THE LION AND THE MOUSE

Story-13:The Lion and the Mouse

Once when a lion, the king of the jungle, was asleep, a little mouse began running up and down on him. This soon awakened the lion, who placed his huge paw on the mouse, and opened his big jaws to swallow him.

"Pardon, O King!" cried the little mouse. "Forgive me this time. I shall never repeat it and I shall never forget your kindness. And who knows, I may be able to do you a good turn one of these days!"

The lion was so tickled by the idea of the mouse being able to help him that he lifted his paw and let him go.

Sometime later, a few hunters captured the lion, and tied him to a tree. After that they went in search of a wagon, to take him to the zoo.

Just then the little mouse happened to pass by. On seeing the lion's plight, he ran up to him and gnawed away the ropes that bound him, the king of the jungle.

"Was I not right?" said the little mouse, very happy to help the lion.

MORAL: Small acts of kindness will be rewarded greatly.

PROUD RED ROSE

Story-12:Proud Red Rose

One beautiful spring day a red rose blossomed in a forest. As the rose looked around, a pine tree nearby said, "What a beautiful flower! I wish I was that lovely." Another tree said, "Dear pine, do not be sad. We cannot have everything." The rose turned and remarked, "It seems that I am the most beautiful flower in this forest." A sunflower raised its yellow head and asked, "Why do you say that? In this forest there are many beautiful flowers. You are just one of them." The red rose replied, "I see everyone looking at me and admiring me." Then the rose looked at a cactus and said, "Look at that ugly plant full of thorns!" The pine tree said, "Red rose, what kind of talk is this? Who can say what beauty is? You have thorns too." The proud red rose looked angrily at the pine and said, "I thought you had good taste! You do not know what beauty is at all. You cannot compare my thorns to that of the cactus." "What a proud flower," thought the trees. The rose tried to move its roots away from the cactus, but it could not move. As the days passed, the red rose would look at the cactus and say insulting things, like 'this plant is useless. How sorry I am to be his neighbor.' The cactus never got upset and even tried to advise the rose, saying, "God did not create any form of life without a purpose." Spring passed, and the weather became very warm. Life became difficult in the forest, as there was no rain. The red rose began to wilt. One day the rose saw sparrows stick their beaks into the cactus and then fly away, refreshed. This was puzzling, and the red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds were getting water from the cactus. "Does it not hurt when they make holes?" asked the rose. Sparrow"Yes, but the cactus does not like to see the birds suffer," replied the pine. The rose opened its eyes in wonder and exclaimed, "The cactus has water?" "Yes, you can also drink from it. The sparrow can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help." The red rose felt too ashamed to ask for water from the cactus, but finally it did ask for help. The cactus kindly agreed. The birds filled their beaks with water and watered the rose's roots. Thus the rose learned a lesson and never judged anyone by their appearance again.

THE BLIND GIRL

Story-11:The Blind Girl 

There was a blind girl who hated herself purely for the fact she was blind. The only person she didn’t hate was her loving boyfriend, as he was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry him.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her – now she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”

The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying:

“Just take care of my eyes dear.”

Moral of the story:
When our circumstances change, so does our mind. Some people may not be able to see the way things were before, and might not be able to appreciate them. There are many things to take away from this story, not just one.

A MERCHANT AND HIS DONKEY

Story-10:A Merchant and his Donkey

One beautiful spring morning, a merchant loaded his donkey with bags of salt to go to the market, in order to sell the salt. The merchant and his donkey were walking along together. They had not walked far when they reached a river on the way.

Unfortunately, the donkey slipped and fell into the river. As it scrambled up the bank of the river, it noticed that the bags of salt loaded on his back had become lighter.

There was nothing the merchant could do except return home, where he loaded his donkey with more bags of salt. As they reached the slippery riverbank again, the donkey fell into the river, this time deliberately. Thus the salt was wasted again.

By now the merchant knew the donkey's trick. He wanted to teach the animal a lesson. As he returned home the second time with the donkey, the merchant loaded bags of sponges on its back.

The duo set out on their trip to the market a third time. On reaching the river, the donkey very cleverly fell into the water again. But now, instead of the load becoming lighter, it became heavier.

The merchant laughed at the donkey and said, "You foolish donkey, your trick has been discovered. You should know that you cannot fool anyone too many times."

THE GREEDY MOUSE

Story-9:The Greedy Mouse

A greedy mouse saw a basket full of corn. He wanted to eat it. So he made a small hole in the basket. He squeezed in through the hole. He ate a lot of corn. He felt full and was very happy.

