.

Darting to and fro between

trees and shrubs, Bina suddenly

smelt the sweet aroma

of pastry. She quickly went

around the bush and there

she saw it - a large bit of

pastry with a whole raisin in

it!

Just then she looked up

and saw something hanging

from the leaf of a bush.

Looking closer, she saw that

it was a tiny tail. It seemed

to be all wrapped up in

something, as if bandaged.

Bina did not know it, but

the 'thing' was a chrysalis,

the pupa of a butterfly.

"Oh you poor thing,"

exclaimed Bina. She had no

idea what a chrysalis was.

"What a sad fate you have! I

can run anywhere I wish,

climb trees or go over mountains.

And look at you, you

are trapped in your shell. All

you can do is move your tail

around a bit."

But there was no answer

from the chrysalis. So Bina

went on, "Even ant children

can run around and do as

much as we can. They are

free, you are all bound up

and can't even move. What a

life you must have." And she

walked away with her piece

of pastry.

A few days later, Bina

came that way again hoping

to find more pastry or biscuit

lying around. It was unusually

hot that day and she was

sweating. Suddenly, a cloud

seemed to come over her

and she felt a soft cool

breeze. She looked up. What

did she see this time?

Why, one of the most

beautiful butterflies she had

ever laid eyes on! Light blue

spotted with light pink and

yellow dots. How beautiful

and how lucky to be able to

fly around free, thought

Bina, as she stared at the

beauty.

"Look at me," said Sundri

the butterfly. "I am your

much-pitied friend. You

boasted of being able to run

around and climb mountains.

But now try to get me to listen."

And with a graceful flap

of her wings, Sundari flew

away. Like a soft sigh of the

breeze...

The donkey monkeys

around

Gopu the donkey was happily going

munch munch on an extremely green patch

of grass right in the heart of the meadow. So

intent was Gopu on eating, that he did not

hear anyone approaching until he looked up

and gave an involuntary shiver. For standing

right in front of him, was Shikari, the wolf.

Gopu began to limp and make a lot of ooh

aah noises while doing so. Shikari watched

him in silence for a while and then asked

what was wrong.

"I trod upon a sharp thorn while passing

through a hedge. It is causing me so much

pain," Gopu added. "Please, take it out for

me."

"And why would I do that?" asked Shikari

who thought to himself: hee hee, the donkey

is so foolish. Here I am trying to think of a

way to eat him up, and there he, wants me

to remove a thorn from his foot.

"It is for your benefit that I'm telling you

to take it out, sir," said Gopu earnestly. "That

thorn is long and sharp. When you eat me, it

is sure to get stuck in your throat."

Shikari then agreed to remove the thorn.

So Gopu lifted his foot up for Shikari, who

brought his face close to the foot to peer

deep into it.

This was the opportunity Gopu was waiting

for. With all his might, he kicked Shikari

in the mouth and galloped away.

"I should have known," moaned Shikari

after he had finished reeling from the force of

the kick. He had also lost a few teeth. "Why

did I ever attempt the art of healing, when all

I have been taught is the trade of a butcher?"

He thought as he 'limped' away from the

meadow.

The Palm Reader

Hari Prasad was the most

sought-after man in the marketplace.

A palmist rumored to be

the best in the area; he lived-off

people's hands as he was

believed to possess superior

qualities of prediction.

All he had to do was stare at

the faint little criss-crossing

lines on someone's palm for a

little while and bingo, the client

would listen astounded, as the palmist laid

his life history bare before him.

The client would return home somewhat

dazed by what he thought were the amazing

powers of the astrologer. Few realised that

Hari Prasad had actually said very little that

was not a generalisation. Later it might strike

some that they had been taken for a ride.

But by then it was too late, they had already

paid him his fees.

It was hard to believe Hari Prasad could

lie. He had the look of someone very grave

and authoritative. So people still queued up

to have their palms examined and hear a few

surprisingly accurate observations about

their life - to be followed by a whole

lot of nonsense. This was courtesy a

few discreet enquiries made during

the palm-reading session.

One day, in the middle of one such

session, the neighbour's boy came

running to Hari Prasad's shop:

"Chacha (uncle), come home

immediately. Someone broke into

your house and stole all the valuables,"

he said.

At this, Hari Prasad leapt to his

feet and began to run very fast. As

he ran home, everyone in the vicinity

watched him with surprise.

"Hey, he should not be running so fast,"

said someone, "surely he knew this was

going to happen."

"How on earth could he have known that?"

asked another person. "Do you think the

thief served him a special notice that he was

going to be robbed?"

"No," said the first man. "But how could

Hari Prasad, the man who foretells everyone

else's fortune, not have foreseen his own?

And that too, a theft in his own

house?"

The Leap

One day a newly married couple threw a

party. Among those who attended, was a

man who claimed to be a seasoned traveler.

