Fables from Aesop - The Fox and the Crow

   This is an very interesting story from Aesop's fables. In every Aesop's fables, there must a lesson for us. we consider that as the moral of the story at the end.

The Fox and the Crow

      The Fox and the Crow

   A fox once saw a crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and sat on a branch of a tree. "That's for me, my dear and I’ll get it from you." said the fox himself, and he walked up to the tree. 

   "Good-day, Mistress Crow," the fox cried. "How well you are looking to-day? How shiny your feathers and how bright your eye? I feel that your voice must exceed that of other birds surly, just as your face and body does. Now let me hear one song from you that I may salute you as the Queen of Birds."
   The crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best. But the moment when she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground and it reached to the fox. The fox immediately grab that piece of cheese and the crow was thundered to see this. 

   "That will do," said the fox to the crow. "That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of free advice for the future, ‘Do not trust flatterers’."



 
The moral of the story: 
                
              We should not believe the flatterers.




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Folk tale - The Boy and the Violin

    This is a Folk tale from Brazil. Brazil is the largest country in South America. The largest country on the continent and it is very well-known for it's cultures and the game ‘Football’. The world biggest river Amazon and the Amazon Rain-forest is here. This Brazilian folk tale was collected by Elsie Spicer Eells.

 The Boy and the Violin

 A South American Folktale

   Once upon a time there was a man lived in Brazil, who had an only son. When the man died, then the boy was left all alone in the world. There was not very much property for the boy. He had just a cat and a dog, a small piece of land and a few orange trees. The boy gave the dog away to a neighbor and sold the land and the orange trees. All of the money he got from the sale, he invested in a violin. He had waited for a violin all his life and now he wanted one more than ever. While his father had lived he could tell his feelings to his father, but now there was none to tell them to except the violin. Then the violin became his friend and the violin said him to make the very sweetest music in the world.

   The boy went to hire out as shepherd to care for the sheep of the king. But he was told that the king already had a large number of shepherds and had no need of another shepherd. The boy took his violin which he had brought with him and hid himself in the deep forest. There he made sweet music with the violin. The shepherds who were near by patrolling the king’s sheep, they heard the sweet melodious music. But they could not find out who was playing that sweet music. The sheep heard the music too. Several of them left the crowd and followed the sound of the music into the forest. They followed it until they reached the boy and the cat and the violin.

    The shepherds were greatly disturbed when they found out how their sheep were losing away into the forest. The shepherds went after their sheep to bring them back, but they could find no trace of them. Sometimes it would seem that they were quite near to the place from which the music came, but when they hurried in that direction they would hear the melody of the music coming from an isolated point in the opposite direction. They were scared of getting lost themselves so they gave up in disappointment.

Fables from the Pachatantra - The Gold giving Snake

   This is one of the interesting fables from the Panchatantra collection.In every story of the Panchatantra, there must be an educational lesson and a moral of the story.

 

The Gold giving Snake

  The Gold giving Snake   

Once upon a time, there was a poor Brahmin (priest) named Haridatta. He used to work hard in the fields, but could not get the result out of it. One day, after the tiring working hours, he was laid down in the shadow of a big tree, in the middle of the field. At that time, he saw a terrible snake with a big hood coming out of an anthill. The poor Brahmin thought that the snake might be the guardian of the field (in Hindu religion snake is consider as a symbol of goddess, Manasa) and he had not paid any homage to it for once. This could be the reason for the barrenness of the field where he worked.

   Instantly, he went to bring some milk and offered the milk to the snake in a bowl. While offering the milk with due respect, he addressed the snake, “Oh, Guardian of this field! I didn’t know that you reside here that is why I never offered you anything. Please forgive me”. After this whole event he went back to his home that day. Next day, when the farmer Brahmin came to plough the field, he found a gold coin in the bowl near the anthill. Now this became a regular event of Brahmin’s life. Daily he served milk to the snake and found a gold coin.

Fairy Tales - The Emperor's new clothes (part-2)

     The Emperor's new clothes - part 2

    A Fairy tale by - Hans Christian Andersen

   
  The whole city was talking of the wonderful cloth which the Emperor had ordered to be woven at his own expense.

   And now the Emperor himself wished to see the costly clothes, while it was still in the loom. Accompanied by a select number of officers of the court, among them were the two honest men, who had already admired the cloth, he went to the crafty frauds. The frauds, as soon as they were aware of the Emperor's approach, went on working more attentively than ever; although they still did not pass a single thread through the looms.
 

   "Is not the work absolutely magnificent?" said the two officers of the crown, already mentioned. "What a splendid design! What glorious colors!" and at the same time they pointed to the empty frames; for they imagined that everyone else could see this wonderful piece of fashion.

   "How is this? I can see nothing! This is indeed a terrible situation! Am I a mad, or am I unfit to be an Emperor? That would be the worst thing that could happen.”- said the Emperor to himself. “Oh! The cloth is charming," said the Emperor, loudly. 