Now he wanted to come out. He tried to come out through the small hole. He could not. His belly was full. He tried again. But it was of no use.

The mouse started crying. A rabbit was passing by. It heard the mouse's cry and asked, "Why are you crying, my friend?"

The mouse explained, "I made a small hole and came into the basket to eat the corn. Now I am not able to get out through that hole."

The rabbit said, "It is because you ate too much. Wait till your belly shrinks." The rabbit laughed and went away.

Greedy MouseThe mouse fell asleep in the basket. The next morning his belly had shrunk. But he wanted to eat some more corn. He forgot all about getting out of the basket. So he ate the corn and his belly was really big again.

After eating, the mouse remembered that he had to escape. But obviously, he could not. So he thought, "Oh! Now I will go out tomorrow."

The cat was the next passerby. He smelt the mouse in the basket. He lifted its lid and ate the mouse.

THE FOOLISH MONKEY'S

Story-8:THE FOOLISH MONKEY'S

It was a cold and silent night. The weather was freezing cold. A group of monkeys were on a tree. They were clinging to its branches. One of the monkeys said, "I wish we could find some fire. It will help us to keep warm."

Suddenly they noticed a flock of fireflies. One of the young monkeys thought it was fire. He caught a firefly. He put it under a dry leaf and started blowing at it. Some other monkeys also joined in his efforts.

In the meanwhile, a sparrow came flying to its nest which was on the same tree the monkeys were sitting on. She noticed what they were doing. The sparrow laughed. She said, "Hey silly monkeys, that is a firefly, not real fire. I think all of you should take shelter in a cave."

The monkeys did not listen to the sparrow. They continued to blow at the poor firefly.

After some time, the monkeys became very tired. Now they realized that what the sparrow had said was correct. They set free the firefly and moved to a nearby cave.

THE CRYSTAL BALL

Story-7:THE CRYSTAL BALL

In the south of Spain, there was a small village whose people were very joyful. The children played under the shades of trees in the gardens of their homes.

A shepherd boy named Nasir stayed near the village with his father, mother and grandmother. Each morning, he took his herd of goats up the hills to find a suitable place for them to graze. In the afternoon he would return with them to the village. Each night his grandmother would tell him a story - the story of stars. This story really interested Nasir.

On one of those days, as Nasir was watching his herd and playing his flute, he suddenly saw a wonderful light behind a flower bush. When he approached the bush, he saw a transparent and very beautiful crystal ball.

The crystal ball was glittering like a colorful rainbow. Nasir carefully took it in his hand and turned it around. With surprise, suddenly, he heard a weak voice coming from the crystal ball. It said, "You can make a wish that your heart desires and I will fulfill it."

Nasir could not believe that he had actually heard a voice. When he made sure that he had indeed heard that voice from the crystal ball, he was very confused. He had so many wishes that he could not decide upon one particular wish. He said to himself, 'if I wait till tomorrow I will remember many things. Then I will make my wish.'

He put the crystal ball in a bag and, gathering the herd, happily returned to the village. He decided that he would not tell anyone about the crystal ball.

On the following day also, Nasir could not decide what to wish for, because he really had everything he needed.

The days passed as usual, but Nasir was still unable to make his wish. But he appeared to be very cheerful. The people around him were amazed to see the change in his disposition.

One day, a boy followed Nasir and his herd and hid behind a tree. Nasir, as usual, sat in one corner, took out the crystal ball and for a few moments looked at it. The boy waited for the moment when Nasir would go to sleep. When Nasir did fall asleep after a while, the boy took the crystal ball and ran away.

When he arrived at the village, he called all the people and showed them the crystal ball. The citizens of that village took the crystal ball in their hands and turned it around with surprise. Suddenly they heard a voice from inside the crystal ball, which said, "I can fulfill your wish." One person took the ball and screamed, "I want one bag full of gold." Another took the ball and said loudly, "I want two chests full of jewelry." Some of them wished that they would have their own palace with a grand door made from pure gold, instead of their old houses. Some others wished for bags full of jewelry.

All their wishes were fulfilled, but still the citizens of the village were not happy. They were jealous because the person that had a palace had no gold and the person that had the gold had no palace. For this reason, the citizens of the village were angry with each other and stopped speaking to each other. The gardens in the village where children used to play were no more. There were palaces and gold everywhere. The children became terribly unhappy. Only Nasir and his family were happy and contented. Every morning and afternoon he would play the flute.

One day the children of the village took the crystal ball to Nasir. The children said to Nasir, "When we had a small village, we all were happy and joyful." The parents also spoke. They said, "In one way or another, all of us are unhappy. The luxurious palaces and jewelry only bring us pain."