He was an interesting-looking man with a

weather beaten face. So, by his appearance,

he did look like a well-traveled

person.

But once he started talking, there

was no stopping him. He bragged

to anyone who would listen,

about his exploits in countries

across the world.

He spoke of many wonderful

and heroic feats he had accomplished.

"I was an acrobat, a

magician, a lion-trainer and even

a hunter," he announced in a

booming voice.

"I've fought with a tiger, shot an

elephant...it's amazing the things I've done,"

he boasted.

"But friends," and here he lowered his

voice for effect, "...it's what I've done in

Samarqand that beats everything else."

"What did you do in Samarqand?" asked

someone.

The man, who was waiting for that question,

immediately launched into a long

drawn-out yarn.

"There were two buildings facing each

other, each at least 50 feet high. That's five

storeys high. They were 10 meters apart

from each other," he said. "Guess what I had

to do?"

There was pin drop silence in the audience.

"You didn't!" exclaimed

someone.

"I did indeed," boasted

the traveler. "I jumped

from the end of one building

to the end of the

other. It's the highest flying

leap ever recorded.

Such a large crowd had

gathered to watch. Why,

people talk about it even

now in Samarqand."

"Give us something to

talk about too," said the

host suddenly. "Why don't

you show us how you did it? Try leaping

between our house and the one facing us.

They're barely five meters apart. Come

friends, let's go up to the terrace," he added.

The traveler agreed, "Yes, that would be a

good idea. I haven't done a good leap in

years" And he started to walk with the others.

Then he stopped. "First I have to visit

the bathroom, though. May I?" he asked the

host. And he sprinted off to the toilet.

Needless to say, that was the last time

anyone saw the traveler in those parts again.

FOLKTALES 45

The Groomed Horse

Chetak was the most

attractive horse in the

neighborhood. His

proud owner, Ram

Singh, never lost an

opportunity to show

him off to his friends

and neighbors.

"Here he is, my

pride and joy," he

would exclaim in a

dramatic way as he

opened the door to the

young stallion's stable. And Chetak would

come out galloping, his shiny brown coat and

light brown mane glistening in the sun.

Ram Singh would then ride him across the

farm, for the benefit of the admiring crowd.

His attractiveness apart, Chetak was swift,

too. Riding him was like, "flying through air,"

his owner often said eloquently.

One day Ram Singh hired a new groom for

Chetak. The groom, Baloo, was acknowledged

to be a good one. Horses under his

care always ended up looking far better than

they did before. Sure enough, Chetak was no

exception to the rule.

Early every morning, Baloo would arrive

and go about his task with great concentration.

He would begin by washing the stallion,

then brushing his coat again and again, until

it shone. Hours passed by, with Baloo

engaged in this way.

So why wasn't Chetak happy? Ram

Singh began to notice that his spirited

stallion was somewhat subdued lately. It

was his habit the minute stable doors

were opened, to be out in a flash, going

round and round the farm...carefree, wild.

But lately, he was just lazing about, and had

even to be coaxed at times, to run.

"What's happening?", thought the worried

owner.

He found out a few days later. Every

day, he would arrange for a huge sackful

of good quality oats for Chetak's

meal. His instructions were that Chetak

be fed at least thrice. But one day he

stumbled upon sackful of oats hidden in an

unused tank inside the shed.

It was a part of what should have been

Chetak's meal, now waiting to be sold for a

tidy sum by Baloo. He had been keeping

some aside from Chetak's meal, everyday.

An unrepentant Baloo refused to admit he

was guilty when Ram Singh confronted him

later in the day. "I am a great groom," he

boasted. "I brush Chetak's coat, rub oil on

him and make him look so good. Have you

ever seen him looking better than this

before?"

"I employed you to keep him in good condition,"

Ram Singh thundered. "And that

means keeping him well-fed first and foremost.

Without that, you could have been

grooming him for all the world and it wouldn't

have made any difference," and saying

this, he dismissed the groom from service

immediately.

The Travellers

In a temple city in south India, lived a

group of young merchants who wanted to

become rich. They had often heard about

traders who had amassed a great deal of

wealth in the course of their travels across

the world.

So, one fine day, the merchants set out on

a long journey in quest of riches and

engaged in trade.

Unfortunately though, they did not

become as rich as they had thought they

would. Worse, they had spent more money

on their travels than they had earned in the

course of their trade - and that was galling.

All this made them very impatient.

One day, when they were in a seaside

town, their eyes fell on a large ship at a distance.

"When we

become rich, we

shall buy a ship

just like that

one," they said

excitedly. They

waited to see it enter

the harbor. As the ship neared it lost its

grand dimensions and started looking more

like a small boat.

They were crestfallen. But they waited.

When the boat reached the shore the merchants

discovered that it was only a bunch of

logs tied together to make a raft. They were

terribly disappointed.

