The Cobra and the Crows

 There was a big banyan tree, where two crows - husband and wife, had prepared a nice nest and made it their home. In the hollow of the same tree, lived a black cobra.

The crows had a problem because the black cobra would climb up the tree and eat the newborns, whenever the female crow hatched her eggs. They could do nothing to save them. 

The crows went to a jackal, who lived in a nearby banyan tree, to seek his advice. They narrated everything to him and requested his advice for them to get rid of their problem. 

They said, "O Friend, It has become dangerous to live here. Please tell us how we can protect our children from being eaten up by the wicked black cobra." 

The jackal replied, "Please don't give up. Even powerful enemies can be overcome with the use of wit." 

On hearing this, the crows requested, "O Friend, please tell us how we can overcome and destroy this wicked cobra." 

The jackal told them a plan, "Fly into the capital of the kingdom, not far from here. Visit the house of someone who is wealthy and careless at the same time. Notice if something of value is lying around. If you find so, pick it up when the servants are watching you." 

He continued, "You will need to fly slowly so that the servants can follow you. Return back to your tree and drop it in the hollow of the tree where the cobra lives. When the servants reach, they will kill the cobra when they see it."

The crows decided to follow the jackal's advice and flew off immediately according to his plan. 

As they flew above the capital, the female crow noticed wealthy women swimming in a lake. They had left gold and pearl necklaces on the banks of the lake, which were guarded by royal servants. 

At once the female crow swooped down, and picked up a big necklace in her beak, and started flying slowly. 

When the royal servants noticed her, they picked up sticks and stones, and started throwing at her, and ran to chase her. 

As planned, she dropped the necklace in front of the hollow of the tree, where the black cobra was asleep. She sat on one of the branches for the royal servants to notice. 

When the royal servants arrived, the black cobra came out of the hollow of the tree to see what all the noise was about. The black cobra confronted the king's servants with swelling hood, but the servants attacked the cobra with sticks and stones to recover the necklace. 

They killed the wicked cobra, and returned with the necklace. And the crows, having gotten rid of the cobra, lived happily. 

MORAL OF THE STORY : Even a very powerful enemy can be destroyed through deceit.

Fighting Goats and the Jackal

 

One day while a sage was going through a jungle, he saw two golden rams (billy goats) fighting each other.

Even though both were wounded, and blood was oozing out from their heads and bodies, they did not stop fighting and rammed at each other. 

At the same time, a hungry jackal was passing by. When he saw all the blood, he started licking the blood from the ground without caring for the fighting rams. 

Watching all this, the sage thought to himself, "This jackal is a fool as it has become greedy by the smell of blood. If he comes between the fighting rams, it will get rammed and get hurt himself". 

No sooner had the sage thought of it, the jackal craving for more blood came nearer to the fighting rams, and got caught in the middle of their fight. 

Both the rams rammed into him by mistake. He got hit on his head, and fell down because he was severely wounded. 

MORAL OF THE STORY : Do not close your eyes to the impending danger due to greed.

Change Yourself and not The World

 Long ago, people lived happily under the rule of a king. The people of the kingdom were very happy as they led a very prosperous life with an abundance of wealth and no misfortunes.

Once, the king decided to go visiting places of historical importance and pilgrim centers at distant places. He decided to travel by foot to interact with his people. People of distant places were very happy to have a conversation with their king. They were proud that their king had a kind heart.

After several weeks of travel, the king returned to the palace. He was quite happy that he had visited many pilgrim centers and witnessed his people leading a prosperous life. However, he had one regret.

He had intolerable pain in his feet as it was his first trip by foot covering a long distance. He complained to his ministers that the roads weren’t comfortable and that they were very stony. He could not tolerate the pain. He said that he was very much worried about the people who had to walk along those roads as it would be painful for them too!

Considering all this, he ordered his servants to cover the roads in the whole country with leather so that the people of his kingdom can walk comfortably.

The king’s ministers were stunned to hear his order as it would mean that thousands of cows would have to be slaughtered in order to get sufficient quantity of leather. And it would cost a huge amount of money also.

Finally, a wise man from the ministry came to the king and said that he had another idea. The king asked what the alternative was. The minister said, “Instead of covering the roads with leather, why don’t you just have a piece of leather cut in appropriate shape to cover your feet?”

The king was very much surprised by his suggestion and applauded the wisdom of the minister. He ordered a pair of leather shoes for himself and requested all his countrymen also to wear shoes.

MORAL OF THE STORY : Instead of trying to change the world, we should try to change ourselves.

The crocodile and the monkey

 

Once upon a time, a clever monkey lived in a tree that bore juicy, red rose apples. He was very happy. One fine day, a crocodile swam up to that tree and told the monkey that he had traveled a long distance and was in search of food as he was very hungry. The kind monkey offered him a few rose apples. The crocodile enjoyed them very much and asked the monkey whether he could come again for some more fruit. The generous monkey happily agreed.

The crocodile returned the next day. And the next. And the next one after that. Soon the two became very good friends. They discussed their lives, their friends and family, like all friends do. The crocodile told the monkey that he had a wife and that they lived on the other side of the river. So the kind monkey offered him some extra rose apples to take home to his wife. The crocodile’s wife loved the rose apples and made her husband promise to get her some every day.

