The monkey and the crocodile

 Once upon a time, there lived a monkey on a mango tree on the banks of a river. The mangoes of that tree were the sweetest of all. The tree bore fruits year-round. The monkey used to live very happily on the tree eating the tasty fruits and playing on the tree. 

On a particular day, a crocodile came near that mango tree. He seemed very exhausted. The monkey offered him some delicious mangoes from the tree. The crocodile loved those mangoes and thanked the monkey for the same. From then on, the crocodile used to visit the monkey every day and they became good friends.

One day the crocodile thought to take some mangoes for his wife. When his wife ate the mangoes, she demanded something very absurd from the crocodile. She said that these fruits are so tasty, then how delicious will be the heart of that monkey who regularly eats these mangoes! 

She ordered the crocodile to bring the monkey’s heart for her. The crocodile was shocked at her demand. The monkey was his friend. How could he betray him? He declined to kill the monkey and bring his heart to her. 

The crocodile’s wife was adamant about getting the monkey’s heart. She told the crocodile that she is not keeping well and the doctor has recommended her to eat a monkey’s heart to recover. She even threatened him that if the crocodile didn’t get the monkey’s heart for her, she would surely die. The crocodile had to give in to her order.

With a heavy heart, the crocodile left to get the monkey. He went to the monkey and said, “Friend, my wife loved the mangoes sent by you. She has invited you to our house to thank you.” The monkey agreed and sat on the crocodile’s back so that the crocodile could take him to his house. 

In the middle of the river, the crocodile began sinking in. The monkey got frightened and he asked the crocodile as to why he was sinking. The crocodile, knowing that now there was no escape for the monkey, replied, “Forgive me, my friend. My wife needs to eat your heart to save her life. That’s why I am taking you with me.” 

The monkey was outraged. The monkey was smart. He kept calm and told the crocodile that he would be more than happy to save his wife’s life but he left his heart at the mango tree. The monkey told him that they can quickly go and get his heart from the tree. 

The crocodile accepted it at once and turned back. As soon as they reached the tree, the monkey jumped onto the tree and said, “O foolish crocodile, how can someone take out his heart and keep it somewhere else? You have deceived me as a friend. Now go and never come back. The ashamed crocodile went back to his home.

Moral of the Story :

Quick Intelligence can save you from problems.

Belling the cat

 Once upon a time, there was a big grocery store in a small town. The only problem that the shopkeeper faced was there were plenty of mice that bit into every item in the shop and spoiled the stock of bags kept there. They also wasted the bread, biscuits and fruits kept in the shop. Worried about the huge losses caused by the mice, the shopkeeper decided to bring a cat and leave it in the shop to check on the troublemaker mice.

The following day the storekeeper brought a big fat cat to his shop and let her stay there to chase away the mice. The cat had a pleasant time hunting down the mice and feasted on them regularly. The shopkeeper noticed that bringing the cat to the shop saved him from all the damages caused by the mice and was happy with his decision.

Seeing a rapid decline in their total population, the mice council called for an urgent meeting to discuss the issue. Every mouse was worried that their numbers were dwindling and every day the cat preyed on their fellow mice. They complained to the head mouse that the cat stealthily attacked them and it had become difficult for them to track if their predator was around.

As the mice were describing their woes, the head mouse recommended that they should bell the cat to fix the problem. By doing so, they would know whenever the cat moved around as the bell would make the noise. Everyone loved the idea but the important question was who will bell the cat.

There was pin-drop silence and the mice wondered who would risk his life to execute the plan. Nobody spoke. Suddenly a tiny mouse stepped forward stating that he would execute the act and asked for a necklace of three bells tied in a pink ribbon.

That afternoon, the little mouse went to the cat with the necklace. On seeing the tiny mouse, the cat was about to pounce on the little creature when the mouse asked her to listen to him before she killed him. The cat decided to listen to the tiny mouse before killing him for lunch.

Soon the tiny mouse started appreciating the cat for her beauty. He quickly took out the bells necklace and gifted it to the cat. He complimented her stating that by wearing this necklace she would look the most beautiful cat in the world. The mouse tied the bells necklace around the cat’s neck.