Finally they understood. Just as they had

wasted a lot of time on fruitless speculation

about the "ship", their expectations of getting

rich also had been without any real

basis. Crestfallen they decided to return

home.

46 FOLKTALES

FOLKTALES 47

The Lion Cub

The mama animals and birds of the jungle

were having an argument of sorts. Actually,

it was a game of showmanship, regarding

their little ones. They were trying to find out

which one of them had the largest litter.

"I do," said Mama Deer, and proudly displayed

her brood of four sweet little deer.

"No, no...look at mine. See how sharp

their teeth are!" exclaimed Mama Jackal

whose six cubs bared their fangs. All

the animals who had assembled

backed off a little, but

Mama Jackal assured

everyone they were

only grinning.

"See how many I've

got," chirped Mama

Sparrow, sitting high

up on the branch of a

pretty tree. "One, two,

three, four, five, six,

seven,eight, nine...hee

hee." And the little birdies put out their

heads and tweeted.

"Your record is no patch on mine," purred

Mama Cat, whose litter of kittens was so

large, it looked like a little army. "No one's

is," she added.

"Sure, but your babies are too insignificant

to count," drawled someone else. The

next second everyone joined in and there

was complete chaos as everyone shouted

louder to get heard.

"Let's go to Mama Lion," said someone

and everyone agreed. So the animals

trooped into the den of the Queen of the

Forest. She was basking in the sun and

looked very majestic as the mama animals

approached her. They told her about their

dispute and requested her help.

"We all have so many offspring, but

we can't be sure about who has the

largest brood," they said to Mama

Lion. "What about you?" they

asked.

"Me?" she laughed. "I

have just one," and she

pointed to the frisky little cub

running about her.

"Only one! That's all?"

exclaimed the animals.

"Yes," said the proud

mother "...and he's going to be King of the

Forest some day. So tell me friends, what use

is a large brood to me?"

The mama animals were forced to agree

that in the long run the lion cub would matter

more than all of their little ones put

together.

Abdullah's Gold

Abdullah was one of the richest

men in town, but you could easily mistake

him for a beggar. It was his theory

that since there were so many people out

to rob a rich man, it was safe to pretend

to be poor. And so he did.

But he really didn't have to pretend.

Stingy to the core he found

it very easy to be poor. So what

if people sniggered and children

called out, "Kanjoos! Kanjoos!"

(miser, miser), whenever he

passed by in his worn-out clothes. Abdullah

became more and more content with his

growing pile of money as the years went by.

One day, he bought a huge lump of gold

with all the money he had amassed. He dug

a hole in the ground near an unused well and

buried the gold there. He was sure that no

thief would be able to find that place. With

this happy thought, Abdullah checked on his

treasure daily.

But can you really keep a hiding place hidden

if you looked at it every day? Before

long, the town was whispering about

Abdullah's mysterious visits to the

unused well in the dead of the night. It

wasn't long before a curious soul discovered

the gold, let out a yell of joy and

ran away with the miser's treasure.

Naturally, on his next visit,

Abdullah found the hole empty. He

began howling with grief and soon a

crowd had assembled. They

watched him grieve the way

people mourn the loss of a dear

one.

Finally, a neighbor came forward

and asked him to stop it. "You

want your gold? Just pick up a heavy stone

and drop it in the hole. Pretend it is the gold

you lost."

"How can you make fun of me at a time

like this," wailed the stricken man.

"I'm not making fun of you, friend!" said

the wise neighbor. "How did you use the gold

while it was here, except gaze at it every

day? You could do the same with a stone."

Abdullah was silenced.

Tail-cut!

Every morning the

fox strutted through

the forest pretending

to be king of the jungle.

He would bully an

animal here, chase

another there and show

a third one his fangs. He

was an utter nuisance.

One morning while

chasing a hare, he got

caught in a trap.

Actually, it was his tail

that got trapped. He pulled and pulled and

huffed and puffed, but couldn't get free. The

tail stayed in the trap.

Now the fox was very proud of his bushy

tail, which he always kept in a good condition.

So he avoided pulling too hard lest

something happened to it.

"Why did it have to be my tail?" he

groaned and pulled a little again.

Suddenly he heard voices - human voices.

The trappers were coming to claim their victim.

The fox made one great effort to free his

tail. A searing pain followed and then he was

free. He ran all the way to his lair, without

looking back even once.

Only then did he realize the truth. His tail

was missing. Most of it at any rate. The

bushiest, glossiest part of it.

The fox felt terribly depressed. Then he

felt a deep sense of shame. What would he

tell the other foxes? He could already see

their sly knowing smiles. Oh, the misery of it!

Then his calculating mind took over. He

would persuade them that being tail-less was

a good thing.

That evening, at the foxes' meeting by the

riverside, everyone watched astonished as

the tail-less one sauntered in nonchalantly

and proceeded to lecture everyone on the

virtues of moving around without a tail.