Meanwhile, the friendship between the monkey and the crocodile deepened as they spent more and more time together. The crocodile’s wife started getting jealous. She wanted to put an end to this friendship. So she pretended that she could not believe that her husband could be friends with a monkey. Her husband tried to convince her that he and the monkey shared a true friendship. The crocodile’s wife thought to herself that if the monkey lived on a diet of rose monkeys, his flesh would be very sweet. So she asked the crocodile to invite the monkey to their house.

The crocodile was not happy about this. He tried to make the excuse that it would be difficult to get the monkey across the river. But his wife was determined to eat the monkey’s flesh. So she thought of a plan. One day, she pretended to be very ill and told the crocodile that the doctor said that she would only recover if she ate a monkey’s heart. If her husband wanted to save her life, he must bring her his friend’s heart.

The crocodile was aghast. He was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he loved his friend. On the other, he could not possibly let his wife die. The crocodile’s wife threatened him saying that if he did not get her the monkey’s heart, she would surely die.

So the crocodile went to the rose apple tree and invited the monkey to come home to meet his wife. He told the monkey that he could ride across the river on the crocodile’s back. The monkey happily agreed. As they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile began to sink. The frightened monkey asked him why he was doing that. The crocodile explained that he would have to kill the monkey to save his wife’s life. The clever monkey told him that he would gladly give up his heart to save the life of the crocodile’s wife, but he had left his heart behind in the rose apple tree. He asked the crocodile to make haste and turn back so that the monkey could go get his heart from the apple tree.

The silly crocodile quickly swam back to the rose apple tree. The monkey scampered up the tree to safety. He told the crocodile to tell his wicked wife that she had married the biggest fool in the world.

Moral: Don’t underestimate yourself. There are bigger fools in this world.

 

Birbal Betrays Himself

 

Birbal was missing. He and the emperor had a quarrel and Birbal had stormed out of the palace vowing never to return.

Now Akbar missed him and wanted him back but no one knew where he was.

Then the emperor had a brainwave. He offered a reward of 1000 gold coins to any man who could come to the palace observing the following condition. The man had to walk in the sun without an umbrella but he had to be in the shade at the same time.

"Impossible," said the people.

Then a villager came carrying a string cot over his head and claimed the prize. "I've walked in the sun but at the same time I was in the shade of the strings of the cot," he said. It was a brilliant solution. On interrogation the villager confessed that the idea had been suggested to him by a man living with him.

"It could only be Birbal!" said the emperor, delighted. Sure enough it was Birbal and he and the emperor had a joyous reunion.

A Hole in the Fence

 

In a small village, a little boy lived with his father and mother. He was the only son.The parents of the little boy were very depressed due to his bad temper. The boy used to get angry very soon and taunt others with his words. His bad temper made him use words that hurt others. He scolded kids, neighbors and even his friends due to anger. His friends and neighbors avoided him, and his parents were really worried about him.

His mother and father advised him many times to control his anger and develop kindness. Unfortunately, all their attempts failed. Finally, the boy’s father came up with an idea.

One day, his father gave him a huge bag of nails. He asked his son to hammer one nail to the fence every time he became angry and lost his temper. The little boy found it amusing and accepted the task.

Every time he lost his temper, he ran to the fence and hammered a nail. His anger drove him to hammer nails on the fence 30 times on the first day! After the next few days, the number of nails hammered on the fence was reduced to half. The little boy found it very difficult to hammer the nails and decided to control his temper.

Gradually, the number of nails hammered to the fence was reduced and the day arrived when no nail was hammered! The boy did not lose his temper at all that day. For the next several days, he did not lose his temper, and so did not hammer any nail.

Now, his father told him to remove the nails each time the boy controlled his anger. Several days passed and the boy was able to pull out most of the nails from the fence. However, there remained a few nails that he could not pull out.

The boy told his father about it. The father appreciated him and asked him pointing to a hole, “What do you see there?”

The boy replied, “a hole in the fence!”

He told the boy, “The nails were your bad temper and they were hammered on people. You can remove the nails but the holes in the fence will remain. The fence will never look the same. It has scars all over. Some nails cannot even be pulled out. You can stab a man with a knife, and say sorry later, but the wound will remain there forever. Your bad temper and angry words were like that! Words are more painful than physical abuse! Use words for good purposes. Use them to grow relationships. Use them to show the love and kindness in your heart!”

MORAL OF THE STORY : Unkind words cause lasting damage: Let our words be kind and sweet.

The Fall and Rise of a Merchant

 

In a city called Vardhamana, lived a very efficient and prosperous merchant. The king was aware of his abilities, and therefore made him the administrator of the kingdom. With his efficient and intelligent ways, he kept common man very happy, and at the same time he impressed the king on the other side. Such a person, who can keep everybody happy, is rarely found.Later, there came a time that the merchant's daughter was getting married. He arranged for a lavish reception. The merchant not only invited the king and the queen, who obliged by attending, but he also invited the entire royal household and all respected people of the kingdom.During the reception, he ensured to provide his guests with the best of treatments. He gave out gifts to guests to show them respect for attending to his invitation.