When Nasir saw that the people were really regretful, he said, "Even though the crystal ball asked me to wish for something, I have not done it so far. But if you really want everything to return to its own place, then I will wish for it."

Everyone happily agreed. Nasir took the crystal ball in his hand, turned it around and wished that the village would become the same as it was before. In a moment, the palaces disappeared, the green gardens appeared, and the same old village full of trees was there.

Once again the people started to live happily and the children played under the shade of trees. Nasir continued his contented life every day, playing his flute at sunset. Its sweet sound was heard throughout the beautiful green village.

Moral: We should be happy with whatever we have and not be greedy.

STRONG OR WEAK

Story-6:STRONG OR WEAK

There was a proud teak tree in the forest. He was tall and strong. There was a small herb next to the tree.

The teak tree said, "I am very handsome and strong. No one can defeat me." Hearing this, the herb replied, "Dear friend, too much pride is harmful. Even the strong will fall one day."

The teak ignored the herb's words. He continued to praise himself.

A strong wind blew. The teak stood firmly. Even when it rained, the teak stood strong by spreading its leaves.

During these times, the herb bowed low. The teak made fun of the herb.

One day, there was a storm in the forest. The herb bowed low. As usual, the teak did not want to bow.

The storm kept growing stronger. The teak could no longer bear it. He felt his strength giving way.

He tried his best to stand upright, but in the end, he fell down. That was the end of the proud tree.

When everything was calm again, the herb stood straight. He looked around. He saw that the proud teak had fallen.

Moral: Pride goes before a fall.

THE DEVOTED MOTHER

Story-5:THE DEVOTED MOTHER

A mother duck and her little ducklings were on their way to a lake one day. The ducklings were very happy following their mother and quack-quacking along the way.

All of a sudden, the mother duck saw a fox at a distance. She was frightened, and shouted, "Children, hurry to the lake. There's a fox!"

The ducklings hurried towards the lake. The mother duck wondered what to do. Then she began to walk back and forth dragging one wing on the ground.

Short Stories - Devoted Mother 2When the fox saw her, he became happy. He said to himself, "It seems she's hurt and can't fly! I can easily catch and eat her!" He ran towards her.

The mother duck ran, leading the fox away from the lake. The fox followed her. Now he wouldn't be able to harm her ducklings. The mother duck looked towards her ducklings and saw that they had reached the lake. She was relieved, so she stopped and took a deep breath.

The fox thought that she was tired and he came closer, but the mother duck quickly spread her wings and rose up in the air. She landed in the middle of the lake and her ducklings swam to her.

The fox stared in disbelief at the mother duck and her ducklings. The mother duck had tricked him cleverly. Now he could not reach them because they were in the middle of the lake.

UNHELPFUL FRIENDS

Story-4:UNHELPFUL FRIENDS

Bunny rabbit lived in the forest. He had many friends. He was proud of his friends. One day Bunny rabbit heard the loud barking of wild dogs. He was very scared. He decided to ask for help. He quickly went to his friend deer. He said, "Dear friend, some wild dogs are chasing me. Can you chase them away with your sharp antlers?"

The deer said, "That is right, I can. But now I am busy. Why don't you ask bear for help?"

Bunny rabbit ran to the bear. "My dear friend, you are very strong. Please help me. Some wild dogs are after me. Please chase them away," he requested to the bear.

The bear replied, "I am sorry. I am hungry and tired. I need to find some food. Please ask the monkey for help."

Poor Bunny went to the monkey, the elephant, the goat and all his other friends. Bunny felt sad that nobody was ready to help him.

He understood that he had to think of a way out by himself. He hid under a bush. He lay very still. The wild dogs did not find the bunny. They went chasing other animals.

Bunny rabbit learnt that he had to learn to survive by himself, not depending on his unhelpful friends.

Moral: It is better to rely on yourself than depend on others.

NAILS IN THE FENCE

Story-3: NAILS IN THE FENCE

       A Little Boy who Lived with his Father and Mother in a Small Village. He was only son in his family. Boy’s Parents were Depressed due to his Bad Temper.

The boy used to get angry very soon and Taunt other kids and use angry words. He used to scold kids, friends, neighbors. Because of this his parents got worried. As even if Boy himself Forgot what he spoke in Anger but his Friends and neighbors remembered that and avoid him.

His parents tried many ways to console him and his anger and develop kindness but all got in vain. Finally his Father came up with an idea.

One day His father called him and gave him a bag full of nails. He asked him to hammer one nail to the fence every time he gets angry. At that time little boy found this hilarious But still accepted to do so.