"Friends, being tail-less is so much more

fun," he exclaimed and twirled once for

effect. "And advantageous. Look at the

weight of the thing - wears one down all the

time. Prevents us from running like the

mare."

"Err...the mare has a tail too," someone in

the crowd pointed out.

"Hardly the same," said the tail-less fox,

carried away by the force of his own argument.

"The mare's tail is thin, not weighty

like ours. Think how heavy our tails get after

a swim. That's why I got rid of it. It's soooo

useless. Now I feel free. Really, all of you

should go in for a tail-cut too," he added.

"Shut up, will you!" growled another fox.

"We know you lost your tail in the trap. I had

the honor of seeing you flee from the

hunters. And I've brought along a memento."

Saying so he dangled the vain creature's severed

tail before everyone.

The assembly howled with laughter as the

tail-less fox slunk away.

The Eagle and the Arrow

Eagle was a strange creature.

He got his fun out of

teasing and frightening

the little birds. Even

when he was not hungry, he

would soar through the sky

and swoop down on some

unsuspecting birds and pretend

to prey on them. The

poor little birds would cower

with fear and try to fly away.

Eagle would then burst into an

ear-piercing laugh and flap his

wings disdainfully. "I am the King of

the sky! How scared you all are of me,"

he would exclaim.

The birds did not like Eagle and they all

thought he was very mean, for the other

eagles swooped down on the smaller birds

only when they were hungry.

Once it so happened that a

flock of pigeons was

flying in the sky and

Eagle decided to

scare them. He came

swooping down on them

from out of the blue. The pigeons

shrieked and scattered in different

directions.

Just then Eagle's sharp ears caught a

whizzing sound. He turned around and saw

its source: an arrow! Sure that the arrow was

not meant for him but for the pigeons, Eagle

just turned away. But the pigeons had flown

out of the way!

"Swick!" The arrow struck Eagle right in

the heart and he started fluttering to the

ground. "Oh no, I don't want to die," said

Eagle, "I have so many years more to live..."

But he was losing his blood very fast. He fell

to the ground with a thud and with dying

eyes looked at the killer arrow.

It was decorated with one of his own

feathers! "Oh God, no!" said Eagle, as he

died.

48 FOLKTALES

FOLKTALES 49

The Favour

There lived a wolf called Lalu in the Himalayan

forests. Lalu was very mean and selfish. He

thought only about himself and none of the other

animals liked him.

The rest of the wolf pack also avoided meeting

him. At most, they would say a polite 'Hello'

and then go their own way. After all, when they

were hungry, Lalu never offered to share his

meal. So the wolves avoided him, as they did not

want to be impolite.

One day, Lalu was very hungry and went out

hunting. After roaming around for nearly an

hour, he found a wild hen and greedily tore it to

pieces. Suddenly, a small bone got stuck in his

throat.

Lalu coughed and coughed and his face went

red with all that coughing. He tried to get the

bone out, but in vain. He ran up and down

groaning and moaning, seeking something to

relieve his pain.

Then it became difficult for him to breathe. He

pleaded with all the other animals to help him

get the bone out. "Help! Someone please help

me get this bone out…" said Lalu. But no one

stepped forward.

He even offered

them a reward for

removing the bone.

"Oh Pleeeease. I

can't breathe. I

would give anything

if you would

take it out!" he

said. But still no

one helped him -

because he was

so mean.

Then at last

mother crane,

Rani, took pity

on the wolf and

offered to help him. But she was unsure - would

Lalu really give her anything? All Rani wanted to

ask him was to be a better wolf.

But she decided that she should just do it. So

Rani told Lalu to lie on his side and open his jaws

as wide as he could. She put her long neck down

his throat and "Pluck!!", her beak had loosened

the bone. And slowly, she pulled the bone out.

"Ah, ah!! That's better," said Lalu, taking long

deep breaths. "Will you kindly give me the

reward you promised?" asked Rani.

Lalu grinned wide, showing all his teeth. He

said, "Be content. You have put your head inside

a wolf's mouth and taken it out again safely; that

ought to be reward enough for you."

Poor Rani was very disappointed, while the

other animals looked at Lalu angrily.

But did Lalu understand or care?

The Boy and the Wolf

A boy was standing on the roof of

his house, looking down at the valley

below. His house was the last of a row

of houses. Beyond it stretched a dark

and menacing jungle. Although he

had been living in the valley all his

life, the boy had never stepped inside

the jungle. He had heard that it was

full of wild animals that ate up any

human they came across.

He could see the forest from his

window. At night he heard all sorts of

noises coming from it -- noises that

penetrated the closed window and

reached the boy's frightened ears. He

was scared of the jungle, and of all

the creatures that roamed in it.

But that was at night. In the morning,

the boy felt differently. Standing

on the roof of his house, he surveyed

the jungle majestically. All he could

see were the tops of green trees and

they were hardly scary. I could go

there anytime, the boy thought to

himself.