A servant of the royal household, who used to sweep the palace, was not invited but attended the reception. He took a seat which was reserved for royal nobles, not meant for common invitees. This made the merchant very angry. He caught him by the neck and ordered his servants to have him thrown out. The royal servant felt very insulted, and could not sleep all night. He thought, "If I can have the king to disfavour this merchant, I will have my revenge. But what can I, a common fellow, do to harm a powerful person as him". Thinking such, he suddenly had a plan.

Several days later, the servant was sweeping the floor near the king's bed early in the morning. He observed that that the king was still in bed, half awake. The servant started mumbling, "Good heavens! The merchant has become so carefree now that he dared to embrace the queen!"

When the king heard this lying in his bed, he jumped up and asked the servant, "Is it true? Have you seen the merchant embrace my queen yourself?" The servant at once fell at the king's feet, "O Master, I was gambling all night. I feel drowsy for I didn't sleep last night. I don't know what I have been mumbling, but I said anything improper, please forgive me." The king spoke no more, but the servant knew he had sowed the seed of distrust. The king thought, "It can be true! The servant moves about the palace freely, and so does the merchant. It is possible that the servant has seen something. The king was troubled with jealousy. From that day onwards, he withdrew his favours from the merchant and even forbade him to enter the palace.

One day, when the merchant was entering the gateway to the palace, he was stopped by the guards. The merchant was surprised due to this sudden change in the king's attitude. The servant was nearby, and mocking shouted at the guards, "Ho Guards! That merchant is favoured by the king. He is a powerful person. He can have people arrested or released or even thrown out, just like he had me thrown out of his daughter's reception. Beware, for you may suffer the same fate." On hearing this, the merchant understood that the servant has caused all this trouble somehow. He felt dejected, and returned home upset over the incident.

He gave everything a second thought, and then he invited the royal servant to his house. He treated the servant with utmost respect, and flattered him with gifts and garments. He said kindly, "O friend, that day I did not have you thrown out due to anger, but it was improper of you to occupy the seat reserved for the royal nobles. They felt insulted, and out of compulsion I had to throw you out. Please forgive me."

The servant was already flattered with all the gifts, and he was full of joy, "Sir, I forgive you. You have not only expressed your regrets, but also honoured me with utmost respect". He ensured the merchant, "I will prove you how clever I am. I will have the king favourable towards you, like he was before". The servant went back home.

Early next morning, when he started sweeping the floors of the palace, he waited till when the king was lying half-awake. When the opportunity came, he started sweeping around his bed and started mumbling, "Our king is crazy, he eats cucumber in the lavatory!"

 

On hearing this, the king was taken aback. He got up angrily and shouted at the servant, "What nonsense do you talk about? Had you not been by royal servant, I would have punished you dearly. Have you ever seen me doing such thing yourself?"

Once again the servant fell on his knees and prayed, "O Master, please forgive me if I said something improper. I was gambling all last night and didn't sleep. I feel drowsy and I don't know what I have been mumbling."

The king thought to himself, "I have never eaten a cucumber in the lavatory. What he mumbled about me is ridiculously false. Surely then, what he mumbled about my trusted merchant the other morning must have been ridiculously false too. It was improper of me to mistreat the merchant."

He wondered, "After all he has been so efficient in the whole administrative system, that without him it has become slack."

Thus, having considered carefully, the king invited the merchant to the palace and flattered him with gifts, jewels and garments. He re-appointed the merchant to his previously held position, and favoured his services as before.

The Lion and the Mouse

 

Once when a lion, the king of the jungle, was asleep, a little mouse began running up and down on him. This soon awakened the lion, who placed his huge paw on the mouse, and opened his big jaws to swallow him.

"Pardon, O King!" cried the little mouse. "Forgive me this time. I shall never repeat it and I shall never forget your kindness. And who knows, I may be able to do you a good turn one of these days!”

The lion was so tickled by the idea of the mouse being able to help him that he lifted his paw and let him go.

Sometime later, a few hunters captured the lion, and tied him to a tree. After that they went in search of a wagon, to take him to the zoo

Just then the little mouse happened to pass by. On seeing the lion’s plight, he ran up to him and gnawed away the ropes that bound him, the king of the jungle.

"Was I not right?" said the little mouse, very happy to help the lion.

MORAL OF THE STORY : Small acts of kindness will be rewarded greatly.

The Monkey and the Wedge

 

There was once a merchant who employed many carpenters and masons to build a temple in his garden. Regularly, they would start work in the morning; The Monkey And The Wedge  take a break for the mid-day meals, and return to resume work till evening. 

One day, a group of monkey arrived at the site of the building and watched the workers leaving for their mid-day meals. 

One of the carpenters was sawing a huge log of wood. Since, it was only half-done; he placed a wedge in between to prevent the log from closing up. He then went off along with the other workers for his meal. When all the workers were gone, the monkeys came down from the trees and started jumping around the site, and playing with the instruments.

There was one monkey, who got curious about the wedge placed between the log. He sat down on the log, and having placed himself in between the half-split log, caught hold of the wedge and started pulling at it. 

All of a sudden, the wedge came out. As a result, the half-split log closed in and the monkey got caught in the gap of the log.  As was his destiny, he was severely wounded.

