THE BIRTHDAY GIFT

John was very happy that day. It was his birth day, and his father had given him some money to spend.

John thought that he would go and buy lots of books and new toys for himself. He loved to read books

But, he felt sad that he would have to go alone because his parents were very busy

He rained ariybd teg narjet. Then he saw a thin boy of nearly his age, crossing the road. The boy tripped and fell down on the road.

He looked very pale and it seemed that the boy had not eaten for several days.
John felt a sudden rush of fear when he sae a car coming fast towards that boy on the road.He had to do something or the boy could be killed. The car was too fast. John knew that the car would not be able to stop in time to save the boy.

John quickly jumped onto the road, pulled the boy and rolled with him onto the other side.

It was just before the car crossed over. Had Hohn not acted so quickly. The boy would have surely been crushed under the speeding car.

All the people praised John for saving the boy, but brave John was looking at the boy.

The  boy looked very week and poor. John said, "I am Johid you fall on the n. What is your name?”

My name is James. Thank you John for saving me? Said the boy, gratefully.

“But why did you fall on the road?” asked John.

I don’t know. Everything became dark suddenly,” said James.

“Let me take you to your parents. Where do you live? Asked John.

“I don’t have parents and I live on the side of this street, n that big pipe over there,” answered James.

John asked , “But why?

“My parents died in an accident two months back and I lived with them” replied James.

“So you are alone? Asked John.

“Yes, I am alone” answered James.

“Do you work?” asked John.

“I used to clean cars in a garage but the garage has closed down too,” said James.

“Have you eaten breakfast?” asked John.

“I have not had anything to ear for three days” replied James.

John took James to a restaurant.

John said, “Come and eat, James”

NO my mother told me never to beg” said James.

“Will you be my friend, James? Asked John hopefully.

“Yes, said James smilingly.

“Then today is my birthday. Won’t you celebrate with me? If you don’t eat, I will feel bad” said John.

THE BIRTHDAY GIFT 1

So both of them sat down and had food. John could see how hungry James was, yet he did not eat greedily.

James said, “Thank you, John. That was wonderful.”

“I am glad you liked it,” said John.

“Why are you alone on your birthday? Asked John.

“Yes” nodded James happily. Both of them walked home and James saw the house where John lived.

“You have a big house” said James.

“What is the use of a big house when I am alone most of the time? Oh! What a surprise! The car is here. That means my parents have come back” said John.

James said, “Now let me go”

But John caught his hand and pulled him alone. His driver saw him and hurriedly came towards him.

The driver said, “John your parents are looking for you. Where were you? They have arranged a birthday party for you”

John then pulled James to his room upstairs. James was quite amazed to see all the beautiful things in John’s room. He had never seen anything like this ever before.

John showed him all his fancy toys and games. James played video games and was so happy that he forgot that he was not meant to be there. James had never had so much fun in his life; he was enjoying every single moment of it.

Then John took out a new set of clothes and said, “James, wear this. You are a little thin but we are of the same height. You will look very good in these clothes.”

He then took him to the washroom, and asked him to bathe and wear the new clothes.

James protested, but John did not give him a chance to speak and told him to hurry up. Once James had worn the costly clothes, he looked very handsome.

John then took James down to the party. His parents hugged John lovingly and he said, “Mom and Dad meet my new friend, James.”

Then John introduced him to all his friends. James was quite shy at first but soon made friends with them. He had a real good time with John and his friends.

John cut the birthday cake and he gave the first piece to his parents and then to James.

They danced and played games. Then John gave return gifts to his friends.

When all the guests had left. John changed back into his own clothes and started walking out of John’s house. But John stopped him.

He took him to his parents and said, “I know you give me everything and love me a lot. Will you please give me something special today?”

Hs father smiled and said, “Yes, ask us for anything you want”

“You both are very busy and I remain alone at home. So please, can James stay here with me, always? Asked John.

John told his parents all about James who was alone in this world. James was surprised when John’s parents agreed to let him stay.

John jumped with joy because he had began to like James a lot.

John’s mother said, “James, from today you are like my son, and you will go to school with John.”

“Oh thank you so much! Said James and touched their feet in gratitude.

James and John lived happily and lovingly with their parents, ever after.

THE SPIDER'S WEB

A king, with his small army, was fighting very bravely. But then he saw many of his soldiers being killed quickly.

He knew that the enemy king was stronger and mightier, and had a much bigger army than him.

He knew that because he had a small army, he would surely lose.

His soldiers had started running aay from the field; this made him very sad.

He knew that he had almost lost. He turned his horse and rode off the field.

He didn't want to see anyone. So he went towards the hills. There he saw a cave. He went inside and lay down.

