TWO FRIENDS AND THE BEAR

Vijay and Raju were friends. On a holiday they went into a forest. They were enjoying the beauty of nature. Suddenly, they saw a bear coming at them. They were frightened.  

Raju, who knew climbing trees, ran up to a tree and climbed up quickly. He did not think of Vijay. Vijay did not know tree climbing.

Vijay thought for a second. He had heard animals do not prefer dead bodies. He fell to the ground and held his breath. The bear sniffed him and thought he was dead. So he went away.

Raju asked Vijay, “What did the bear whisper into your ears?”.

Vijay replied, “The bear asked me to keep away from friends like you”, and went on his way.

MORAL: A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED

THE TWO FROGS

Two frogs were playing on a rainy day. Slowly, they hopped and hopped and came into a house. There was a churn of milk. Both the frogs fell into the churn.

Both the frogs tried for some time. But in vain. One of the frogs lost hope and said “I can’t swim any more” and he drowned to the bottom. The older did not lose hope.

He kept on swimming. His movements churned the milk into butter. The frog climbed on to a pat of butter and hopped out of the churn.

MORAL: GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES

BELLING THE CAT

There was a grocery in a town. Plenty of mice lived in that grocer’s shop. Food was in plenty for them. They ate everything and spoiled all the bags. They also wasted the bread, biscuits and fruits of the shop.

The grocer got real worried. So he thought “I should buy a cat and let it stay at the grocery. Only then, I can save my things.”

He bought a nice, big fat cat and let him stay there. The cat had a nice time hunting the mice and killing them. The mice could not move freely now. They were afraid that anytime the cat would eat them up.

The mice wanted to do something. They held a meeting and all of them tweeted “We must get rid of the cat. Can someone give a suggestion”?.

All the mice sat and brooded. A smart looking mouse stood up and said, “The cat moves softly. That is the problem. If we can tie a bell around her neck, then things will be fine. We can know the movements of the cat”.

Yes, That is answer, stated all the mice. An old mouse slowly stood up and asked, “Who would tie the bell?”. After some moments. there was no one there to answer this question.

MORAL: EMPTY SOLUTIONS ARE OF NO WORTH

THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF

There was a village on the outskirts of  a forest. A shepherd boy used to take his herd of sheep across the fields to the lawns near the forest.

Oneday, he felt very boring. He wanted to have fun. So he cried aloud “Wolf, Wolf. The wolf is carrying away a lamb”. Farmers working in  the fields came running and asked, “Where is the wolf?”. The boy laughed and replied “It was just a fun. Now, get going all of you”.

The boy played the trick for quite a number of times in the next few days.

After some days, as the boy, perched up on a tree, was singing a song, there came an wolf. Now, the boy cried loudly “Wolf, Wolf. The wolf is carrying  a lamb away.” There was no one to come. The boy shouted “Help! Wolf! Help!” Still no one came to his help. The villagers thought that the boy was playing mischief again.

The wolf carried a lamb away.

MORAL: A LIAR’S TRUTH IS SELDOM BELIEVED

THE KING COBRA AND THE ANTS

Once, there lived a king cobra in a small hole. When he was small he ate little creatures. As he grew up he began to eat eggs, lizard, frogs and rabbits. And when he grew up further he started to eat even other smaller snakes. His pride grew with him.

All small animals began to fear the king cobra. This boosted up his pride. He began to think “Now, I am the most powerful creature. I am the king of the forest. All animals fear me. Let me move from this small hole to a bigger place”. 

He searched for a place to suit his size and status. Finally, he came across a big tree. He selected the tree for his house. He saw an ant hill near the tree.

He thought “Why should there be an ugly ant hill near my royal house?” He hissed aloud “I am king Cobra, the king of the forest. I order the ants to vacate immediately”. There was no reply. He got wild and struck at the ant hill.

What a surprise! In minute thousands of ants swarmed up the king cobra, biting him everywhere. The king cobra could not bear the pain. He ran away.

MORAL: PRIDE GOES BEFORE FALL

THE WISE COCK AND THE WICKED FOX

There lived a wise cock in a village. He did his duties well. He crowed early in the morning, waking up the folks for their daily chores.

Oneday, the cock was taking rest on a tree top. A wicked fox passed that way. The fox looked up and saw the handsome cock perched on the tree. The fox decided to eat the cock. So, he said in as sweet a voice as possible.

“Hello, dear cock! I bring you news from Heaven. There is a new order laid for us. From now on, all birds and animals shall become friends and live together in peace”.

The cock was astonished. He asked “Is it true?”.

The fox replied, “Yes, of course. If you would like to test it, why not come down?”. Now, the cock began to think wise. He said, “Won’t you wait a minute. A few of our friends are coming along”.

It was the fox’s turn to be surprised, “Friends! Who are coming? What do you mean?. The cock answered “I can see some Hounds coming. Let us wait for them”.

On hearing the words ‘Hounds’ the fox got annoyed. He started to run away. The cock asked “Why are you running? What happened to our friendship?”. The only reply was “Forget it”.

MORAL: WISEMEN CAN UNVEIL WICKEDNESS

THE FOX WITHOUT TAIL

A Fox was stealthily crossing a field. But alas, he got trapped. He tried hard to come out of the trap. At last he made it. But his tail got cut off. He was ashamed of his loss.

Back in the jungle a few of his friends saw him without his tail and asked “What happened?”.

The fox did not want to accept his ill fate. He said, “The tail is just an extra weight. I cut it off”. But his clever friends could guess the reality and they asked, “If that is the case, why are you sad”.

The fox did not know what to say now. He went away without giving an answer.

MORAL: EMPTY WORDS CANNOT BECOME FACTS