The Apple Tree and the Farmer

 

Once upon a time, there lived a farmer in a village, beside a forest. He had a big garden that had an old apple tree and other plants, trees and beautiful flowers. When the farmer was a little boy, he spent much of his time playing with the apple tree. Those days, the apple tree had given the choicest of apples to him. However, as time passed, the apple tree became old and stopped bearing fruits.

Now that the farmer was not getting any apples from the tree, he decided that the tree was useless. Therefore, he decided to cut the tree and use its wood to make some new furniture. He felt that since the tree was old and huge, he did not have to cure it, and it would make great furniture. He forgot that as a boy, he had spent his entire childhood climbing the tree and eating its apples.

Now the apple tree was home to several little animals in the neighborhood. This included squirrels, sparrows and a huge variety of birds and insects. When the farmer took his axe and began chopping the tree, all the little animals came rushing down.

They all began to plead with the farmer. They gathered round the farmer and said, “Please don’t cut the tree. We used to play with you when you were small, under this very tree. This is our home and we have no other place to go”.

The farmer was adamant. He raised his axe and the commotion grew.

“Please don’t chop and destroy my home and kids,” cried the squirrel.

“Please don’t chop and destroy my nest,” cried the little birds.

“Please don’t cut the apple tree,” cried the grasshopper.

The farmer, however, forgot his childhood and his animal friends. He began to chop the tree harder. All the little animals became desperate, and wanted to protect the apple tree at any cost.

 

The little animals said, “We will sing for you when you are toiling away in the fields. We will look after your little boy. He will not cry, but instead will be entertained and happy. You will like our songs and will not feel tired.”

However, their cries for help fell on deaf ears. Despite all their requests, the farmer continued to chop down the tree.

All of a sudden, he noticed something shiny. On inspecting it, he realized that it was a beehive, full of honey. He took a little and put it in his mouth. The taste of the honey woke up the little boy in him. Suddenly, the memories of his childhood came rushing back. The honey tasted so good that he wanted more. It brought a sense of happiness to him. He smiled and exclaimed, “This tastes amazing.”

 

Realizing the change in the farmer’s attitude, the little animals spoke in unison: The bee said, “I will always provide you with sweet honey.” The squirrel said, “I will share any amount of nuts that you want.” The birds cried, “We will sing as many songs as you want.”

Finally, the farmer realized his folly, and put down his axe. He understood that the tree was home to many lovely animals that provided him with so many things. He wanted his little boy to have the childhood that he had.

The farmer realized that the apple tree was not that fruitless. The little boy in him saved the apple tree.

 

He threw away the axe and said to the little creatures, “I promise that I would never cut this tree. I have realized my mistake and you all can now live in peace and harmony.”

The little creatures thanked the bee profusely. If the farmer had not found the beehive, they would have been homeless by now. They continued living happily in the old apple tree.

MORAL OF THE STORY : Each and every living thing in nature is of some use: we should not destroy any living thing. 

Why does the frog croak?

What sound does a frog make? Croak, Croak! It isn't a beautiful sound. But, a long time ago, frogs had beautiful voices. They could sing more beautiful than the birds. This all changed because of one frog name Bluster.

Bluster had a most beautiful voice of all the animals. When he song, all other animals come to hear him. They enjoyed listening to him. "Please teach us how to sing!" the animals asked. But always Bluster answered in the same way. "No, no. My voice is mine.I can not share it," he said.

One morning, Moxie the rabbit and Pluck lizard talked to the fox and the rat. "Bluster has such a big, beautiful voice. Surely, He can share it with us," said Moxie. They agreed. Bluster should share his voice with them. It was such a big voice. Each animal could have just a small piece of it. Bluster could share his voice with each animal.

The animal talked and talked late into the afternoon. They made a plan to take Bluster's voice. They diced not to tell the birds. But, they didn't have to tell them! The birds ware setting in the tree and they heard the animal's plan. 

At midnight, Pluck and Moxie quietly went to Bluster's home. Bluster was sleeping in his bed, and without making a sound, they took his voice! They put it into a glass jar.

Pluck and Moxie took the glass jar outside. The other animals ware waiting. "Oh, Give me my piece!" said the fox. "I want my piece!" said the rat. Suddenly, the jar fell to the ground and it broke. Bluster's voice and the jar were now in a hundred little pieces.

"Oh, no! cried Moxie. The animal searched, but they couldn't find any of the pieces. It was too dark and the pieces were too small. "What are we going to do?" asked Pluck "We will come back in the morning," said Moxie. And all the animals went home without a piece of Bluster's beautiful voice. They were all very tired. from looking for the voice, so they went to sleep.

In the morning, as the sun came up, the birds went out to have their breakfast. With their goods eyes, the birds saw the little pieces of the beautiful voice on the ground. They carefully picked up the pieces. They didn't leave one of the beautiful voice behind.

That afternoon, the animals finally woke up. They ran to get the pieces of Bluster's voice, but all they found there was broken glass. They searched and searched, but there were no pieces of the voice. Then, suddenly, they heard a beautiful song coming from the trees. They looked up and saw the birds singing!

And to this day, the birds sing with Bluster's beautiful voice and Bluster, and all the other frogs, can only say croak....croak.