Suddenly, he caught sight of a gray

wolf passing by right under his nose.

He looked at it fearfully. Actually, it

didn't look that big, from where the

boy was standing. It looked like the

black dog that his neighbors had. He

felt very brave knowing fully well that

the wolf could not reach him.

"You ugly beast, how dare you

come near my house? Get away or I

will set my dogs on you," he

screamed.

"I was just passing by," said the

wolf in quiet tones. He knew he was in

enemy territory and he didn't want

any trouble.

"Passing by, huh?" thundered the

boy. "How dare you use my area as a

thoroughfare, you evil animal? Get off

right now," and he waved a stick that

was lying around.

"Curse away," said the wolf to the

boy. "It is easy to be brave from a

safe distance." And he growled so

loud that the boy ran cowering inside.

Dream Palace

Once upon a time, Krishnadeva Rai, who

ruled over the Vijayanagar kingdom, dreamt

of a beautiful palace. It was made of glittering

stones and floated in the air. The palace

had everything that one could ever wish for.

And it could be lit up with a thousand lights

or made to disappear into the darkness by

merely wishing so.

The king woke up with a start. But he

could not forget the dream palace. So, one

day, he summoned all his courtiers and told

them about it. The courtiers made all the

right noises and sang praises of the king and

his beautiful dream.

Then the king made a public announcement:

"If someone can make such a palace

for me, I will give him a hundred thousand

gold coins!"

That stopped the courtier's mid-sentence.

Their mouths fell open. "Is the king mad?

Whoever heard of a palace floating in air,"

they thought.

But no one had the courage to say so.

Many of king's well-wishers told him that

such a palace can only exist in one's mind.

But he would not listen, of course. He insisted

that it could be built. He also threatened

his courtiers with dire consequences if they

did not produce someone who could make

the dream come true.

The courtiers were worried. And the senior

counsel of the state requested Tenali

Rama to do something.

A few days later, a very old man tottered

into the king's court. He was crying for justice.

Krishnadeva Rai asked: "Old man, what's

the problem? Tell me without fear and I shall

see that justice is done."

"I've been looted, Your Majesty," wailed

the old man. "All my savings are gone. I have

nothing left."

"Who looted you?", thundered the king.

"You name him and I'll have him hanged

immediately!"

"Your Majesty! If you don't take it as a

personal affront, I will tell you. But you must

assure that you won't punish me," mumbled

the old man.

"Yes, yes, I promise," replied the king

impatiently.

"It's you sir," said the old man.

"How dare you…", began the king, but

then he remembered his promise and sat

back.

"Your Majesty! Last night, I'd dreamt that

you'd come with your entourage of ministers

and commanders and looted my entire life's

savings - five thousand gold coins!", said the

old man.

"You are a fool!" roared the king. "How

can you pretend that your dream is reality?

Dreams are not true!"

"But they are, Your Majesty! If your dream

of a palace hanging in air can come true, why

can't my dream come true?"

And before the king could fully comprehend

what the old man was driving at, the

man tore off his beard and hair and stood

before the king. It was none other than

Tenali Rama!

Bowing low before the amazed king, Tenali

Rama said: "Your Majesty! This was the only

way of convincing you about the absurdity of

your wish."

"You're right," agreed the king and burst

into laughter "Tenali! You are really very

shrewd!", he added.

50 FOLKTALES

FOLKTALES 51

The Instructor

A young man wanted to learn the art of

sword fighting. He went to the greatest

instructor in the land and said, "Please give

me admission and teach me sword fighting."

The instructor gladly accepted him a student

and said, "Young man you can stay with

me and learn this art."

In the days that followed the instructor

gave him many odd chores to perform. The

chores were sweeping the floors, cutting

vegetables, cooking and the like. But there

was no mention of the sword or the art of

fighting with it.

The young man got desperate,

approached the instructor and said,

"Great teacher kindly begin my lessons."

The instructor agreed.

The next day when the young

man was cooking, the instructor

came from behind and hit him with

a wooden sword and vanished. The

young man was taken by surprise.

The next day too the same thing happened.

The young man now started

preparing himself mentally to counter

any such surprise attack.

Next time when the instructor came to

attack him, the young man was able to

dodge the blow of the sword. He was very

happy with his performance. He asked the

instructor, "Now have I learnt the art of

defending myself?" The instructor did not

respond to his question and walked away.

Such surprise attacks became common

and the young man got more and more skillful

in countering the attacks well.

One day the young man saw the instructor

engaged seriously in a task and a sudden

desire crept into his head. He thought, "Now

let me catch the instructor unawares and

attack him."

He took the wooden sword and attacked

the instructor without a sound from behind.

But lo! The instructor was fully prepared

for it. He took a shield lying near, turned

around and defended himself most skillfully.