The cat jumped on a low stool kept before the mirror to check how she looked. The mouse further complimented the cat for her beauty and admired her looks. Really impressed with the mouse’s words, the cat spared the tiny mouse’s life this time.

In no time, the cat’s stomach was rumbling in hunger and she started to look around for mice in every corner of the shop. All the mice seemed to have disappeared from her sight. At last, the mice no longer feared the cat. Whenever the cat was around, they could hear the bells ringing and would disappear from that place immediately.

Moral of the Story:

“Have the courage to confront a tough situation rather than running away from it. Also, do not trust anyone blindly, without analysing the consequences of a situation.”

The boy who cried wolf

 Once upon a time, there lived a shepherd boy who would take his flock of sheep for grazing grass by the hillside near his village every day. The hill area was known to have a wolf in its woods who was infamous for attacking the sheep grazing there.

The villagers of that area were aware of the wolf’s menace and were always ready to come to anyone’s aid who called out for help. The shepherd boy was well aware of the helping nature of the villagers residing nearby.

One fine day, the shepherd boy was getting bored as he sat on the hillside watching his sheep grazing grass. To amuse himself he cried out loudly, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is raiding my sheep!” Hearing this, the ever-vigilant villagers rushed to the hillside to help the boy in driving the wolf away. But when they arrived, they found that there was no wolf nearby. Seeing the crowd, the boy had a hearty laugh at the sight of their angry faces. Annoyed at his act, the villagers told him not to unnecessarily call out for help when there is no wolf around. Having said that, they went back down the hill.

After some time the boy mischievously shouted again, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is raiding my sheep!” To his amusement, the villagers rushed up the hill again to help him drive the lecherous wolf away. They were naturally upset when he laughed at them for fooling them the second time in a row. One of the villagers in anger told the shepherd not to raise a false alarm if there is no wolf around. They went grumbling back down the hillside.

Later during the day the shepherd let out a hue and cry and shouted at the top of his voice, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is raiding my sheep!” However, this time the villagers assumed that the boy is unnecessarily raising a false alarm about the wolf for his own amusement. They did not react to his cry for help and thought that he was playing a prank on them this time too.

Towards the evening, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn’t returned with his flock of sheep. They went up the hill to find him. To their dismay, they found him weeping and they asked him the reason why he was upset.

The shepherd boy replied while sobbing that the wolf had come and scattered his flock of sheep. He cried out for help loudly, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is raiding my sheep!”, but nobody turned up to help him drive the lewd wolf away.

The villagers told him that they had come to his aid when he had raised false alarms in the first two instances. However, when they saw him ridiculing them for their helping nature, they assumed that the third one was a prank call too. Hence, they didn’t pay attention to it.

Moral of the Story:

Once a liar, always a liar. No one believes a liar, even when the latter is speaking the truth.

The frog prince

 Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a beautiful palace. There was a lake surrounding the palace garden. The princess had a golden ball and she loved to play with it. One day while playing in the garden, the ball fell into the lake. Feeling very upset and helpless, the young lady started weeping loudly for dropping her favourite ball into the lake.

Upon hearing her wail, a frog hopped out of the lake and asked, “Why are you crying, sweet princess?” She told him about her golden ball which fell into the water and she did not know how to get it back. The frog quickly said, “I can help you to get your golden ball, but what will you give me in return?” The princess promised to give the frog anything that he desired.

The frog immediately dived into the lake and fetched the ball for the young princess. Seeing her ball, the princess was very happy. The frog then reminded her about her promise. The princess asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The frog replied, “Well! I want to be your friend, eat from your golden plate, and sleep in your palace!” However, the princess did not quite like his idea, but she agreed and rushed back to her palace.

The next morning, the frog came to the palace and knocked on the door. The princess saw the frog but she didn’t open the door for him. He shouted from outside, “I have come to live with you in your palace, dear princess.” Hearing this, the princess started crying and ran to her fa­ther. When the kind-hearted king heard about the promise, he told her gently, “A promise is a promise and you must keep your word, my dear. You must allow the frog to stay with you in the palace.”