 

The Woodcutter and the Goddess of Water | Moral story

 

There was a Woodcutter in a village.Ha had an iron axe. He used to cut wood everyday by selling that wood in markets maintained his family.

There was river flowing by the village. On the bank of the river there was a forest. One day the Woodcutter went in the forest to cut wood. All on a sudden the woodcutter's axe fell in the river. The wood cutter broke down with worries. Because he could not cut wood without the axe and if he can not do it daily how he could maintain his family. Then his wife and children would remain unfed.

At that time the Goddess of water come up to him from the river. She had a silver axe in her hand. Goddess of water asked the woodcutter , "Have a look, is this your axe?"

Having a look woodcutter said, "No, this is not my axe."

The Goddess of water went away and come back again with a golden axe in her hand. She asked the woodcutter, "See this axe now, is this yours?"

The woodcutter replied, "No, this is not also mine."

The Water Goddess dived into water and come again up with an iron axe in her hand. She asked the woodcutter, "Now you see, is this yours?"

The woodcutter replied, " Yes, this one is my axe."

The Goddess of water was pleased with the woodcutter for his truthfulness. She gave these three axe to the woodcutter. After then the woodcutter was no more in want.

Through this story of the "The Woodcutter and the Goddess of water' We have come to know that honesty is a great virtue. Everyone like honest people. Even the deities love them. So we should be honest. This is the moral learning of this story.

Subarnahangsa Jataka

In ancient times Bodhisattva was born in a Brahmin family. He was married to a Brahmin daughter. At that time he had there daughter-eg. Nanda, Nandabati and Sundari Nanda. Bodhisattva died earlier. His wife and there daughters fell in want. they were to collect food by working in the neighbour’s house.
In the mean time Bodhisattva was born as Subarnahangsa after death. Subarnahangsa means golden goose. The feathers of his body were golden in colour. One day he remembered his previous birth. He came to know the condition of his wife and there daughters. He came to know daughters, I am your father. I shall remove your miseries; I shall give you a golden feather from time to time. You will get money by selling it. You have to face no suffering any longer.
Saying this he gave a feather to them. The Brahmin woman and her daughters were very happy by selling the feather. They had no want. They passed their days happily.

As the days passed the Brahmin woman became greedy more and more. She asked her daughters and said, ‘The low beast can’t be believed. One day it may stop coming here. Then we shall have no other alternative. So if it comes again, I shall pick up all its feathers. ‘The daughters disagreed thinking their father’s sufferings. But the Brahmin woman did so as she told. She could not check her greed.

One day Bodhisattva came as before. He had a feather in his lip. The Brahmin woman took hem to the room with care. She began to extract all the feathers for forcefully. Bodhisattva struggled with severe pain. Still the Brahmin woman felt no sympathy. She plucked up all his feathers against his will. All at once the feathers turned into white. The Brahmin woman began to regret. The golden goose died on the spot.

Keep your mind happy with what you have. The greedy persons engage themselves in sinful acts.
On reading the Jataka you have come to know the consequence of greed. The Brahmin woman lost everything for her greed. Nobody escape from the punishment of bad deeds. They became poor again. You should never be greedy. Be happy with what you have. Greed never brings good result. It causes a great loss to human being.

The Six Blind Men and the Elephant

 Once upon a time in a village, there lived six blind men. In spite of their blindness, they had managed to educate themselves. Seeking to expand their knowledge, they decided to visit a zoo and try out their skills in recognizing animals by their touch.

The first animal they came across, as soon as they entered the zoo, was an elephant. Remember, these men were blind, and they had no idea what an elephant looked like. They sensed an animal nearby and went closer so that they could feel it and see what it was like.

As the first man approached the elephant, the elephant waved its trunk, and the man felt something brush past him. Managing to hold on to it, he felt it, and found something long and moving. He jumped back in alarm, shouting “Move away! This is a snake!”

Meanwhile, the second man had moved closer, and walked right near its legs. Thankfully, it was a tame elephant, and it did not crush the man at once, but allowed him to touch its legs. As the man touched the thick, cylindrical –shaped legs, he called out “Do not worry. These are just four trees here. There is certainly no snake!”

The third man was curious hearing the other two, and moved forward. As he walked towards the elephant, it bent, and he felt his hand touch one of the tusks. Feeling the smooth, sharp ivory tusk, the man cried out “Be careful! There is a spear here! A sharp one!”

The fourth man cautiously walked up behind the elephant, and felt its swinging tail. “It’s just a rope! There is nothing to be afraid of!” he said.

The fifth man had meanwhile reached out and was touching the huge ears of the animal. “I think all of you have lost your sense of touch!” he said. “This is nothing but a huge fan!”

The sixth man did not want to be left out. As he walked towards the elephant, he bumped into its massive body, and he exclaimed, “Hey! This is just a huge mud wall! There is no animal at all!”

All six of them were convinced that they were right, and began arguing amongst themselves. “It’s a snake!” said one. “No, its not!” said the second. “It’s a tree!” “You are wrong!” cried the third “It’s a spear!” “You are all wrong! It’s just a rope!” shouted the fourth! “It just a fan!” said the fifth, and the sixth insisted “You are all wrong. There is no animal, just a mud wall here!”