He felt bad as he knew that his losing this battle meant that he would lose his kingdom.

His palaces, his cities and the whole state would be taken over by his enemy. He thought of his dear queen and his sons, and his eyes filled with tears.

All of a sudden, his eyes fell on a spider spinning a web.

He knew that spiders could spin strong webs, in which insects would be caught.

It took a long time for the spider to spin a web. First, it swung from one end to another. Then it wove lines in between.

The king looked at the spider working so hard. The spider spun a very big web and then, it went to one side waiting for insects to stick to it, so that the he could eat them.

Suddenly, the king's horse neighed outside and a bird flew off near the king.

The bird's wings scraped against the web and the web was completely broken.

The king felt very sad for the spider and waited to see what he would do next.

The spider came again and stated spinning all over again. This time it spun an even bigger web.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew and the web was carried away with it but the spider reminded on the wall.

Again, the watched to see what the spider would do, as the second web had also been spoiled.

The king watched to see what the spider would do, as the second web had also been spoiled.

The king sat up thought, "The spider has not given up though its web has been broken twice. How brave the spider is1 I should learn from him. If a small creature like a spider has not lost his will, then I, a king must not give up hope. I should not run away from my responsibilities. I will fight again."

The king got up and rode his horse. He collected all his men again and marched towards the battlefield. He was surprised to see some of his brave men still fighting. His heart was filled with a deep sense of gratitude for those loyal soldiers.

The king shouted to all his soldiers, "We have to win. We will not give up till we die." With a new found will and strength, the king and his soldiers attacked the enemy and fought a fierce battle.

 The soldiers were inspired by their king's confidence. They pledged to fight and win the battles.

Even though many soldiers were hurt and killed, no one left the field. They fought till end with lot courage.

In the end, the king won even though his army had been small. The other army ran away from the battle field.

all the soldiers celebrated their victory, and the king promised to give them many rewards.

All the soldiers shouted, "Long live te king! We ae so lucky to have such a brave king who does not give up. Hip hip Hurrah! Hip hip Hurrah!

But t king closed his eyes and thanked the spider for the loesson he had taught him. He remained grateful to t spider who had unknowingly given him the courage to face his enemies.

HELPING OTHERS

A long time ago, a beautiful dove lived in the deep forests. He was happy-go-lucky fellow, and would often sit on the trees by the lake. He loved to watch the water ripple as if dancing with joy.

One day, he went to the lake feeling very thirsty. As he bent down to drink water, he saw an ant picking up some food and carrying it.

The food was heavy, so it would fall, but the ant would pick it up again and walk on. The dove thought, "What a hard-working ant! She is really great."

Just then, the dove saw the food fall off again.  As the ant tried to pick it up again, she slipped and fell into the water.

The dove realized that the ant could not swim for she seemed to be drowning.

The above felt sorry for the ant. He really admired the hard-working ant and wanted to save her from drowning. The ant was battling for her life in the swift current of the river.

The dove looked around and found a leaf lying nearby. The dove took it in his beak and put the leaf near the drowning ant.

The ant saw the leaf and tried to get on it. After much effort, she climbed onto the leaf.

The leaf floated to the side of the lake and the ant climbed out safely from the water. The ant thanked the dove.

She told the dove that she would always be there if the dove ever needed her. The ant never forgot the dove's kindness.

One day, the ant was crawling around trying to find food.

She saw a man with a gun in his hand.

The ant had seen the man kill some animals before, so she tried to see whom the man was aiming the gun at.

The ant was shocked to see that the man was aiming the gun at the dove.

It was the same dove who had helped the ant. The dove was unaware of the man, and was enjoying his food perched on a tree branch.

The ant knew that the dove's life was in danger. She had no time. She had to do something quickly to save the dove.

The ant quickly ran towards the man. She climbed up his foot as fast as she could.

The man was about to fire, when the ant bit him with al her might.

The man screamed with pain and his arms jerked suddenly.

The gun fired, but the shot missed the dove. Instead it hit the tree and no one was hurt.

The dove heard the gunshot. Before the man could fire his gun again, the dove flew away.]

The man saw the dove flying into the sky but he was too busy scratching his foot, where the ant had bitten him.

By the time, the man got ready to shoot again, the dove had down far away into the sky.

The ant felt dove, just like the dove had saved her when she was drowning.

After the man had gone away, the dove flow back to the ant.

He said, "I am so grateful o you for having saved my life."

The ant replied, "My friend, I did what a true friend should do."

They became good friends, and were always ready to help each other.

THE LOYAL DOG

A shepherd and his family lived in a small hut, high up in the mountains. It was very cold there.

They had many sheep that grazed on the mountainside. The sheep were kept in a warm enclosure, behind their hut.