The princess was annoyed but she had no other choice but to let the nasty frog stay with her. That evening the frog sat next to the princess and had dinner from her golden plate. Thereafter, he followed her to the bedroom and jumped into her bed to sleep on her pillow. Seeing this, the princess got furious and picked him up from her bed and threw him against the wall in disgust. 

Suddenly, the nasty frog turned into a handsome prince. He told the princess that he was actually under the spell of a vicious witch, who had turned him into a frog. He was troubling her because he wanted someone to help him break the spell. Hearing this, the princess felt sorry for her misbehaviour and fell in love with the prince instantly. Soon after, they got married and lived happily ever after.

The ant and the grasshopper

 Once upon a time, there lived an ant and a grasshopper in a grassy meadow by the river. It was during the hot summer season when the ant was toiling hard by collecting wheat grains from the farmer’s field.

The ant would work hard all day long from dawn to dusk collecting the heavy grain well balanced on her back. She would then put the wheat grain in her larder carefully and rush back to the field to collect another grain. She would scurry back and forth between the field and her larder, often repeating this task the whole day.

On the other hand, there was a grasshopper in the grassy meadow who would spend all his time in singing and dancing. He would often scorn at the ant for toiling so hard the entire day in collecting the grains. He would frequently call the ant to join him in singing, dancing and making merry at the present time.

However, the ant would ignore him and continue with her work. This would make the grasshopper laugh even louder and he would often ridicule the ant stating that they have enough food to sustain themselves in summer.

Hearing this, the ant said that she was saving some food for the cold season and recommended the grasshopper to follow the same. The grasshopper didn’t pay heed to her words and continued singing and dancing merrily.

Soon summer faded to autumn and autumn to winter. It became freezing cold outside due to snowfall and the sun was barely visible and the nights were long and dark. Out of cold, the grasshopper lost his interest in singing and making merry. He was cold and hungry and had no place to take shelter from the snow outside. He wondered how to save himself from this tough situation.

Suddenly he remembered about the ant and visited her for some food and shelter. Off he went to her place and knocked at her door for help. When she opened the door, the grasshopper offered to sing for her in return for some food and shelter.

To this, the ant replied that she had toiled hard in summer to save enough food for winter and the grasshopper had mocked her then. She gently asked him to sing somewhere else and earn his food and shelter. It is then, the grasshopper realised that he should have saved up enough for the winter instead of wasting his time being lazy during summer in singing and dancing around.

Moral of the Story:

“Make hay while the sun shines.”

Midas and the golden touch

 Once upon a time in ancient Greece, there lived a king named Midas. He had a lovely daughter whom he lovingly named Marigold. Although King Midas had immense wealth in his kingdom’s treasury, he was always dissatisfied and unhappy. He was always greedy for more wealth and wished he had more gold in his treasure.

One day as he was counting gold coins and admiring his treasure rooms, a wise Greek God appeared before him who offered the king a wish for some of his good deeds. Without wasting any time, King Midas quickly wished that everything that he touched should turn into gold. The Greek God granted his wish promptly and disappeared.

King Midas was delighted about his wish being granted, he went and touched an apple tree in his garden. To his excitement, the tree turned into gold instantly. He was so thrilled that he went on touching random things all around him, which turned into gold immediately. His joy knew no bounds and he was overwhelmed with excitement. Soon he was hungry and he returned to his palace to eat some food. However, though he was starving, he was disappointed that he could not eat anything as whatever he touched turned into gold instantly.

Seeing him frustrated and troubled, Marigold came running and threw her arms around her father to comfort him. But to his dismay, even his daughter turned into gold as he touched her. King Midas’ face turned pale and his heart sank with unbearable pain and grief. He was horrified upon seeing his daughter turn into a golden statue. He cried in anguish and regretted his wish for the golden touch. In no time, he realised his greed was his biggest ever flaw and begged the Greek God to take back his wish.

Soon the Greek God appeared before him and felt pity for his condition and took back the golden touch wish from him. Further, the wise God instructed King Midas to take a dip in the pond of his palace and sprinkle that water to all those things which he wanted to change back to the previous condition. He blindly followed the instructions and soon his daughter, Marigold was back to normal when he sprinkled the water on her. Thereafter, he was elated to get back his beloved daughter and promised to stop being greedy henceforth.

