Great story

The Wolf And The Shepherds Image: iStock This is one of the many Aesop’s fables that one can relate to in any day and age. One day a wolf was chased away from a farm for trying to steal some of the sheep for food. Later that week, the wolf came back to the farm hoping to find some food. He peeped inside the house and found the farmer and his family feasting on lamb roast. “Aha!”, he thought. “If I were to do the same thing that the farmer and his family are doing now, I would be shunted and chased, or even killed for killing a weak, innocent lamb.” Moral We are quick to judge and condemn others for what they do, but see nothing wrong in doing so ourselves.

Elephant And Friends Image: Shutterstock A lone elephant wandered the forest looking for friends. She came across a monkey and asked, “Will you be my friend, monkey?” “You are too big and cannot swing on trees as I do. So I cannot be your friend”, said the monkey. The elephant them came across a rabbit and asked him if she could be his friend. “You are too big to fit inside my burrow. You cannot be my friend”, replied the rabbit. Then the elephant met a frog and asked if she could be her friend. The frog said “You are too big and heavy. You cannot jump like me. I am sorry, but you cannot be my friend”. The elephant asked a fox, and he got the same reply, that he was too big. The next day, all the animals in the forest were running in fear. The elephant stopped a bear and asked what was happening and was told that a tiger has been attacking all the animals. The elephant wanted to save the other weak animals and went to the tiger and said “Please sir, leave my friends alon...

True Friends Love You Anyway Image: Shutterstock Lord Krishna and Sudama were childhood friends. While Krishna thrived and prospered, Sudama didn’t. He lead the life of a poor Brahmin man, living in a small hut with his wife and kids. Most days, the kids wouldn’t even get enough to eat from what Sudama got as alms. One day, his wife suggested that he go and ask his friend Krishna for help. Sudama was reluctant to seek favors, but he also didn’t want his kids to suffer. So his wife borrows some rice from the neighbors to make some rice snacks that Krishna liked, and gave it to Sudama to take it to his friend. Sudama took it and set out to Dwaraka. He was amazed at the gold that was used to build the city. He reached the palace gates and was obstructed by the guards, who judged him by his torn dhoti and poor appearance. Sudama requested the guards to at least inform Krishna that his friend Sudama has come to meet him. The guard, although reluctant, goes and informs the lord. O...

The Farmer And The Well Image: Shutterstock A farmer looking for a source of water for his farm bought a well from his neighbor. The neighbor was cunning, though, and refused to let the farmer take water from the well. On asking why, he replied, “I sold the well to you, not the water”, and walked away. The distraught farmer didn’t know what to do. So he went to Birbal, a clever man and one of the nine courtiers of Emperor Akbar, for a solution. The emperor called the farmer and his neighbor and asked why the man was not letting the farmer draw water from the well. The cunning man said the same thing again, “I sold the well, not the water. So he cannot take my water”. To this, Birbal replied, “All that sounds fine to me. But if you have sold the water and the water is yours, then you have no business keeping your water in his well. Remove the water or use it all up immediately. If not the water will belong to the owner of the well”. Realizing that he’s been tricked and taug...

The Camel And The Baby Image: iStock One day, a camel and her baby were chatting. The baby asked, “Mother, why do we have humps?” The mother replied, “Our humps are for storing water so that we can survive in the desert”. “Oh”, said the child, “and why do we have rounded feet mother?” “Because they are meant to help us walk comfortably in the desert. These legs help us move around in the sand.” “Alright. But why are our eyelashes so long?” “To protect our eyes from the desert dust and sand. They are the protective covers for the eyes”, replied the mother camel. The baby camel thought for a while and said, “So we have humps to store water for desert journeys, rounded hooves to keep us comfortable when we walk in the desert sand, and long eyelashes to protect us from sand and dust during a desert storm. Then what are we doing in a zoo?” The mother was dumbfounded. Moral Your strengths, skills, and knowledge are useless if you are not in the right place.

The Boasting Traveler (Aesop’s Fables) Image: iStock A man came back from a tour and boasted about his adventurous journeys. He talked at length about the different people he met and his amazing feats that got him fame and praise from people everywhere. He went on to say that he went to the Rhodes where he had leaped to such distances that no man could ever match his feat. He even went on to say that there were witnesses who would vouch for his words. Hearing the man boast so much, a smart bystander said, “Oh good man, we do not need any witnesses to believe your words. Imagine this place to be Rhodes and leap for us”. The lying traveler didn’t know what to do and went away quietly. Moral He who does a thing well does not need to boast.