Realization struck the young man that

moment. He thought, "How great is this

instructor. Today I have learnt the real secret

of sword fighting. He has taught me that

swinging the sword and learning the opponent's

moves are not the essentials of sword

fighting. What is important is to read what

goes on in the opponent's mind and to counter

his movement and his thoughts too."

The young man continued to take instructions

in all humbleness and with newer

insights trained well to become a great sword

fighter of his country.

What's for Dinner!

A little hen lived at the edge of a forest

colony. She lived all by herself and did all her

work on her own. Early in the morning she

hunted around for worms in the forest; in the

day she cleaned up the house; then she

cooked, ate and spent the rest of her time in

peace. In short, hers was a happy life.

Close by lived a middle-aged fox with his

old mother. And, as you can imagine, if the

fox was a little elderly, mother fox was quite

definitely ancient.

One day the fox and his mother had nothing

to eat at home. He had been too lazy to

go hunting for food for a few days and now

he wondered how best to get hold of some

food without too much exertion. All of a sudden

he remembered the hen.

Now the neighborhood in which the fox

and the hen lived, most of the animals

adhered to the rule that neighbors should not

hunt each other for food. If you belonged to

another colony, it was okay. But not if you

were part of the same neighborhood. It was

believed to upset neighborly equations. So

far, the fox had not much need for disobeying

the injunction, either.

But lately, with more and more cutting of

trees, the forest had begun to recede, and

with it the animals too, had begun to disappear.

It was much harder to hunt and the fox

was a lazy fellow.

So he announced to his mother "I have a

plan to catch that irritating hen. I will catch

her and put her inside this sack. Place a pot

on fire and add water. We will boil her for dinner

tonight".

Saying so, he crept up to the house of the

hen.

The hen came out to pick up sticks for the

fire and left the door open while doing so.

The fox slipped in while her back was turned.

She did not see him. He hid behind the door.

As soon as the hen came in with her wood,

she shut the door with a bang.

She didn't see the fox sitting with his big

fluffy tail on the floor. Imagine her shock

when the fox crept up from behind her, then

suddenly caught her. He forced her into the

sack and tied up its mouth.

With a happy smile on his face, he began

to walk to his den.

So happy was he at the prospect of eating

the hen that he paid no heed to the movements

inside the sack. The hen had meanwhile

taken out her sharp little knife from her

pocket. She cut a hole in the bag and jumped

out promptly.

But immediately she picked up a great big

stone and dropped it in the bag.

When the fox reached his den, he was literally

salivating in anticipation. "Mother,

mother, is the water boiling on the pot? For I

have got a whole hen to boil in it."

"Yes it is boiling hot. Just right for the

hen," replied the mother.

Then the fox held the bag over the boiling

water. Pl….lllopppp fell the stone. Its heaviness

made the water jump out of the pot.

Splashing straight into the bodies of the fox

and his mother. And killing them both in the

process.

After that the little hen did not find anyone

bothering her in her little house in the forest.

52 FOLKTALES

Qui Jun and the

Arrogant Monk

There once lived a monk

called Shan, in a village in

China. He had earned a great

name for himself. But he was

very arrogant.

Qui Jun heard of his arrogance

and wanted to teach the

monk a lesson. He went to

meet Shan who neither greeted him nor

acknowledged his presence.

Just then a servant of the monk came with

a message: "The son of an army officer is

here to see you."

The monk said, "I will go and greet him."

Shan welcomed the son of the army officer

with respect.

After the army officer's son had departed

Qui Jun asked Shan the reason for his double-

faced behavior. "Why is it

that you greeted the army

officer's son so respectfully,

yet behaved so arrogantly

towards me?"

Shan the Monk had a quick

reply: "Please don't get me

wrong. For me greeting

means not greeting and not

greeting means greeting."

Qui Jun understood the

monk's mischief and hit him

hard on his head with his stick.

"According to your logic, beating you

means not beating and not beating you

means beating. Therefore, I have to give you

a beating," said Qui Jun.

Shan immediately realized the folly of his

actions and started showing respect to

everyone he met, irrespective of their status.

Modesty Pays

There once lived a proud driver in Qi, a

state in China. He was the driver of the Prime

Minister of the state. One day the Prime

Minister happened to drive through the street

where the driver lived with his wife. Some

neighbor's saw him drive the Prime Minister

and were excited.

One of the neighbors ran to the driver's

home and said to driver's wife-"Quick! See

who is driving the Prime Minister? Your husband."

The wife ran out to see her husband drive

the chariot of the Prime Minister. She saw her

husband drive past her with his head held

high up in the air, arrogant and proud.

When the driver returned home that

evening, his wife did not speak to him.

He asked her, "Why are you unhappy."

She said, "I want to divorce you."

The driver got the shock of his life. He

said," Why, Why do you want to divorce me?"