Wondering about the commotion, the zoo keeper arrived on the scene, and was surprised to see 6 blind men surrounding an elephant, each of them shouting at the top of their voices! “Quiet! Quiet! Quiet!” he shouted out, and when they had calmed down, he asked, “Why are all of you shouting and arguing in this manner?”

They replied, “Sir, as you can see, we are all blind. We came here to expand our knowledge. We sensed an animal here, and tried to get an idea of its appearance by feeling it. However, we are not able to arrive at a consensus over its appearance, and hence are arguing. Can you please help us and tell us which of us is right? Does the animal resemble a snake, a tree, a spear, a fan, a rope, or a wall? Please enlighten us!”

The zoo keeper laughed and laughed before answering, “My dear men, each of you have touched just one portion of the animal. The animal you see is neither a snake, nor any of the other things you have mentioned. The animal in front of you is an elephant!”

Turning to the men one by one, he continued, “Sir, you touched the trunk, which is long and curved, hence you thought it to be a snake. Sir, what you thought were trees are just the elephant’s legs. They are so thick and strong, because the animal is huge. Its body is what you thought was a mud wall” he said, turning to the sixth man.

He continued further “Sir, what you thought of, as a spear is just the tusk of the elephant, and what you thought was a fan is one of its ears. As to what you thought was a rope, it is its tail!”

As the six men bowed their head, ashamed of the scene they had created, the zoo keeper said, “My dear men, this is a huge animal, and luckily, it is tame. It stood by calmly as each of you touched it. You are extremely lucky that it stayed calm even during your argument, for if it had got angry, it would have trampled all of you to death!”

He continued further, “It is not enough to gather knowledge, but also important to learn to share and pool your knowledge. If, instead of fighting amongst yourselves, if you had tried to put all your observations together, you might have had an idea of the animal as a whole! Also, when you can not see the entire truth, it is better to go to someone who does know the complete truth, rather than guess about small parts of it. Such half-knowledge is not just useless, but also dangerous. If you had come directly to me, I would have helped you identify all the animals without putting you in danger!”

The six men apologized to the zoo keeper, and assured him that they had learnt their lesson. From now on, they would seek true knowledge from the qualified people, and would also try to work together as a team so that they could learn more.

The zoo keeper took them on a tour of the entire zoo, and showed them all the animals, describing each of them in detail, so the men got a clear mental picture of the animals. The six men returned home, more knowledgeable and much wiser than they had been when they left!

Montu's Talent

 Once upon a time, a troupe of monkeys lived in a jungle. Among them was a young monkey named Montu. While Montu’s friends spent all their time jumping on trees and chattering at the top of their voices, Montu quietly listened to the sound of the jungle – the leaves swishing in the wind, the sound of the river as it ran over the rocks, the birds singing sweetly—and he tried to sing too. All the monkeys laughed at him. They told him that singing was not something monkeys did. Yes, his voice was not as shrill as that of the others, but then, who wanted to hear a monkey sing? Singing was for birds, that too, birds like the nightingale. They advised him to give up such useless activities and concentrate on being a good monkey.

Thus discouraged, Montu stopped singing in front of his friends and relatives. But he could not give up his love for music. So, he went to the riverbank when he knew it would be deserted, and sang to his hearts content. He observed how sounds were made by nature, and tried to imitate them using the reeds on the riverbank, bamboo shoots and hollow logs. As time passed, he became a better and better musician and singer.

One day, as he was singing, a tiny bird heard him, and stopped to listen. She was so impressed that she went to him and said “You sing and play so well, you should have a real musical instrument like humans do.” Montu was curious. He knew very little about humans, and had never heard of anything like that. The tiny bird told Montu that there were musicians in the village at the edge of the jungle, and took him there so that he could have a look. Montu was fascinated by them, and started going there everyday. He never troubled them, but simply sat and watched them practicing. He was very observant, and soon, he understood how those men used the various instruments. No one paid much attention to him, as he never disturbed them in any way. One day, the men went inside the house leaving their instruments unattended outside. Montu saw his chance, picked up the instrument he liked the most — a guitar—and ran away into the jungle before anyone could follow him.

Now Montu practiced with the guitar everyday. The tiny bird also joined him regularly. Soon they were singing and playing the guitar so well, other animals who heard the sound came to listen. In no time at all, the whole jungle had heard about the monkey who could sing and play a musical instrument, just like the humans. One day, some animals came to Montu and told him that the Lion, the king of the jungle, wanted to hear him. He was to play at the court. Montu was overjoyed. He and the tiny bird replied that they would be honoured to play at the court.

The big day dawned. All the animals had gathered to witness the amazing spectacle. There was a pin-drop silence as Montu began to sing, and when he stopped, the applause was deafening! They all wanted to hear him again and again and again!!!

When at last he was allowed to stop, the king himself got up from his throne, appreciated Montu, and announced that Mont would now be the court musician. Montu was so happy that there were tears in his eyes. He thanked the tiny bird, who was the only one to have encouraged him, without whom he could never have done it. Montu’s friends and relatives were ashamed that they had teased him and discouraged him. But he forgave them, and they all lived happily ever after.

