The Ass And The Wolf
An Ass was feeding in a pasture near a wood
when he saw a Wolf lurking in the shadows along the hedge.
He easily guessed what the Wolf had in mind,
and thought of a plan to save himself.
So he pretended he was lame,
and began to hobble painfully.
When the Wolf came up,
he asked the Ass what had made him lame,
and the Ass replied that he had stepped on a sharp thorn.
"Please pull it out," he pleaded,
groaning as if in pain.
"If you do not, it might stick in your throat when you eat me."
The Wolf saw the wisdom of the advice,
for he wanted to enjoy his meal without any danger of choking.
So the Ass lifted up his foot
and the Wolf began to search very closely and carefully for the thorn.
Just then the Ass kicked out with all his might,
tumbling the Wolf a dozen paces away!
And while the Wolf was getting very slowly and painfully to his feet,
the Ass galloped away in safety.
"Serves me right,"
growled the Wolf as he crept into the bushes.
"I'm a butcher by trade, not a doctor."
The moral of this story is "Stick to your trade"
The Wolf And The House Dog
There once was a Wolf who got very little to eat
because the Dogs of the village were so wide awake and watchful.
He was really nothing but skin and bones
and it made him very downhearted to think of it.
One night this Wolf happened to fall in with a fine fat House Dog
who had wandered a little too far from home.
The Wolf would gladly have eaten him then and there
but the House Dog looked strong enough
to leave his marks should he try it.
So the Wolf spoke very humbly to the Dog
complimenting him on his fine appearance.
"You can be as well-fed as I am if you want to"
replied the Dog.
"Leave the woods
there you live miserably.
Why you have to fight hard for every bite you get.
Follow my example and you will get along beautifully."
"What must I do?" asked the Wolf.
"Hardly anything" answered the House Dog
"Chase people who carry canes
bark at beggars
and fawn on the people of the house.
In return you will get tidbits of every kind
chicken bones, choice bits of meat, sugar, cake
and much more beside
not to speak of kind words and caresses."
The Wolf had such a beautiful vision of his coming happiness
that he almost wept.
But just then he noticed that the hair on the Dog's neck was worn
and the skin was chafed.
"What is that on your neck?"
"Nothing at all" replied the Dog.
"What! nothing!"
"Oh just a trifle!"
"But please tell me."
"Perhaps you see the mark of the collar to which my chain is fastened."
"What! A chain!" cried the Wolf.
"Don't you go wherever you please?"
"Not always! But what's the difference?"
replied the Dog.
"All the difference in the world!
I don't care a rap for your feasts
and I wouldn't take all the tender young lambs in the world at that price.
And away ran the Wolf to the woods.
Remember this children
"Freedom is everything"
The Lark and Her Young Ones
One day, a Lark made her nest in a field of young wheat.
As the days passed,
the wheat stalks grew tall
and the young birds, too, grew in strength.
Then one day, when the ripe golden grain waved in the breeze,
the Farmer and his son came into the field.
"The wheat is now ready for reaping," said the Farmer.
"We must call in our neighbours and friends to help us harvest it."
The young Larks in their nest close by were much frightened,
for they knew that they would be in great danger
if they did not leave the nest.
When the Mother Lark returned with food for them,
they told her what they had heard.
"Do not be frightened, children," said the Mother Lark.
"If the Farmer said he would call in his neighbours and friends
to help him do his work,
this wheat will not be reaped for a while yet."
A few days later, the wheat was so ripe,
that when the wind shook the stalks,
a hail of wheat grains came rustling down on the young Larks' heads.
"If this wheat is not harvested at once," said the Farmer,
"we shall lose half the crop.
We cannot wait any longer for help from our friends.
Tomorrow we must set to work, ourselves."
When the young Larks told their mother what they had heard that day, she said:
"Then we must be off at once.
When a man decides to do his own work and not depend on any one else,
then you may be sure there will be no more delay."
There was much fluttering and trying out of wings that afternoon.
At sunrise the next day,
when the Farmer and his son cut down the grain,they found an empty nest!
Remember children
"Self help is the best help!"
The fox and the stork!
Once upon a time
there lived a fox who always made fun of his neighbor- the Stork!
One day the fox thought of a plan to amuse himself
at the expense of the stork!
"You must come and dine with me today"
he said to the stork
smiling himself at the trick he was going to play.