The shepherd, his wife and their baby lived on the mountains during summer. But during winters, they would come down to the village.

Once, it became cold, but they could not go down in time because the wife became sick.

It started snowing. The shepherd thought that they should go to village, though his wife was still too weak to walk.

So the shepherd said, "I will carry you and the baby to the village."

His wife said, "I feel so weak that I can't walk. How can you carry me down?

First take the sheep and when you come back, get some help to take me and the baby."

"The is a good idea. I will bring other people with me from the village, with a carry cot. You don't worry. Food is kept in the hut. I will leave the dog here and I will try to come back as soon possible," promised the husband.

The shepherd took all the sheep with him, and started climbing down towards the village. His wife stayed back in the hut with her baby and the dog.

For a few hours, everything was quiet. All of a sudden, a snowstorm began to blow.

The wind was very strong and it blew snow everything for a long time.

The hut and everything else around was covered with a thick blanket of snow.

The shepherd had reached the village with his sheep, but he could not go back to his hut due to the heavy snow.

He was very worried. What would happen to his wife and baby?

He asked the other people to come with him, but they refused.

They said that the storm was too strong and they all could die if they went up the mountain.

The storm finally calmed down after a long time.

Then the shepherd started climbing village.

As the shepherd started climbing up the mountain, with all the men of the village.

As they went up, they saw how strong the storm had been. All that could be seen around was snow.

When they reached the hut, they were shocked to see just a pile of wooden planks lying in place of the hut. The strong wind and snow had brought down the jut and it lay in a collapsed heap.

They could not see the woman, the baby or the dog. The man grew worried as he wondered if his wife and baby were safe.

The man started crying, "Oh! My wife and baby are not here! What could have happen to them? Where are they?"

His brother said, "Don't worry. We will find them."

They started shouting loudly for the woman and the dog.

They tried to listen for the cries of the baby.

They looked here and there and everywhere. Some started digging the snow with shovels hoping to find the woman and the baby. They called out to the baby and the woman, but no voice came, not even the baby's cry.

All of a sudden, they heard, "Woof! Woof!

They all ran towards the side from where the sound of the dog's barking came.

Quickly, they started digging the snow. They lifted the collapsed roof of the hut carefully. They could now hear the dog's bark more clearly

As they removed the planks of wood, they saw the woman lying with the baby in her arms and the dog covering them like a blanket. The baby and the woman were alive.

The men shouted with joy, and praised the dog for saving the woman and the baby. Quickly, they picked up the woman and the baby, put them on the carry cot and covered them with a blanket. Then all of them began their journey down the mountain, towards the village.

The dog's master then patted the dog and said, "Thank you so much. You have saved my wife and my baby. You are wonderful and truly loyal."

The others also praised the dog and patted him affectionately on his back.

It seemed the dog too agreed. He wagged his tail happily and barked in a low voice, "Woof! Woof!

THE MONKEY'S REVENGE

A boy was going to school. He saw a small monkey sitting on a low branch of a tree.

The boy picked up a stone and hit the monkey with the stone.

The small monkey screeched, "Cheese Cheese," because she was hurt.

The boy forgets about it and had a nice day. He studied and played in the school.

But the poor monkey was very hurt. Blood flowed from the wound and she was in a lot of pain.

With great difficulty, she reached her family. They saw the blood and she farther asked, "How did you hurt yourself?"

The small monkey said, "A boy hit me with a stone."

The mother monkey lovingly picked her up and licked the wound, till the blood stopped.

The small monkey was in terrible pain through the wound was no longer bleeding.

Her parents were furious and the father monkey decided to complain to their leader to take immediate action against the naughty boy.

Then they all went to the other monkeys of their tree. They called for a meeting.

All the monkeys sat together and the father monkey said, "A boy hit my small child today with a stone. My child has lost a lot of blood and is in much pain."

All the monkeys shouted, "Same on the boy!"

Another monkey complained, "This boy hit my son too with a stone, sometime back."

"That is too bad. It means that this boy keeps hurting our babies," Said their leader.

"I think we should take revenge," said the father of the monkey who had been hurt that morning.

"Revenge!  Yes, we must take revenge," shouted all of them.

The leader said, "Revenge is not good thing. We didn't like the boy hurting our child, but if we take revenge, we will also hurt the boy. That would not be the right thing to do"

The hurt child then said, "But Sir, this boy hits all of us every day."

All the other monkeys also agreed with what the hurt child had said.

Then, they started planning how they would take revenge.

THE MONKEY'S REVENGE 1

The leader asked, "Where can we find that boy? How will we recognize him?"

"He goes to school every morning and crossed our tree on t way," said the hurt monkey baby.

The small child replied, "I remember his face very well."