   "It has my complete approval.", the Emperor smiled most decently, and looked closely at the empty looms; for on no account would he say that he could not see what two of the officers of his court had praised so much. All his followers now stressed their eyes, hoping to discover something on the looms, but they could see no more than the others. Yet they all exclaimed, "Oh, how beautiful!" and advised his majesty to have some new clothes made from this wonderful material, for the approaching procession. "Magnificent! Attractive! Excellent!" resounded on all sides; and everyone was unusually glad. The Emperor shared in the general satisfaction and presented the frauds with the ribbon of an order of knighthood, to be fixed in their button-holes, and the title of "Gentlemen Weavers."

Folk tale - Lazy Jack

   This is an old English folk tale story. This story was collected by James Halliwell Orchard Phillips. 

   Once upon a time there was a boy whose name was Jack, and he lived with his mother in a small and dull cottage. They were very poor, and the old woman earned a few pennies by doing some odd jobs, but that was not enough to maintain the family properly. Jack was so lazy that he would do nothing but relax in the sun in the hot weather and sit by the corner of the fire in the winter time. His mother could not make him do anything for the family. At last his mother warned him that if he did not begin to work for his porridge, she would turn him out of the house to get his living as best he could.

   This threat finally stirred Jack. He went out and found a job for the day working for on a farm. The farmer paid him one penny, but he was not used to having money, and as he was coming him he lost it as he passed over a stream. 

   “You stupid boy, you should have put it in your pocket.” said his mother.

   “Next time I will.” replied Jack.

   The next day Jack went out again, and found a job with a cow-keeper, who gave him a jar of milk for his day’s work. Jack took the jar and put it into the large pocket of his jacket. The whole milk was spilling it all, long before he came home.

   “Oh my Dear, you should have carried it on your head!” said his mother. 

   “Next time I will.” replied Jack.

   The following day Jack found a job with a farmer. The farmer agreed to give him a cream cheese for his work. In the evening, Jack took the cheese and went home with it on his head. By the time he got home the cheese was completely spoiled, part of it being lost, and part matted with his hair. 

   “You are a good-for-nothing boy,” said his mother, “you should have carried it very carefully in your hands.” 

   “Next time, I will.” replied Jack.

Fairy Tale - The Emperor's new clothes (Part-1)

     The Emperor's new clothes - Part 1

    A Fairy tale by - Hans Christian Andersen

 

   
   Many years ago, there was an Emperor, who was so extremely fond of new clothes, that he spent all his money in dress. He did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers; nor did he care to go either to the theater or the hunt, except for the opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes. He had a different set of clothes for each hour of the day; and as of any other king or emperor. It was always said of him, "The Emperor is sitting in his clothes, when he sitting in the council."

   

   Time passed happily in the large town which was his capital, strangers arrived every day at the court. One day, two frauds, calling themselves weavers, made their appearance. They gave out that they knew how to weave stuffs of the most beautiful colors and sophisticated patterns, the clothes manufactured from which should have the wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone who was unfit for the office he held, or who was extraordinarily simple in character.
 

   "These must, indeed, be wonderful clothes!" thought the Emperor. "Had I such a set of clothes, I might at once find out what men in my kingdoms are unfit for their office, and also be able to distinguish the wise from the foolish! This stuff must be woven for me immediately." The Emperor gave a huge amount of money to the weavers in order that they might begin their work directly.
 

   So the two pretended weavers set up two looms and affected to work very busily, though in reality they did nothing at all. They asked for the finest silk and the purest gold thread, put both into their own shoulder bags; and then continued their pretended work at the empty looms until late at night. 

   "I should like to know how the weavers are getting on with my cloth," said the Emperor to himself. After some little time had passed; he was rather embarrassed, when he remembered that a maniac or one unfit for his office would be unable to see the manufacture. To be sure, he thought he had nothing to risk in his own person; but yet, he would prefer sending somebody else, to bring him the idea about the weavers, and their work, before he troubled himself in the situation. All the people throughout the city had heard of the wonderful property the cloth was to own; and all were nervous to learn how wise, or how ignorant, their neighbors might prove to be.

Aesop's Fables - The sick Lion

   This fable is from Aesop's fables... This is an very interesting story from Aesop's fables. In every Aesop's fables, there must a lesson for us. we consider that as the moral of the story at the end.

The Sick Lion

       The sick Lion

    A Lion had come to the end of his days and lay sick towards death at the mouth of his cave and gasping for breath. The animals, his subjects, came round him and drew nearer as he grew more and more helpless. When they saw him on the point of death they thought to themselves: "Now is the time to pay off old grudges." So the Boar came up and drove at him with his teeth, after that a Bull gored him with his horns. Still the Lion lay helpless before them. At that time the Ass, feeling quite safe from the danger of the old Lion, came up and turning his tail to the Lion kicked up his heels into Lion’s face. "This is a double death for me," growled the Lion.

The moral of the story:

          Only cowards insult dying majesty.

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