The Four Students Image: iStock There were four friends who hated studying. They partied all night before their exams and planned to skip the test by lying to the professor. So they went to the dean and told him that they had been to a wedding the previous night and on their way back, they had a flat tire. They continued to say that they had to push the car all the way back, as they didn’t have a spare tire and hence, were not in a position to write the exam. The dean listened and agreed to let them take the test on a later date. Happy that they got a second chance, the four friends studied hard and were ready for the exam. On exam day, the dean asked the students to sit in separate classrooms, which the students agreed to. The examination paper had only two questions, for a total of 100 marks. The questions were thus: Your name: Which tire of the car burst: a) Front left b) Front right c) Rear left d) Rear right Moral You may be smart, but there are people smarter t...

The Cows And The Tiger Image: iStock Four cows lived in a forest near a meadow. They were good friends and did everything together. They grazed together and stayed together, because of which no tigers or lions were able to kill them for food. But one day, the friends fought and each cow went to graze in a different direction. A tiger and a lion saw this and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to kill the cows. They hid in the bushes and surprised the cows and killed them all, one by one. Moral Unity is strength.

The Tortoise And The Bird Image: Shutterstock A tortoise was resting under a tree, on which a bird had built its nest. The tortoise spoke to the bird mockingly, “What a shabby home you have! It is made of broken twigs, it has no roof, and looks crude. What’s worse is that you had to build it yourself. I think my house, which is my shell, is much better than your pathetic nest”. “Yes, it is made of broken sticks, looks shabby and is open to the elements of nature. It is crude, but I built it, and I like it.” “I guess it’s just like any other nest, but not better than mine”, said the tortoise. “You must be jealous of my shell, though.” “On the contrary”, the bird replied. “My home has space for my family and friends; your shell cannot accommodate anyone other than you. Maybe you have a better house. But I have a better home”, said the bird happily. Moral Better a crowded hut than a lonely mansion.

The Miser And His Gold Image: iStock An old miser lived in a house with a garden. The miser hid his gold coins in a pit under some stones in the garden. Every day, before going to bed, the miser went to the stones where he hid the gold and counted the coins. He continued this routine every day, but not once did he spend the gold he saved. One day, a thief who knew the old miser’s routine, waited for the old man to go back into his house. After it was dark, the thief went to the hiding place and took the gold. The next day, the old miser found that his treasure was missing and started crying loudly. His neighbor heard the miser’s cries and inquired about what happened. On learning what happened, the neighbor asked, “Why didn’t you save the money inside the house? It would’ve been easier to access the money when you had to buy something!” “Buy?”, said the miser. “I never used the gold to buy anything. I was never going to spend it.” On hearing this, the neighbor threw a st...

The Golden Egg Once upon a time, a farmer had a goose that laid a golden egg every day. The egg provided enough money for the farmer and his wife for their day-to-day needs. The farmer and his wife were happy for a long time. But one day, the farmer got an idea and thought, “Why should I take just one egg a day? Why can’t I take all of them at once and make a lot of money?” The foolish farmer’s wife also agreed and decided to cut the goose’s stomach for the eggs. As soon as they killed the bird and opened the goose’s stomach, to find nothing but guts and blood. The farmer, realizing his foolish mistake, cries over the lost resource! Moral Think before you act. The English idiom “kill not the goose that lays the golden egg” was also derived from this classic story.

 The Midas Touch Image: Shutterstock In ancient Greek, there was a king named Midas. He had a lot of gold and everything he needed. He also had a beautiful daughter. Midas loved his gold very much, but he loved his daughter more than his riches. One day, a satyr named Silenus got drunk and passed out in Midas’ rose garden. Believing that Satyrs always bring good luck, Midas lets Silenus rest in his palace until he is sober, against the wishes of his wife and daughter. Silenus is a friend of Dionysus, the god of wine and celebration. Upon learning Midas’ kindness towards his friend, Dionysus decides to reward the keg. When asked to wish for something, Midas says “I wish everything I touch turns to gold”. Although Dionysus knew it was not a great idea, he granted Midas his wish. Happy that his wish was granted, Midas went around touching random things in the garden and his palace and turned them all into gold. He touched an apple, and it turned into a shiny gold apple....

The Boy Who Cried Wolf Once upon a time, there lived a shepherd boy who was bored watching his flock of sheep on the hill. To amuse himself, he shouted, “Wolf! Wolf! The sheep are being chased by the wolf!” The villagers came running to help the boy and save the sheep. They found nothing and the boy just laughed looking at their angry faces. “Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when there’s no wolf boy!”, they said angrily and left. The boy just laughed at them. After a while, he got bored and cried ‘wolf!’ again, fooling the villagers a second time. The angry villagers warned the boy a second time and left. The boy continued watching the flock. After a while, he saw a real wolf and cried loudly, “Wolf! Please help! The wolf is chasing the sheep. Help!” But this time, no one turned up to help. By evening, when the boy didn’t return home, the villagers wondered what happened to him and went up the hill. The boy sat on the hill weeping. “Why didn’t you come when I called out that there was a wo...