The stork gladly accepted the invitation.
He arrived at the right time
and with a very good appetite!
The fox served soup for the dinner.
But it was set out in a very shallow dish!
The stork because of his long beak
couldn't even get a drop of soup
and all he could do was wet his beak!
The Fox lapped up the soup easily
and to increase the disappointment of the stork
made a great show of enjoyment!
The hungry stork was very angry at the fox.
But the stork was a calm and even tempered fellow
so he saw no good in showing his anger there.
Instead the stork invited the fox
for a dinner at his home the next day!
The fox arrived promptly
and he was very hungry!
The stork served fish dinner
that had a very appetizing smell!
The stork served the dinner in a tall jar
with a very narrow neck!
The stork could easily get at the food with his narrow bill
but all the fox could do was lick the outside of the jar
and sniff at the delicious odor!
The fox then lost his temper
and shouted at the stork for behaving like this.
The stork then calmly replied
"Do not play tricks on your neighbours
unless you can stand the same treatment yourself!"
The fox was ashamed for what he did
and he went back to his home.
They both became good friends from that day!
The Goose And The Golden Egg
There once was a Countryman
who possessed the most wonderful Goose you can imagine.
Every day when he visited the nest
the Goose had laid a beautiful glittering golden egg!
The Countryman took the eggs to market
and soon began to get rich!
But it was not long before he grew impatient with the goose
because she gave him only a single golden egg each day.
He was not getting rich fast enough.
Then one day after he had finished counting his money
the idea came to him
that he could get all the golden eggs at once
by killing the Goose
and cutting it open.
But when he killed the goose
not a single golden egg did he find
and his precious Goose was dead.!!!
Those who have plenty want more and more
and they end up losing everything they have.
The Old Lion And The Fox
Once upon a time in a forest
there lived a lion who had grown very old.
The lion's teeth and claws were worn with old age
and he couldn't hunt for food anymore!
One day he got an idea
and sent a message to everyone in the village.
He pretended to be sick
and summoned everyone to come and visit him.
The next day
the Goat came to the lion's cave to offer its sympathy.
But as soon as the Goat walked in
the lion caught and ate him.
A deer came to the cave the next day.
But as he walked in, the lion got him and ate him as well
One by one
the lion ate the animals who came to visit him.
One day the clever fox came outside the cave.
The fox was very cautious and stood at a safe distance from the cave
Then he enquired politely about the lion's health.
The lion replied that he was very well indeed
and asked the fox to step in for a moment.
The Fox wisely stayed outside
thanking the lion very kindly for the invitation.
"I should be glad to do as you ask" he added
"But I have noticed that there are too many footprints leading to your cave
but there are no marks of anyone coming out"
"Please tell me how do your visitors find their way out?"
The lion realized that he couldn't fool the fox
who was very wise too.
The fox then went back and told everyone what the lion was doing.
He was saved
only because he learned from the mistakes of others.
The Wolf and The Lean Dog
One day a hungry wolf was prowling near a village
Then he saw a Dog lying down.
It happened to be a very lean and bony Dog
and Master Wolf would have turned up his nose at such a meager fare
had he not been more hungry than usual.
So he began to edge toward the Dog
while the Dog backed away.
"Let me remind your lordship" said the dog
his words interrupted now and then
as he dodged a snap of the Wolf's teeth
"how unpleasant it would be to eat me now.
Look at my ribs.
I am nothing but skin and bone.
But let me tell you something in private.
In a few days
my master will give a wedding feast for his only daughter.
You can guess how fine and fat
I will grow on the scraps from the table.
Then is the time to eat me."
The Wolf could not help thinking how nice it would be
to have a fine fat Dog
to eat instead of the scrawny object before him.
So he went away pulling in his belt
and promising to return.
Some days later
the Wolf came back for the promised feast.
He found the Dog in his master's yard
and asked him to come out and be eaten.
"Sir" said the Dog with a grin
"I shall be delighted to have you eat me.
I'll be out as soon as the porter opens the door."
But the "porter" was a huge Dog
whom the Wolf knew by painful experience
to be very unkind towards wolves.
So he decided not to wait
and made off as fast as his legs could carry him.
So children
Never depend on the promises of those
whose interest is to deceive you!
The Merchant And His Donkey
One day a merchant drove his donkey to the sea shore
for buying salt!