Samhith learns a lesson

 Once upon a time, there lived a little boy named Samhith. He loved to listen to stories. His mother and his grandmother told him many stories. He loved them, and kept asking for more. So, his mother started buying him books. She read out stories to him everyday. Soon, everyone in the house, his father, and his grandparents started buying him books and reading aloud the stories. Soon, there were so many books, he did not know where to keep them. So his mother bought him a bookshelf. Soon, the bookshelf was full. So Samhith and his mother made another bookshelf from an old cardboard box that was lying around the house. Soon, that too was overflowing with books.

Samhith loved all his books and knew all the stories by heart. His mother was so proud of him, but there was just one thing--- Samhith never took care of his books. He would never keep his books back on the shelf. He left them lying around and threw them anywhere when he got angry. His mother would keep telling him to take care of his books-- otherwise his precious books would get lost or spoilt. But he never listened to her. Finally, one day, his mother lost her patience and told him that she wouldn’t clean up after him any longer. If he threw the books or anything else anywhere, it would remain just like that, and if he lost something, or something was spoilt or torn, she was not responsible, and she would not repair it.
Soon, Samhith’s room started resembling a pigsty-- things all over the place, a mess everywhere. Samhith did not really mind that as long as he could find the book or toy he wanted at the moment. Samhith liked reading only some books all the time. The others simply lay on the shelves till he got into the mood to read them. Soon, the books on the shelves started piling up haphazardly and dust started piling on them.
One day, a mouse trying to find food in the house happened to enter Samhith’s room, and found a treasure-- papers everywhere, so many books untouched! It was the perfect place to stay hidden from Samhith’s mother, who kept the rest of the house spick and span. The mouse settled in a space under the bookshelves and started feasting on a particularly large book.
Then one day, Samhith was looking for a book on aeroplanes that his mother had gifted him for his last birthday. It was a large book and he was surprised when he couldn’t find it anywhere. Finally, he started clearing up the area near the bookshelves, and he screamed out loud!! There was his book, but there was a mouse sitting right on top of it, and it had also eaten part of his book! His mother came running when she heard the scream, and seeing the mouse, drove it out of the house.

Samhith was shaking with fright! He’d had a shock!! His mother explained that this was what would happen if he didn’t clear up his room, if he didn’t keep things properly. The mouse would never have entered his room if it had been clean, she said, and it wouldn’t have eaten his book if he had been taking care of all his books. Samhith was crying. His beautiful book was spoilt, and all because he hadn’t cared well for it. He promised his mother that he would never be so careless in the future, and that he would help his mother clean up his room. His mother was happy that he had learnt his lesson, and told him that she would buy him the aeroplane book the next time she went to the market.

The special Egg

 Once upon a time, there was a hen that lived on a farm with her family, and many other animals. The farmer was a kind old man who took care of all the animals on the farm. He and his wife fed them well everyday, and made sure that all the animals were healthy and comfortable. The animals too were very fond of their master, and tried to help him in every way. The cows gave a lot of milk, the bullocks helped him pull the carts and the oxen helped him plough the field. The horses were happy to take him where he wanted to go, and the hens laid lots of eggs. The farmer’s wife collected the eggs everyday, except the ones which would hatch chickens. The hen took good care of all her eggs till they hatched, and then took care of the chickens after they hatched.

Once, it so happened that the hen was sitting on a dozen eggs, keeping them warm. It would soon be time for them to hatch, and she was rather getting tired of sitting on them all the time! Soon, she heard a CRACK! And then another, and then another!!! At last, the eggs were hatching. She watched happily as one by one the chicks emerged from the eggs and the shells fell off. She started counting.1...2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10..11…just one more, and then she would take the chicks out and get them food, show them how to get small worms…but what was happening ? The 12th egg wasn’t showing signs of cracking at all!! She was getting worried now. What was the matter with this chick? This had never happened before with her. She did not know what to do. The other hens were also watching and understood her worry. One of them went and got the farmer. He took one look at the hen, the chicks and the eggs, and understood the situation at once. He took the egg gently and told the hen to go ahead and feed her newly hatched chickens. He would take care of the egg. Relieved, she took the chicks out and fed them, but she could not get the un-hatched egg out of her mind. As soon as she was free, she went to the farmer. He took her inside the house to the living room where he was watching the television, and gave her the egg. He told her that there was nothing to worry and that the egg would hatch soon, when it was ready. But he realized that she was anxious, and asked her to stay inside with him if it would make her feel better. She agreed and sat on the egg, while he watched a lady singing on the television. She held a wine glass in her hand, and as her voice rose with the music, the glass broke with a tinkle, and everyone, including the farmer, clapped. Soon after, it was time for bed, and the farmer took the hen back to her coop, and again told her not to worry. But she couldn’t help worrying when the egg showed no sign of hatching the next day also. All day long, she wandered around the farm with the egg, asking everyone for their advice. Everyone told her the same thing,--don’t worry, wait and watch, everything will be all right.

As she wandered around, she heard the farmer telling his wife about the programme he had watched on the TV the last night. That gave her an idea!! She started singing. She wasn’t a great singer, but at least she could try. She sang, louder and louder, and all the animals came out to watch. And suddenly, as her voice touched a really high note, CRACK! The egg had cracked at last!! Out came a little yellow chicken, which looked at its mother, and cried “Cheep cheep”!! The hen stopped singing and looked at her chick with love and pride. All the animals, and the farmer, who had gathered to watch, started clapping. After that day, the singing hen became very famous, and everyone asked her to sing and break glasses, just like the lady on the TV!!