Then a plan was carefully chalked out.

They all decided to meet the next morning, at the same time the boy had hit the child with the stone.

Then they would attack the boy and beat him, so that he would never ever hurt any other animal.

The  next morning, the animals quickly looked for food. Then they sat and ate their food.

They cleaned their fur and were ready to teach the naughty boy a lesson.

All the monkey child sat waiting. He got confused because all the boys of the school wore the same uniform.

Her mother asked the hurt monkey, "Will you be able to recognize the boy who hurt you?"

She said to her mother, "I can never forget the boy's face."

All of a sudden, t little monkey saw the same boy coming and started shouting, "This is the boy!" The leader shouted, "Attack!"

All the monkeys who had hidden in the trees suddenly pounced on the unsuspecting boy, and started beating and biting him.

Then the leader saw some people coming towards them, so he shouted, "Run back!"

All the monkeys ran away before the people could find stones to hit them.

In a minute, the monkeys had hidden themselves and not one of them could be seen.

The boy was lying hurt and was crying. He was taken to the doctor. He was badly bitten by the monkeys and had to take a lot of medicines.

Next day, all the monkeys waited at the sometime. But the boy did not come for two days. He had fever, and had been given injections too. After two days, they saw the boy coming with a bandage on his head and stitches on his face and body. Their leader said, "We will only hurt the boy again if he throws stones at us."

The boy saw the monkeys but he did not throw even a single stone at them.

The leader shouted, "Don't attack the boy. Let him go." The boy just looked at them and quietly walked away. For three days, all the monkeys kept watch to see if the boy threw a stone at any monkey.

After a few days, the boy came and stood under the tree. The monkeys were again waiting for him, but were hiding themselves.

Suddenly, the small monkey, whom the boy had hurt, bravely came out of the hiding, to test whether the boy would hit again.

The boy saw the wounded monkey and apologized, "I am sorry, I hurt you. You must be in as much pain as I am. I will never hurt any animal now."

He then took out a handful of peanuts from his pocket and gave them to the little monkey.

From that day onwards, the boy never hurt any animal. The monkeys had taught him a lesson.

GOOD FROM BAD

One say, a woman saw her baby getting very cranky. She felt his forehead and was worried to find him running a very high temperature.

She decided to take the baby to a doctor but she didn't have a car because her husband had taken it.

She started to take the bay to a doctor but she didn't have a car because her husband had taken it.

She started walking as there was no taxi or rickshaw around, she had to walk a long distance, and all this while, her baby was getting even more irritable.

The woman walked on with the baby in her arms, till she reached a clinic of a doctor.

She rushed inside and said, "Doctor, my baby is very sick."

The doctor, how is my baby? What has happened to him? He has not been eating anything, and his body his body feels so hot. He is even crying a lot, "Said the worried mother.

The doctor replied, "The baby has very high fever. I will have to give strong medicines and injections. You better wait here for sometimes. You can take the baby home once the fever comes down."

Throughout the day, the woman kept sitting near her baby, and it was only in the evening that the fever came down.

"No, he has asked, "Have you called your husband?"

"No, he has gone to another town," answered the woman.

The doctor said, "Now you can go home. The baby is better."

He wrote a prescription and told her to give medicines to the baby at the right time.

She thanked the doctor and picked up the bay lovingly.

It was dark outside and had becomes very cloudy. She felt that a storm was soon to break, so she tried to hurry.

Even now, she could not find any taxi or rickshaw. So she walked on.

All of a sudden it started raining heavily. She looked around for a place where she could find shelter and saw an old temple. Keeping her baby wrapped in a blanket, she ran towards the temple.

The temple was in ruins. She sat down and made the baby sit on her lap. Suddenly, she heard a hissing sound and saw a snake right in front of her.

The woman shouted, "God! Why are you troubling me so much today?"But then she thought that she should act fast. It was still raining but she ran out of the temple with the baby in her arms. She had barely stepped out of the temple, when she heard a loud crashing sound. She turned back to find the whole temple crumbing down.

The woman thought, "Oh God! What a narrow escape for both of us. My baby and I were sitting exactly where the roof has fallen down. We would have died if we had stayed in the temple any longer."

She then knelt with her baby and prayed, "God forgive me. I shouted angrily at you when I saw the snake because I thought it would bite us. It made me run away, so we got saved from the falling roof. The snake was a signal for us to leave the temple. I was blaming you, but actually you were helping us. I am sorry for shouting like that. I should have kept my faith in you because you look after us all the time."

Soon the rain stopped and she walked home with the baby.

The woman reached her house safely with the baby. She thanked God again for looking after both of them, and keeping them alive.