She replied, "Look at the Prime Minister,

he sat with great modesty in the chariot. You

are but his driver, yet you are so arrogant,

that is why I want to leave you."

The driver realized his mistake. He understood

that the better a person get, more

humble should he be to gain respect. From

that day onwards, he became more humble.

The Prime minister noticed the change in

him.

He asked the driver, "Why have you

changed your manner of behavior?"

The driver replied, "My wife admonished

me, and I think she is right."

The Prime Minister admired his change in

attitude, took him to the king and said, "Your

Honor, my driver is a man of virtue, he has

the courage to correct his own mistakes."

Recognizing it, the king said, "Good! He

should be given an official post."

The driver was made an officer. He discharged

his duties with great modesty, and

lived happily ever after.

FOLKTALES 53

A Tale of Two Sons

A businessman had two sons.

While he showered the younger

son with affection and gifts,

he neglected the older son

shamelessly. It was completely

baffling and no one

knew why he did it. While the

older son could do nothing

right, the younger one

could do nothing wrong.

When the boys grew up,

they were asked to manage

the father's business. But

there was a world of difference

in the management

practices the father expected

his boys to follow. The

elder son was initiated into

the nitty-gritty of the business.

From morning till late in the evening, he

was on his toes, trying to figure out how the

business ran. His father was a hard taskmaster,

who pushed him relentlessly so that he

would give the business all he got. Within a

few years, he was able to master the ropes

of the business and even expand it.

What about the younger son? He had had

the luxury of a higher education. He didn't

have much to do except have a good time at

his father's expense. After some years his

father felt obliged to hand the younger son

his share of business. He was confident that

his favorite son would be a brilliant success.

If the elder son could be a successful businessman

without the benefit of higher education,

surely the younger one, who was

more gifted, would do much better.

Within a few years, the

results of his decision became

evident. Uninterested in business,

the younger son kept

up his spending spree and

thus went bankrupt.

But, the elder son's far

smaller share of business had

expanded and he had

proved himself to be a

good decision maker.

Ashamed at the turn

of events the father

met the elder son and

ranted against the

younger one.

"What a scoundrel

that boy has turned out

to be. I gave him

everything he wanted,

and he ruined it all !

How could I have possibly known that he

would turn out like this? A pleasure-loving,

incompetent wastrel," he wailed.

The elder son, who was listening to all this

quietly, suddenly announced his plan to set

up an independent venture. "I want to strike

out on my own," he said.

"Why?", asked the dumbfounded father

who was hoping to start afresh with the elder

son at the helm of affairs.

"I blame one person for the way my

brother has turned out, and it's not him. You

can't blame children for the faults of their

parents, can you?", asked the elder son. And

then he left his father's house.

The Elephant's Nose

There was a time, when the elephant's

nose was no bigger than a boot that he could

wriggle from side to side. But an elephant's

child changed all that.

He was a curious fellow who asked ever so

many questions.

He asked the ostrich why her tail feathers

grew just so.

He asked the giraffe what made his skin

spotty.

He asked the hippo why his eyes were red,

and the baboon why melons tasted as they

did.

"What does a crocodile have for dinner?"

he asked one day.

"Shushh" said all the animals in a scared

voice.

But he would not shushh.

By and by he met the Kolokolo bird. She

told him where he could find an answer.

"Go to the grey, green, greasy Limpopo

river," said she.

So off he went, carrying a load of bananas

and sugarcane and melons. He'd be hungry

on the way, you see.

After a week of trudging and budging he

reached where he had to reach.

At the edge of the river he stepped on

what he thought was a log of wood. It winked

one eye.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a crocodile

in these parts?" asked the elephant's child

politely.

The creature winked the other eye and

half lifted his tail out of the mud.

"I am the crocodile," he said.

The elephant's child grew excited and

kneeled down.

"I have been looking for you all these

54 FOLKTALES

FOLKTALES 55

Forgive

and Forget?

Amar and Alok , two friends, set up a business

venture together. Both invested a lot of

money in the business and spent all their

time trying to promote it.

For a few years everything seemed to be

working out fine. Then Alok wanted to diversify.

He persuaded Amar to invest their profits

in another venture. Amar wasn't so sure -

what if the venture failed? - but

agreed after much persuasion

by his friend.

The two went ahead with the

venture. Unfortunately, the new

business did fail. They incurred

very heavy losses. So they

poured in all the money they

had made till then to keep the

business from sinking. But it

was no use. Their venture was

still destined to doom.

Within the space of a few years the two

friends had gone from riches to rags.

Amar, who had been persuaded to throw

in his money, could never forget that the idea

to invest came from Alok. He couldn't forgive

his friend's lack of judgment, for he had

never doubted it once. He was deeply

shocked.

After a few days, the shock turned to fury.