Bunny grows up

 Bunny was a good little rabbit. He always obeyed his parents and his teachers. He used to study well in school. The only thing was that he was sometimes very lazy. He did not like to go out and play. He liked to stay in the house all the time. He wasn’t bored inside, as he loved books, and spent most of his time reading. His friends sometimes teased him, calling him a bookworm, but he didn’t mind that. His mother, though she appreciated and encouraged his reading habit, was worried that he wouldn’t grow up to be a healthy rabbit if he stayed inside all the time.

It was the summer vacation, and the day was nice and sunny… the perfect kind of day to spend with ones friends. Croaky Frog and Quacky duck came to Bunny’s house. “Bunny, it’s a wonderful day…come out and play with us” they said. Bunny’s mother was happy. “Bunny, your friends have come to call you. Go out and play with them” she said. Bunny wasn’t in the mood. He was reading a book, and he didn’t want to leave it and go out. “No mamma, I don’t want to go, I want to read. Let them go and play” he said rudely. Neither Bunny’s mother, nor his friends liked that. They tried to explain to Bunny that he shouldn’t talk like that to his friends, but he wouldn’t listen. Finally, Croaky and Quacky went away sadly. Mamma Bunny was angry and scolded Bunny for being rude to his friends. Bunny didn’t bother. He just wanted to read. So he went into the garden, lay down comfortably on the hammock and began to read.
Meanwhile, Croaky and Quacky were on their way to the lake. They were hurt and angry at Bunny’s behavior. Just then, they saw Bunny come into the garden and lie down on the hammock. “How can he be so calm and cool after behaving so badly with us!” they thought. Croaky was already very angry. Just then, he noticed a pin lying on the ground. All at once he picked it up and decided to stick it into bunny. “That will teach him a lesson!” he thought. Just as he was creeping up to Bunny, Bunny’s mamma came out to hang some clothes and saw him. At once she understood the whole situation. She called out loudly “Croaky!” Both, Croaky and Bunny heard her and looked around. Mamma went straight to Bunny and told him “Croaky was just about to stick a sharp pin into you. Do you know why? He was angry with you, because you were rude” she said. Bunny was about to protest, but then she saw the expression on Croaky’s face, and also his mother, and kept quiet. Then Mamma explained to him that he should never be rude to anyone, even his own friends, or they wouldn’t be friends with him any longer. She also told him that it was fine to read books, as long as it did not stop him doing other things. Playing, going out in the open air, and exercising were necessary for good health. He could read when he was stuck inside the house on rainy days, or when he was alone.
Bunny finally understood what his mother was trying to say. He had hurt his best friends by refusing to spend time with them. “Sorry Croaky” he said. “I shall never be rude to you again. I shall come out with all of you and play whatever you want to play”. Croaky was also very happy. He said. “Great! We can go swimming in the lake and then you can tell us the story that you were reading. Come on!” And then, they all had a wonderful time. Mamma was very happy. Her Bunny had grown up.

Why Ganesha Loves Dhurva Grass

The first and main offering for Lord Ganesha is the Dhurva grass. The grass grows wild all over India, and is rarely used for anything else. Why then is it so important for Ganesha? Read this story to find out!

There once lived a demon named Analasura, whose evil acts had the Gods worried.

Ganesha decided to rid the world of such an evil asura, and headed off to do battle. The battle raged on and on, and there seemed no way that the demon could be defeated. Finally, Ganesha made himself huge, and swallowed the demon!

While the gods cheered, the presence of the demon inside ganesha’s stomach was creating problems. The evil inside burned until even Ganesha could not bear it. he writhed in agony at the heat inside his stomach!

The gods rushed to cool him in whatever manner they knew. They first poured water, but it didn’t seem to make any difference. They brought more items, such as milk, curds, sandal paste, and even turmeric – all considered cooling and remedial, and bathed him with them, but to no avail. They then tried flowers of every kind, but that didn’t seem to work either. In some stories, it is even mentioned that it was then that Shiva offered him the moon (thus giving him the name Bhalachandra), Vishnu his lotus (making him Padmapani), and Brahma his daughters – Sidddhi and Buddhi (whom he married), but none were able to cool him down!

At last, the wise sages arrived, bringing with them the simple blades of grass called Dhurva. As they rained the grass on Ganesha, the demon inside got digested, and the fire cooled at last. Ganesha was pleased and declared that the sacred Dhurva grass would be his favourite item of prayer, and anyone who offered him Dhurva would be blessed.

The word Dhurva is combination of two words – Dhur – that which is afar; and Ava – that which pulls closer. Thus, the word, Dhurva itself signifies that when we offer the Lord this grass, it pulls us closer to Him. Another significance of this offering is the fact that Dhurva is easily accessible. It grows anywhere and everywhere, so it can be obtained easily. It shows that the Lord does not need expensive flowers and items to be satisfied. Even the blade of grass which is otherwise useless is pleasing to him.