THE NAUGHTY ELEPHANT

In a forest, all the elephants lived together like a family. When they walked to the lake or to search for food, they kept the baby elephants in the centre.

One day, a naughty baby elephant started walking around on his own, away from his family.

His mother got angry and said, "There are some rules and you have to follow them. So don't be naughty."

But the baby was tired of hearing his mother preach, "Don't do this," and 'don't do that," and so he did not listen to her.

In fact, the herd of elephants was going to the river to drink water.

The mother elephant advised the baby, "You must be careful. The river is deep, so stay with us."

When they reached the river, the baby elephant looked around and saw that no one was watching him. Then he quietly went into the river.

He loved the cool water but soon, the baby elephant began to scream because the fast current of the river began to sweep him away.

The baby elephant could not stand in the water any more, and he did not know how to swim.

The water carried him, and soon he saw waterfall right in front of him.

He knew that if he fell with the waterfall then he will surely get hurt or even die.

The baby elephant thought, "Oh! Why did I not listen to my mother? She had told me that the river was deep."

He shouted, "Help! Mom! I am drowning."

The mother heard the voice of the baby. She called out to one of her sisters "Help! My baby is drowning. Come quickly."

Both of them ran towards the baby. The baby elephant was slowly drifting towards the waterfall.

His mother shouted, "Baby catch hold of something. Don't worry. We are coming to save you."

"Mom, help me! Please come quickly." cried the frightened baby elephant.

The mother said, "DON"T CRY, You must think of a way to save yourself till we reach you. Try catching hold of a big rock or something."

The baby elephant started thinking hard. He saw some plants in front of him. So instead of crying, he caught the plants with his trunk.

He kept holding on to the plants for sometimes. His mother saw this and shouted, "Good boy. Hold the plants tightly, so that we both get time to reach you."

However, they were about to reach the baby, when the plants slipped from his trunk and he was carried further away with the water.

The baby elephant tried to stay away from the waterfall but the water was too fast.

One of the elephants on the bank cried, "Do you need help?"

The mother elephant cried back. "Yes! The water is very fast. We need help." Now all the elephants were watching them. Two other big elephants came to help them.

By then, the two elephant sisters had reached the baby.

The mother and the aunt joined their fail and trunk respectively, and stopped the baby elephant from getting swept further down the river.

Then slowly, they started pulling the baby elephant towards the bank.

It was a hard task because the water was very fast, but the other two elephants had also joined them in the rescue.

After a while, they pulled the baby elephant out of the water onto the river bank.

The two brother elephants and the sister walked off, but the mother of the baby elephant stayed with him to see whether the baby was fine.

First the mother elephant checked the baby to ensure that he was breathing properly. Then, she patted him and spoke softly to him.

When she saw that the baby elephant was smiling again, the mother slapped him with her trunk and shouted at him, "Why did you go into the water?"

"I am sorry, Mom, I was naughty," replied the baby.

"Young children have to obey ruled be disciplined. It is to keep you safe. So you must not be naughty anymore," advised his mother.

The baby said, "Never again, will I discovery you, Mother. I have learnt my lesson."

THE PINK DRESS

Rachael was a sweet little girl who loved her mother a lot. One day her mother said, "You can go with our master and mistress, and buy a dress for yourself."

"But mother, we are so poor. How can I afford to buy a new dress when we barely have enough to eat," Said Rachael.

"I have never bought you new clothes. I have saved some money to buy you a nice dress, my child," replied her mother lovingly.

"You are so sweet, Mother. Thank you so much," said Rachael.

"You go with our master and mistress. Don't keep them waiting, "Said her mother, who was a housekeeper in that house.

"Will I go in the car?" asked Rachael.

"Yes," answered her mother.

Rachael was very happy because she had never sat in a car before. Her father had died and her mother worked as a housekeeper to earn a living.

The master of the house, his wife and their daughter, Angie got ready to leave, and they told Rachael to sit in the car with them.

"Mom, why is Rachael coming with us? asked Angie in an irritated tone.

"Hush child! We have to buy a dress for her," replied her mother.

"How can she sit in our car? She is poor and dirty, Mom," asked Angie.

Rachael stopped smiling and felt hurt when she heard Angie.

"Keep quiet," scolded Angie's dad.

Angie's mother then said, "Don't mind Angie's words, Rachael. You know she is a pampered child."

Now, Rachael felt better and Angie's father drove the car to the shopping area.

Rachael glanced at Angie who looked quite angrily at her. Feeling sad, Rachael turned her head and looked outside.

Soon Rachael had forgotten everything else. She looked around. The city was beautiful. Rachael had never come to these big markets before.

Then the car stopped and they went inside a shop. Rachael was surprised to see such a big ship.

"Rachael, close your mouth or a fly will get in", said Angie rudely.