On very first day, the nails he hammered to the fence were 30. Now, every time he lost temper he used to ran toward the fence and hammer a nail to it.

As the little boy found this very difficult and decided to control his temper. Gradually, the number of nails he used to hammered reduced in several days and the day arrived when no nail was hammered to the fence.

He told his father that it was several days that he did not hammer any nail and he did not lose his temper!

Now, his father told him to remove the nails every day as he had controlled his anger. In Some days the boy was able to pull out most of the nails from the fence. However, there remained a few nails that the boy could not pull out.

The boy told his father about the same. The father appreciated him and asked him pointing to the hole, “What do you see there?”

Boy replied ” a Hole in the Fence ”

He told the boy, “The nails were your bad temper and they were hammered on people. You can remove the nails but still see the holes in the fence. Again, you cannot pull out a few nails. The fence never look the same! It has scars all over! You can stab a man with a knife, but the wound will remain there forever. Words are more painful than physical abuse! Use words for good. Use them to embrace the relationships. Use them to show your heart!”

Moral:
Inappropriate Verbal Usage Would Cause Permanent Marks Than Physical Damage..!! So, Let Our Words be Kind and Sweet.

THE APPLE TREE AND THE FARMER

Story-2:THE APPLE TREE AND THE FARMER

Once upon a time, there lived a farmer in a village, beside a forest. He had a big garden that had an old apple tree and other plants, trees and beautiful flowers. When the farmer was a little boy, he spent much of his time playing with the apple tree. Those days, the apple tree had given the choicest of apples to him. However, as time passed, the apple tree became old and stopped bearing fruits.

Now that the farmer was not getting any apples from the tree, he decided that the tree was useless. Therefore, he decided to cut the tree and use its wood to make some new furniture. He felt that since the tree was old and huge, he did not have to cure it, and it would make great furniture. He forgot that as a boy, he had spent his entire childhood climbing the tree and eating its apples.

Now the apple tree was home to several little animals in the neighborhood. This included squirrels, sparrows and a huge variety of birds and insects. When the farmer took his axe and began chopping the tree, all the little animals came rushing down.

They all began to plead with the farmer. They gathered round the farmer and said, "Please don't cut the tree. We used to play with you when you were small, under this very tree. This is our home and we have no other place to go".

The farmer was adamant. He raised his axe and the commotion grew.

"Please don't chop and destroy my home and kids," cried the squirrel.

"Please don't chop and destroy my nest," cried the little birds.

"Please don't cut the apple tree," cried the grasshopper.

The farmer, however, forgot his childhood and his animal friends. He began to chop the tree harder. All the little animals became desperate, and wanted to protect the apple tree at any cost.

The little animals said, "We will sing for you when you are toiling away in the fields. We will look after your little boy. He will not cry, but instead will be entertained and happy. You will like our songs and will not feel tired."

However, their cries for help fell on deaf ears. Despite all their requests, the farmer continued to chop down the tree.

All of a sudden, he noticed something shiny. On inspecting it, he realized that it was a beehive, full of honey. He took a little and put it in his mouth. The taste of the honey woke up the little boy in him. Suddenly, the memories of his childhood came rushing back. The honey tasted so good that he wanted more. It brought a sense of happiness to him. He smiled and exclaimed, "This tastes amazing."

Realizing the change in the farmer's attitude, the little animals spoke in unison: The bee said, "I will always provide you with sweet honey." The squirrel said, "I will share any amount of nuts that you want." The birds cried, "We will sing as many songs as you want."

Finally, the farmer realized his folly, and put down his axe. He understood that the tree was home to many lovely animals that provided him with so many things. He wanted his little boy to have the childhood that he had.

The farmer realized that the apple tree was not that fruitless. The little boy in him saved the apple tree.

He threw away the axe and said to the little creatures, "I promise that I would never cut this tree. I have realized my mistake and you all can now live in peace and harmony."

The little creatures thanked the bee profusely. If the farmer had not found the beehive, they would have been homeless by now. They continued living happily in the old apple tree.

Moral: Each and every living thing in nature is of some use: we should not destroy any living thing.

THE ANT AND THE DOVE

Story-1:THE ANT AND THE DOVE

One hot day, an ant was searching for some water. After walking around for some time, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water.

She could have drowned if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly plucked a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up onto it. Soon, the leaf drifted to dry ground, and the ant jumped out. She was safe at last.

Just at that time, a hunter nearby was about to throw his net over the dove, hoping to trap it.

Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The dove was quick to fly away to safety.

Moral:one good turn begets another.