The ugly duckling

 One hot summer day on a farm, a mother duck sat on her nest and wondered when her eggs would hatch. One fine day, the eggs started cracking and hatching and tiny little ducklings started coming out of the shells one after another. The tiny ducklings flapped their wings and cried “Quack, quack!” The mother duck was happy to see all her ducklings, except for the last one which emerged as a strange-looking duckling with grey feathers.

Mother duck called out to all her ducklings for their first swim in the pond. She led all her children to the nearby pond and began teaching each duckling how to become a proper duck. All the ducklings quacked in joy, except for the one with grey feathers which made a crackling sound. The other ducklings stared at him and began to laugh. The ugly one hung his head in shame.

In due course of time, the mother duck and her ducklings started ignoring him while the others practised quacking, swimming, diving and splashing water in the pond. Feeling dejected and unwanted, finally one evening the ugly duckling decided to leave his home in winter and ran away to live in a swamp all by himself.

On his way, the ugly duckling stumbled across a farmer who took pity on him and offered him food and shelter. However, the duckling was terrified of the farmer’s mischievous children, so he escaped the place. 

At last, as spring arrived the duckling was happy that he could start swimming again in the lake. He went to the nearby lake where he found a flock of beautiful swans swimming and gazed at their beauty. As the duckling had fully grown now and he approached the swans if he could join them, completely assured of rejection. To his surprise, the swans welcomed him warmly. 

While getting into the lake, he saw his reflection in the water and was surprised to see that he is not an ugly duckling anymore. He had transformed into a beautiful swan. Soon he joined the flock of beautiful swans and was happy to fly off with his newly found swan family.

The wolf and the sheep

 A wolf had gotten seriously hurt during a fight with a bear. He wasn’t able to move, and so, could not satisfy his thirst or hunger.

One day, a sheep passed by his hiding place, and so the wolf decided to call out to him. “Please fetch me some water,” said the wolf. “That might give me some strength to get some solid food.”

“Solid food!” the sheep said. “I suppose that means me. If I brought you something to drink, it would merely be to wash me down. Don’t speak to me about fetching a drink.”

The leap at Rhodes

 Once, there was a man who visited foreign lands. When he returned, all he could talk about was the wonderful adventures he had and the great deeds he had done.

One of the feats he told was about a leap he made in a city called Rhodes.

“The leap was so great,” the man said. “No other man can make such a leap. Many persons in Rhodes saw me and can prove I am telling the truth.”

“No need for witnesses,” said one who was listening. “Suppose that this city is Rhodes, now show how far you can jump.”

The controlling anger

 Once, there was a young boy. This boy had problems controlling his anger. When he got angry, he would say the first thing that came to mind, even if it affected people.

One day, his father gifted him a hammer and a bundle of nails, then said, “Whenever you get mad, hammer a nail into the backyard fence.”

In the first days, the boy used up half of the nails. Over the next weeks, he used up fewer nails, until his temper was under control. Then, his father asked the young boy to remove a nail for each day he didn’t lose his temper.

On the day when the boy removed his last nail, his father told him, “You have done good, boy. But, can you see the holes in the wall? The fence is never going to be the same. Likewise, when you say mean things in anger, you’ll leave a scar.”

The dog at the well

A mother dog and her pups lived on a farm. On the farm, there was a well. The mother dog always told her pups never to go near or play around it.

One day, one of the pups was overcome by curiosity and wondered why they weren’t allowed to go near the well. So, he decided he wanted to explore it.

He went down to the well and climbed up the wall to peek inside. In the well, he saw his reflection in the water but thought it was another dog. The little pup got angry when his reflection was imitating him, so he decided to fight it.

The little pup jumped into the well, only to find there was no dog. He began to bark and bark until the farmer came to rescue him. The pup had learned his lesson and never went back to the well again.

The bear and the two friends

 One day, two friends were walking through the forest. They knew the forest was a dangerous place and that anything could happen. So, they promised to remain close to each other in case of any danger.