He was sure his friend had betrayed him. So

he was determined to take revenge. One day,

he went quietly to Alok's house and set it

afire. There was nobody inside the house so

no deaths occurred. But everything was

burnt to a cinder. Alok was left with nothing.

While running out of the house after setting

it on fire, Amar had been spotted by Alok

who was returning home. But he could never

prove the fact. He too, burned with rage. And

decided to take revenge his way.

He set up a business on his own and made

some money with it. And then he began systematically

to destroy the business of the

man who was his friend once. There were so

many ways to do it - a few calls to the clients

his friend had, a few nasty rumors.

Because he was in a better

position than Amar, he could do

a lot of damage too. The other

tried to follow his example but

couldn't - he was in too weak a

position.

It happened that in a few

months Amar lost everything

else too. He went to Alok's house

one day. "Let's stop this madness."

he said. "We've hurt each

other enough."

"I don't particularly enjoy taking revenge

either," agreed the other. "But you asked for

it".

"I was only reacting to what you did. Your

judgment cost me my entire life's saving. But

maybe it's possible to put all of this behind

and become friends again?"

"No", said Alok, who had lost his house.

"You'll never forget what happened to your

money and I'll never forget what happened

to my house. There's really no way we could

become friends again. For while people might

learn to forgive after a while, they can never

forget the wrongs done to them."

days," he said. "Will you

please tell me what you have

for dinner."

SPLATH! Went the crocodile's

tail back into the oozy

mud.

"Come nearer little one,

come nearer and I'll whisper,"

said the crocodile.

The elephant's child put

his head down close to the

crocodile's musky tusky

mouth.

And the crocodile caught him by his little

nose.

The elephant's child knew he was in BIG

trouble. He sat back on his haunches. And he

pulled and pulled.

The crocodile splashed in the water and

pulled and pulled.

They both pulled and pulled. And the elephant's

nose kept stretching

and stretching. At last

the crocodile let go.

Bfuddudd!! Fell the elephant,

right on his big

broad back.

He looked at his nose.

He could not see where it

ended! It was loooong! So

long, he could swish it

around. But it hurt him

awfully.

So he wrapped the nose

in cool banana leaves and waited for it to

shrink.

He waited and waited. But nothing happened.

He could still swish it all around.

And so it remains to this day.

LooooooonG!

56 FOLKTALES

Preparing for Winter

Autumn was coming to an end. All the

insects and animals were working very hard

to stock their larders with enough food to last

them the winter. They all knew that winter

time would be tough - it would be cold and

food would be scarce. As it would get dark

really soon, it would be difficult to go looking

for food.

Therefore, everyone was working hard, all

except Mr. Grasshopper. He loved autumn.

Autumn was a time when the leaves changed

colour. It was all so so pretty. The trees

seemed to be on fire with red, yellow and

orange leaves, which then fell off and covered

the ground. There was a pleasant

breeze too.

Mr Grasshopper spent his days playing. He

jumped from leaf to leaf and from one fallen

twig to another. What he liked best was the

way the leaves bounced when he jumped off

them, and how the leaf he landed

on swayed with his weight.

"Yooo eeeeee. Life is lovely, the

world is beautiful, I want to

play forever..." he sang.

Just then little Miss Ant happened

to pass by. She was dragging

a heavy grain of rice behind

her. "Oowf. This is so heavy. I wish I could

get some help with this. I should have asked

my brother to come along to help me," she

was muttering. "Oh, do you need help?"

asked Mr Grasshopper.

"Yes, sir. Would you give me a hand? My

ant hill is just a few trees away, but this is so

heavy," replied the ant happily. "Now. First

you come and play with me for some time,

then I shall gladly help you. What are you

toiling for anyway? Autumn is so beautiful,

you too should enjoy the weather while you

can," the grasshopper said.

"No, Mr. Grasshopper. You too must start

collecting your food for the winter. Otherwise

it will be tough as there won't be anything to

eat," said the concerned ant.

"Nothing doing. I will go out and find all

the food I want when I am hungry. Right now

it is time to play and have a party," the silly

grasshopper replied. So Miss Ant just shook

her head and went on - "Huff, puff, huff,

puff."

Then winter came. It was so cold that the

ants didn't dare to come out. But their tummies

were full and they were warm and

happy. Actually, everyone was warm and

happy, except for Mr. Grasshopper. He was

cold and hungry. As he went hunting for food

only when it was less cold than usual, he got

very little to eat and soon became weak with

hunger.

"Oh, why did I spend my days

playing? I should have listened to

the ant..." he thought with regret.

Silence is Golden

A Chinese student once went to his teacher and

asked him a question: "Sir, is there any good in

talking a lot?"

The teacher replied: "Toads and frogs croak

night and day, but no one pays any attention to

them. But the cock crows at a certain time of night

and wakes up everyone."

"This proves that no good is achieved by talking

a lot. What is important is to say the right thing at

the right time."