After buying the salt,
he loaded the sacks containing salt on his donkey.
On the way back home they had to cross a small stream.
While crossing the stream,
the donkey slipped and fell into the water
when they were halfway crossed.
This caused the salt to dissolve,
thus making the load lighter!
Because of this, the donkey was able to rise easily to his feet,
and enjoy an easy ride back home!
The merchant sold whatever little salt he had left in the market.
Then he led the donkey back again
to load an even greater cargo of salt than before!
When they reached the stream this time,
the donkey remembering what happened last time,
deliberately fell down!
When he got up, he realized that the weight had reduced again!
He brayed happily,
as if he had obtained what he desired!
The merchant realized what the donkey was up to,
so he decided to teach him a lesson!
They went back to the seashore,
and this time the merchant loaded the cargo with
sponge instead of salt!
When they reached the stream this time,
the foolish donkey fell down on purpose again!
But this time,
the sponge grew heavy as it was soaked with water!
As a result,
the donkey had to carry twice the burden all the way back home!
The donkey realized his mistake
and he understood that
"the same measures will not suit all circumstances"
The Lion And The Mouse
Once upon a time in a forest,
a lion was sleeping with his great head on his paws.
A little mouse crept into his cave
and started playing near the lion!
"Since he is sleeping," thought the mouse,
"he will never suspect I'm here!"
While playing, the mouse ran close to his nose,
and suddenly the lion woke up!
Swat! Went his huge paw upon the little mouse,
and the mouse was trapped!
The lion was angry as the little mouse had disturbed his nap!
"Spare me" begged the poor mouse.
"Please let me go, and someday I will surely repay you!"
The Lion laughed,
"You are so small! How could you ever help me?"
The lion was feeling very kind that day
laughed the lion
and he let the little mouse go!
The next day two hunters came to the jungle.
They went to the lion's lair,
and set a huge rope snare!
When the lion came home that night,
he stepped into the hunters trap!
He tried everything to get out of the trap,
but nothing helped this big lion!
He roared, he wept,
but he couldn't pull himself free!
The mouse heard the lion's cries,
and came to help him!
The little mouse with his little teeth gnawed at the ropes,
and soon the lion was free!
"You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the mouse.
"Now you see that even a mouse can help a lion!"
That day, the lion realized that
"Kindness is never wasted"
The lion and the mouse became good friends
for the rest of their lives.
The Frogs And The Well
A long long time ago,
two brother frogs lived in a marsh!
They had enough water to drink,
and they played around merrily!
But one summer it got so harsh
that the marsh dried up!
The two frogs had no water to drink,
so they left in search of another place to live!
They looked water everywhere,
and they travelled for days and days.
Just as they were about to give up hope,
by and by they came upon a well!
The younger foolish brother,
hopped on the well to get a better look.
The bottom of the well was pitch black,
and he couldn't see anything!
"This looks like a nice place"
said the little frog
"Lets jump in and settle here!"
The older brother with a wiser head on his shoulders replied,
"Not so fast my brother.
Supposing this well dried up like the marsh,
how would we get out—"
But before the older and wiser brother could finish his sentence,
the younger foolish brother
leaped into the well without thinking.
With a great thud,
the frog hit the bottom of the well.
When he looked around,
he found no water!
And there was no way to escape either.
Then the younger foolish brother thought,
"I should have listened to my brother,and looked before I leaped"
"Now I'm stuck here, with no means to escape."
The Crow And The Pitcher
Once upon a time,
a crow who was very thirsty,
flew around searching for water!
He searched and searched,
but he couldn't find water anywhere!
Half dead with thirst,
he saw a pitcher with water in it!
But when the crow put its beak into the pitcher,
he found that there was very little water left,
and he could not reach far enough down to get at it!
He tried, and he tried,
but at last he had to give up in despair.
Then he saw a pebble lying around,
and he suddenly got an idea!
He took a pebble
and dropped it into the pitcher.
Then he took another pebble
and dropped that into the pitcher
Then he took another pebble
and dropped that into the pitcher
Then he dropped another one
Like that one by one
he dropped many pebbles into the pitcher.
With each pebble,
the water rose higher and higher!
And at last,
the water was near enough for the crow to drink!!
The moral of this story is
"In a pinch a good use of our wits may help us out"
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