All of a sudden, a big bear was approaching them. One of the friends quickly climbed a nearby tree, leaving the other friend behind.

The other friend did not know how to climb, and instead, followed common sense. He laid down on the ground and remained there, breathless, pretending to be dead.

The bear approached the friend lying on the ground. The animal started to smell his ear before slowly wandering off again because bears never touch those who are dead.

Soon, the friend who hid in the tree came down. He asked his friend, “My dear friend, what secret did the bear whisper to you?” The friend replied, “The bear simply advised me never to believe a false friend.”

The bundle of sticks

 Once upon a time, there was an old man who lived in a village with his three sons. Although his three sons were hard workers, they quarreled all the time. The old man tried to unite them but failed.

Months passed by, and the old man became sick. He asked his sons to remain united, but they failed to listen to him. At that moment, the old man decided to teach them a lesson — to forget their differences and come together in unity.

The old man summoned his sons, then proceeded to tell them, “I will provide you with a bundle of sticks. Separate each stick, and then break each into two. The one who finishes first will be rewarded more than the others.”

And so, the sons agreed. The old man provided them with a bundle of ten sticks each, and then asked the sons to break each stick into pieces. The sons broke the sticks within minutes, then proceeded to quarrel among themselves again.

The old man said, “My dear sons, the game is not yet over. I will now give you another bundle of sticks. Only this time, you will have to break them together as a bundle, not separately.”

The sons readily agreed and then tried to break the bundle. Despite trying their best, they could not break the sticks. The sons told their father of their failure.

The old man said, “My dear sons, see! Breaking every single stick individually was easy for you, but breaking them in a bundle, you could not do. By staying united, nobody can harm you. If you continue to quarrel, then anyone can quickly defeat you.”

The old man continued, “I ask that you stay united.” Then, the three sons understood there’s power in unity, and promised their father they would all stay together.

The ants and the grasshopper

One bright autumn day, a family of ants was busy working in the warm sunshine. They were drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer when a starving grasshopper came up. With his fiddle under his arm, the grasshopper humbly begged for a bite to eat.

“What!” cried the ants, “Haven’t you stored any food away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all summer?”

“I didn’t have time to store any food before winter,” the grasshopper whined. “I was too busy making music that the summer flew by.”

The ants simply shrugged their shoulders and said, “Making music, were you? Very well, now dance!” The ants then turned their backs on the grasshopper and returned to work.

A glass of milk

 There once was a poor boy who spent his days going door-to-door selling newspapers to pay for school. One day, as he was walking his route, he started feeling low and weak. The poor boy was starving, so he decided to ask for food when he came to the next door.

The poor boy asked for food but was denied every time, until he reached the door of a girl. He asked for a glass of water, but seeing his poor state, the girl came back with a glass of milk. The boy asked how much he owed her for the milk, but she refused payment.

Years later, the girl, who was now a grown woman, fell sick. She went from doctor to doctor, but no one was able to cure her. Finally, she went to the best doctor in town.

The doctor spent months treating her until she was finally cured. Despite her happiness, she was afraid she couldn’t afford to pay the bill. But, when the hospital handed her the bill, it read, ‘Paid in full, with a glass of milk.’

The needle tree

 Once, there were two brothers who lived at the forest’s edge. The oldest brother was always unkind to his younger brother. The older brother took all the food and snatched all the good clothes.

The oldest brother used to go into the forest in search of firewood to sell in the market. As he walked through the forest, he chopped off the branches of every tree, until he came upon a magical tree.

The tree stopped him before he chopped its branches and said, ‘Oh, kind sir, please spare my branches. If you spare me, I will provide you with golden apples.’

The oldest brother agreed but was feeling disappointed with how many apples the tree gave him.

Overcome by greed, the brother threatened to cut the entire tree if it didn’t provide him with more apples. But, instead of giving more apples, the tree showered him with hundreds of tiny needles. The brother fell to the ground, crying in pain as the sun began to set.

Soon, the younger brother became worried and went to search for his older brother. He searched until he found him at the trunk of the tree, lying in pain with hundreds of needles on his body.