Rachael exclaimed, "Isn't all this wonderful, Madam?"

Madam smiled at Rachael. Actually, she liked Rachael. Actually, she liked Rachael for she was a very well behaved girl.

THE PINK DRESS 1

Rachael and Angie were nearly of the same age, but Angie was ill-mannered.

The mother bought a lot of expensive and beautiful things for her daughter, Angie.

Then they began looking for a dress for Rachael. She liked a pink one, but it was very expensive.

Angie's mother said lovingly, "Tell me whichever dress you like. Your mother had given me a lot of money for you."

Angie interrupted, "Where did she get so much money from? She is so poor."

"She has saved to buy a dress for Rachael," replied Angie's mother.

"She must have stolen the money from us," said Angie in a rude voice.

"Keep quiet," shouted her father, as he saw Rachael's eyes fill with tears.

Angie's father came towards Rachael and asked kindly, "Rachael, which dress do you like?"

Rachael was afraid of him and she quickly pointed at the pink dress. Angie's father asked the salesgirl to pack the dress.

All of a sudden, Angie spoke out, "But I too want that pink dress."

Angie's mother tried to explain, "We have bought so many things for you, Angie. Let Rachael take what she likes." She was beginning to get tired of her daughter's demanding attitude.

"No! I want that very pink dress,"

persisted Angie and started shouting.

Her father looked very angry and he raised his hand to hit Angie, but Rachael said, "Sir, it does not matter. Let Angie have this dress. It would look very nice on her."

Angie's mother then said, "Rachael, you buy something else."

"No, thanks you, Madam, May I ask you something?" asked Rachael.

"Yes, Rachael, you may," replied Angie's mother.

"Can we get a dress for my mother for this much money? I want to buy her a new dress. She works so hard and she never buys anything for herself," said Rachael.

"What about you?" asked Madam.

"I already have two dressed. One I am wearing and the other one is at home. O don't need any more. Please Madam buy a dress for my mother," requested Rachael.

Angie's mother then bought the pink dress for Angie and a lovely dress for Rachael's mother.

Rachael was very happy now. Angie's father then praised Rachael, "You are a wonderful girl. God bless you. How I wish Angie was like you."

INSIDE THE TENT

It was a cold day. A trader was travelling through the desert on his camel.

As it became dark, the traders stopped to rest. He put a tent to protect himself from the cold icy winds.

The tent was very small so the trade came in and lay down inside, while the camel was left outside.

A very strong wind started blowing and it become very cold. The camel tolerates the cold for some time.

Then he asked his master, "May I bring my head and neck inside the tent?"

The master moved to one side and said, "Yes, you may. It is cold outside."

The camel then put his head and neck inside the tent. He sat like that for some time.

Then the camel requested his master, "May I put my forelegs too inside?"

"Yes" said the kind trader, and shifted to the corner of the tent. They sat like this for a while.

It was getting colder and colder. In spite of the tent, the trader sat with his teeth chattering.

Then again the camel asked, "Can I shift in a bit? It is very cold outside."

The trader shifted a bit and let the camel slide in a bit more.

Then the camel said, "Half my body is outside, and I am shivering due to the cold winds. Can I come inside the tent, a little more?"

"That is true", replied the trader, his teeth chattering with the cold wind coming into the tent. So the camel brought his entire body inside the tent.

The tent was too small for both of them. The master tried to squeeze in one corner, and seeing this the camel spread out in the small tent.

All this while, it was getting colder and colder. The wind began to blow harder and the trader pulled his robe closer to his body.

The camel then said, "I want the whole tent to myself. The tent is very small for both of us, so I stay in and you go out."

The selfish camel then nudged his master out of the tent.

The master was amazed at the selfishness of the camel. The camel lay inside the warmth of the tent while the poor master sat outside, shivering in the cold darkness of the night.

THE PAINTING

Once a king went for hunting in forest, as the sun began to set, ordered his men to camp.

He loved painting, so to relax; he went onto the top of a hill to paint. He saw the beautiful sunset and decided to paint it.

He kept on painting and as soon as he had finished, he looked at the painting to see how it looked.

He went to the left and saw the painting. Then he went to th right to see whether it looked all right and perfect.

He also stepped back to see the painting. However, when the king moved back, he did not realize that the was right on the edge of the hill.

Just then, a shepherd boy, who was taking his sheep back home, saw the king standing on the edge of the hill.

He ran up the hill but the king was on the other side. The king was standing right on the edge of the hill.

The boy knew that he had to be very careful and there was no time to waste. At any moment, the king could fall off the high cliff.

The boy thought that even if he shouted, the king might get started and lose his balance, the boy then quickly ran and tore the painting. The king was shocked and angrily, he came towards the painting. In this way, the king's life was saved.