He rushed to him and started to painstakingly remove each needle with love. Once the needles were out, the oldest brother apologized for treating his younger brother so badly. The magical tree saw the change in the older brother’s heart and gifted them with all the golden apples they could need.

When adversity knocks

 Asha was getting frustrated and tired of life, so she asked her father what to do. Her father told her to bring an egg, two tea leaves, and a potato. He then brought out three vessels, filled them with water, and placed them on the stove.

Once the water was boiling, he told Asha to place the items into each pot and keep an eye on them. After 10 minutes, he asked Asha to peel the egg, peel the potato, and strain the leaves. Asha was left confused.

Her father explained, “Each item was placed into the same circumstance, boiling water. See how each responded differently?”

He continued, “The egg was soft, but is now hard. The potato was hard, but is now soft. And the tea leaves, they changed the water itself.”

The father then asked, “When adversity calls, we respond in the same manner as they have. Now, are you an egg, a potato, or tea leaves?”

Elephant and the friends

 A lone elephant walked through the forest, looking for friends. She soon saw a monkey and proceeded to ask, ‘Can we be friends, monkey?’

The monkey quickly replied, ‘You are big and can’t swing on trees like I do, so I cannot be your friend.’

Defeated, the elephant continued to search when it stumbled across a rabbit. She proceeded to ask him, ‘Can we be friends, rabbit?’

The rabbit looked at the elephant and replied, “You are too big to fit inside my burrow. You cannot be my friend.”

The farmer and the well

 One day, a farmer was looking for a water source for his farm, when he bought a well from his neighbor. The neighbor, however, was cunning. The next day, as the farmer came to draw water from his well, the neighbor refused to let him take any water.

When the farmer asked why, the neighbor replied, “I sold you the well, not the water,” and walked away. Distraught, the farmer went to the emperor to ask for justice. He explained what had happened.

The emperor called on Birbal, one of his nine, and wisest, courtiers. Birbal proceeded to question the neighbor, “Why don’t you let the farmer take water from the well? You did sell the well to the farmer?”

The neighbor replied, “Birbal, I did sell the well to the farmer but not the water within it. He has no right to draw water from the well.”

Birbal said, “Look, since you sold the well, you have no right to keep the water in the farmer’s well. Either you pay rent to the farmer, or take it out immediately.” Realizing that his scheme had failed, the neighbor apologized and went home.

The golden egg

 Once upon a time, a farmer had a goose that laid one golden egg every day. The egg provided enough money for the farmer and his wife to support their daily needs. The farmer and his wife continued to be happy for a long time.

But, one day, the farmer thought to himself, “Why should we take just one egg a day? Why can’t we take them all at once and make a lot of money?” The farmer told his wife his idea, and she foolishly agreed.

Then, the next day, as the goose laid its golden egg, the farmer was quick with a sharp knife. He killed the goose and cut its stomach open, in the hopes of finding all its golden eggs. But, as he opened the stomach, the only thing he found was guts and blood.

The farmer quickly realized his foolish mistake and proceeded to cry over his lost resource. As the days went on, the farmer and his wife became poorer and poorer. How jinxed and how foolish they were.

A wise old owl

 There was an old owl who lived in an oak tree. Every day, he observed incidents that occurred around him.

Yesterday, he watched as a young boy helped an old man carry a heavy basket. Today, he saw a young girl shouting at her mother. The more he saw, the less he spoke.

As the days went on, he spoke less but heard more. The old owl heard people talking and telling stories.

He heard a woman saying an elephant jumped over a fence. He heard a man saying that he had never made a mistake.

The old owl had seen and heard what happened to people. There were some who became better, some who became worse. But the old owl in the tree had become wiser, each and every day.

The milkmaid and her pail

 One day, Molly the milkmaid had filled her pails with milk. Her job was to milk the cows, and then bring the milk to the market to sell. Molly loved to think about what to spend her money on.

As she filled the pails with milk and went to market, she again thought of all the things she wanted to buy. As she walked along the road, she thought of buying a cake and a basket full of fresh strawberries.

A little further down the road, she spotted a chicken. She thought, “With the money I get from today, I’m going to buy a chicken of my own. That chicken will lay eggs, then I will be able to sell milk and eggs and get more money!”