The king did not know that the boy had saved him from falling down the cliff. He slapped the boy hard and shouted at him saying, "How dare you tear my painting?"

'I am sorry, my Lord, but please look behind. You were standing on the very edge of the hill," said the frightened shepherd boy.

the king looked behind and couldn't believe his eyes. If he had taken another step backwards, he could have fallen down.

The boy continued, "Yes, you could have fallen down. My Lord. So I tore the painting because then it was sure that you would get away from the edge of the hill."

The king said, "Oh! You have been very clever. I am sorry; I hit you when you have actually saved my life."

"Don't worry about that. I can always paint another one, but had I fallen down, it would have surely been my end, "said the king.

The king walked back with the boy and then rewarded him for saving his life.

The king then told the boy that he should go to school to study, and that he would pay for it. The boy was delighted and thanked the king.

THE FOOLISH KING

Once there was a king who did not use his brain before he did anything.

Without thinking, he would speak in his court and then afterwards, repent his words and actions.

One day, he was walking in his beautiful garden. It had rained in the morning, and the air was cool and pleasantly crisp.

The king was in a happy mood but all of a sudden, he screamed.

a thorn had pricked his foot and it was giving him a lot of pain. This made him very angry.

Then the king sent his guard to call the prime minister, who was a very wise man.

As soon as the prime minister came the king said angrily, "You do not look after my kingdom well. Just now my foot was hurt by a throne. It has caused me lot of pain."

"I am sorry to hear that, "Replied the prime minister.

"What is the use of your being sorry?

It will not cure the pain of the thorn prick, "shouted the king angrily.

Though a guard had taken out the thorn, the king was still in a lot of pain.

"I will call the doctor," said the prime minister.

"That has already been done, but you are not looking after my kingdom properly," said the king.

"I try my best, My Lord, 'assured the prime minister.

"Your best is not good enough. Why was the thorn there at all?"Asked the king.

"But, My Lord, what can I do about that?"Asked the surprised prime minister.

"Cover my whole kingdom with carpets so that no one is hurt by thorns," said the king.

"How can that be done, My Lord? It is not possible to cover every inch of this vast kingdom with carpets. It would simply not work, "replied the prime minister.

"Mu Lord, I have another idea. Why don't you wear leather on your feet? Then thorns won't hurt you, "said the prime minister.

The king agreed happily. The prime minister then got beautiful leather shoes made for the king. The king was pleased and no thorn ever hurt his feet again!

THE PET MONGOOSE

A farmer lived with his wife and baby. He had a pet mongoose too.

One day his wife told him, "I have been invited to a function in the village and I have to go. Can you stay back to look after the baby?"

The farmer told his wife, "Yes, you go. I will stay at home and look after the baby.'

After his wife had gone, the farmer put the baby to sleep in his cot.

All of a sudden, he heard footsteps coming quickly towards his house.

Some soldiers came and said to the farmer, "The king has summoned all the farmers for a meeting in the village. You have to come at once."

"I can't come because my wife is not here to look after the baby" the farmer replied.

A soldier said, "This is the king's order, if you don't come, the king will surely punish you."

The farmer was left with no choice but to go with the soldiers. So he called his pet mongoose and said, "I have to go. You look after the baby."

The farmer's wife ran to see if the baby was well. Then she shouted to her husband, "Stop beating him. Come here."

The farmer went and saw the baby lying safely in his cot.

He also saw the dead snake lying near the cot, with blood all over the floor.

Then he understood that his loyal pet had saved the bay from the poisonous snake.

Then farmer thanked the mongoose for saving the baby and apologized for beating him.

He said, "Forgive me. I should not have hit you. You have proved to be truly loyal. I should have checked the facts before losing my temper."

His wife also thanked the mongoose for saving the baby and gave him a special treat.

ALL FOR THE BEST

Once, the prime minister of a kingdom said, "My Lord, whatever happens, happens for the best."

The king said, "I don't agree."

Just then a strong gust of wind blew and the heavy door closed right on the king's hand with great force, and one of his fingers got cut immediately.

The severed finger fell down and the wound started bleeding profusely.

The king was in great pain for a long time and then he looked at the prime minister.

The king asked, "What do you say now?"

The prime minister replied, "I would still say that this is for the best."

"Do you mean to say that even the loss of a finger, all this blood and this pain is for the best?" asked the king, surprised.

"Yes, my Lord," replied th prime minister confidently.

"Mr. Prime Minister, here I am in so much pain, and you say that it is for the best! How dare you?" said te angry king.

"But it is the truth, My Lord. I have full faith. Whatever happens in life always has some good reason, even if it may appear to be a bad thing to happen," replied the prime minister calmly.

The king was infuriated at the prime minister's words.

"Soldiers, arrest the prime minister," Commanded the king.

The prime minister was put in prison, and another minister was appointed as the new prime minister.

Then one day, the king went to the forest to hunt and som edacoits saw him.

As the king and his men camped to rest, some dacoits came and surrounded them and tied them with chains.

They took the king, the new prime minister and the soldiers to their chief.

The chief said, "You have done well to bring these people. Now we can sacrifice one of them to our Goddess."

The chief pointed at the king who looked th healthiest. The dacoits made the king stand at the sacrifice altar.

Suddenly, the chief said, "Wait. First check and make sure that this man has no cut or mark on him."

A dacoit checked and replied, "Chief, he doesn't have a finger."

"OH! then he cannot be sacrificed. Leave him and check the other man with him," ordered the chief.

The new prime minister was checked and found to be without any mark on his body.

So he was sacrificed by the dacoits, to please their Goddess.

Then the king and his soldiers were freed by the dacoits. The king rode to his palace at once.

The first thing he did, was to free the old prime minister who was in prison.

The king said to him, "You were right. This cut finger saved me from being killed."

"So it was for the best," said the old prime minister.

The king said, "Yes, but what benefit has come to you out of staying so long in the prison?"

The old prime minister said, "If I would have been with you and not in prison, I would have been killed instead of the new prime minister."

"You are right. I am sorry for treating you so badly. Now I am appointing you the prime minister again," said the king.

"Thank you, My Lord," said the prime minister, gratefully.

THE MOVING TAIL

A crocodile and a crab were very good friends. They lived near a big lake. There were many fish in the lake and so both of them easily caught fish for their meals and never went hungry.

One day, the crocodiles said to the crab, 'I am fed up of eating fish. I wish we could eat something else. "The crab agreed.

The crocodile continued, "All the animals are actually afraid to come to this lake because of me. so we have to eat only fish."

"It is boring to have fish all the time let me think. We should plan to make other animals start coming to this lake again, "Said the crab.

"How I wish they were not afraid of me1 Crabby, "Signed the crocodile.

"That is it, Cocky. Animals will only come here if they are not afraid of you, "said the crab.

"How?" asked the crocodile.

"Cocky, you can go and hide somewhere," said the crab.

"That will not help at all, Crabby. There are no secrets here in the forest. Everybody here knows what is happening everywhere, "Said the crocodile.

"Very true. Oh! What if you were dead, Cocky!" said the crab.

"Excuse me, Crabby. I thought you were my friend, "said the crocodile, getting angry.

"Come on, Cocky! I am not saying that you really die. You can pretend to be dead, "said the crab.

"Well, that is possible, "replied the crocodile.

"You can lie still as if you are dead and I will tell all the animals that you are dead, "Said the crab.

"They will still not come near me, "said the crocodile.

The crab ran out and told whoever he met that the crocodile had died and that they could safety drink water from the lake.

Then the crab met a jackal. He told the jackal about the crocodile being dead.

The jackal was thirty and wanted to drink water. So he went with the crab towards the lake.

Meanwhile, the crocodile was ready to play his part. He lay still pretending to be dead. He was early waiting for his crab friend to lure some animal into their well planned trap.

The jackal saw the crocodile lying still, but he was not sure that the crab was speaking the truth.

The jackal was very wise. He knew that the crab and the crocodile were friends.

He could not understand why the crab was not feeling bad about his friend's death.

The jackal decided to find out the truth behind the crocodile's death by playing a trick.

He said loudly, "Is the crocodile really dead, Mr. Crab?"

The crab replide, "Yes dear Mr. Jackal"

The jackal said, "But when a crocodile deis, its tail moves sometimes."

The crab said, "Yes, the crocodile's tail does move sometimes. Just watch."

The crocodile had been listening to their conversation. He could no longer wait to gobble up the jackal.  So when he heard about dead crocodiles moving their tails, he began to move his tail too, to convince the jackal.

The jackal said, "SO THIS IS JUST A plan to fool the other animals."

"NO, no, cried the crab.

"Of course, it is. You are telling a lie that the crocodile is dead," said the jackal.

But see, he moved his tail as a dead crocodile would," assured the crab.

"The crocodile is alive. A dead crocodile would never have been able to move his tail," said the jackal in a loud voice.

The crab muttered, "But you said just now that a dead crocodile moves its tail."
The jackal said, "That was just to test whether you were telling the truth. Now I will tell every animal in the forest that you both are not only cunning but liars too."

The crab and the crocodile felt very ashamed as the jackal ran away to tell others about the lie. After this, the two friends, the crab and the crocodile, had to be content eating only fish and nothing else.