She continued, “With more money, I will be able to buy a fancy dress and make all the other milkmaids jealous.” Out of excitement, Molly started skipping, forgetting about the milk in her pails. Soon, the milk started spilling over the edges, covering Molly.

Drenched, Molly said to herself, “Oh no! I will never have enough money to buy a chicken now.” She went home with her empty pails.

“Oh, my goodness! What happened to you?” Molly’s mother asked.

“I was too busy dreaming about all the things I wanted to buy that I forgot about the pails,” she answered.

“Oh, Molly, my dear. How many times do I need to say, ‘Don’t count your chickens until they hatch?’”

The proud roses

 Once upon a time, in a desert far away, there was a rose who was so proud of her beautiful looks. Her only complaint was growing next to an ugly cactus.

Every day, the beautiful rose would insult and mock the cactus on his looks, all while the cactus remained quiet. All the other plants nearby tried to make the rose see sense, but she was too swayed by her own looks.

One scorching summer, the desert became dry, and there was no water left for the plants. The rose quickly began to wilt. Her beautiful petals dried up, losing their lush color.

Looking to the cactus, she saw a sparrow dip his beak into the cactus to drink some water. Though ashamed, the rose asked the cactus if she could have some water. The kind cactus readily agreed, helping them both through the tough summer, as friends.

The fox and the grapes

 One day, a fox became very hungry as he went to search for some food. He searched high and low, but couldn’t find something that he could eat.

Finally, as his stomach rumbled, he stumbled upon a farmer’s wall. At the top of the wall, he saw the biggest, juiciest grapes he’d ever seen. They had a rich, purple color, telling the fox they were ready to be eaten.

To reach the grapes, the fox had to jump high in the air. As he jumped, he opened his mouth to catch the grapes, but he missed. The fox tried again but missed yet again.

He tried a few more times but kept failing.

Finally, the fox decided it was time to give up and go home. While he walked away, he muttered, “I’m sure the grapes were sour anyway.”

The golden touch

 There once was a king named Midas who did a good deed for a Satyr. And he was then granted a wish by Dionysus, the god of wine.

For his wish, Midas asked that whatever he touched would turn to gold. Despite Dionysus’ efforts to prevent it, Midas pleaded that this was a fantastic wish, and so, it was bestowed.

Excited about his newly-earned powers, Midas started touching all kinds of things, turning each item into pure gold.

But soon, Midas became hungry. As he picked up a piece of food, he found he couldn’t eat it. It had turned to gold in his hand.

Hungry, Midas groaned, “I’ll starve! Perhaps this was not such an excellent wish after all!”

Seeing his dismay, Midas’ beloved daughter threw her arms around him to comfort him, and she, too, turned to gold. “The golden touch is no blessing,” Midas cried.

The boy who cried wolf

 Once, there was a boy who became bored when he watched over the village sheep grazing on the hillside. To entertain himself, he sang out, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!”

When the villagers heard the cry, they came running up the hill to drive the wolf away. But, when they arrived, they saw no wolf. The boy was amused when seeing their angry faces.

“Don’t scream wolf, boy,” warned the villagers, “when there is no wolf!” They angrily went back down the hill.

Later, the shepherd boy cried out once again, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!” To his amusement, he looked on as the villagers came running up the hill to scare the wolf away.

As they saw there was no wolf, they said strictly, “Save your frightened cry for when there really is a wolf! Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when there is no wolf!” But the boy grinned at their words while they walked grumbling down the hill once more.

Later, the boy saw a real wolf sneaking around his flock. Alarmed, he jumped on his feet and cried out as loud as he could, “Wolf! Wolf!” But the villagers thought he was fooling them again, and so they didn’t come to help.

At sunset, the villagers went looking for the boy who hadn’t returned with their sheep. When they went up the hill, they found him weeping.

“There really was a wolf here! The flock is gone! I cried out, ‘Wolf!’ but you didn’t come,” he wailed.

An old man went to comfort the boy. As he put his arm around him, he said, “Nobody believes a liar, even when he is telling the truth!”