A Farmer And His Son

ENGDIC.ORG
Once a farmer had three grown-up sons. They always quarreled among
themselves. Their father advised them to live in peace but it had no effect on
them. He was worried about their future. One day the farmer fell seriously ill. He
sent for his sons. He asked them to collect a handful of sticks which they did at
once. He tied the sticks into a bundle.

Now, he asked them to break the bundle one by one. They tried hard to break it
but none could. At last, the farmer untied the bundle and asked each of them to
break each stick. They did so quite easily. Their father said, "My dear sons, you
could not break the sticks as long as they remained tied together but you broke
each single stick quite easily. They were strong in bundle but became weak when
separated from one another. Never forget that united we stand and divided we
fall."
This had a deep effect on the farmer's sons. They gave up quarrelling and began to
live in peace.

Moral: United we Stand and divided we fall.

 The Donkey Trapped In His Own Trick
ENGDIC.ORG
A villager had a donkey. He earned his living by transporting goods from place to
place on that donkey. One early morning, he loaded the donkey with salt and set off
to the town. A stream ran across his way to the market. As the donkey walked
through the stream it slipped and fell down. A good deal of salt was washed away
and the donkey felt light. The donkey thought it was quite a good trick to make the
load light.
Next morning, the man again loaded it with salt.
The donkey played the same trick and got light.
The master saw through the game and made up
his mind to teach the donkey a good lesson. Now,
on the third day he put a bale of cotton on the
donkey. The silly animal tried the same trick once
more. Soaked with water, the cotton load became
much heavier than when it was dry.

Moral: Do not play foul Games

 A Foolish Stage ENGDIC.ORG
One hot summer day, a Stag went to a pool to drink water. The pool water was
clear. It could see its reflection in the water. It felt proud of its beautiful horns. But
when it saw the shadow of its thin legs, it felt sad and hated them. While it was
still thinking of its ugly legs, it heard the sound of the horse's hoofs of a huntsman
and the barking of hounds. It ran for its life as fast as its legs could carry it. In no
time it left the hounds far behind.

Now it happened to pass through a thick forest.

As it rushed through, its horns got caught in the
branches of a tree. It struggled hard to free itself
but all in vain. Meanwhile, the hunter and his
hounds came chasing it. The hounds fell upon it
and killed it- The legs it hated had carried it away
from the hounds while the beautiful horns
brought about its death.

Moral: All that glitters is not gold

A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed
ENGDIC.ORG

Once upon a time two very close friends lived in a village. As time passed their
friendship grew thicker and thicker. Now they were grown up men. One day they
decided to go and find work. They set off. Before leaving their village, they
promised to stand by each other through thick and thin. They took oath of sincerity
and assured each other of help in the hour of need. They had to pass through a
jungle. They had not gone far into the thick forest when they found themselves face
to face with a big bear. The bear began to move towards them. They felt helpless
and terrified. One of them knew how to climb a tree. He at once caught hold of a
strong branch and swung up the tree. The other could not climb. He had heard that
the bear does not eat the dead. So he lay down on the ground and held his breath
pretending to be dead. Meanwhile, the bear came to him and shifted him. The bear
left him. When the bear had gone out of sight, the friend on the tree came down.
He asked his friend, "Dear friend, what did the bear whisper in your ear?" The
other replied quickly, ''The bear advised me not to trust a selfish friend." Saying this
he left him and went away.

Moral: A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed

 Hastes Makes Wastes ENGDIC.ORG

A hunter had a beautiful hound that always went hunting with him. The faithful dog
was a fast friend of the hunter's only son who loved to play with the dog. The
master also loved the hound for its friendship with his young son who was only ten
years old. The master of the house had no one else in the house.

One day, the hunter went out hunting but forgot to take the hound with him. His
son was still asleep in his bed. As he reached the edge of the forest he found that
he had forgotten to bring the hound with him. He decided to go back and bring the
hound. He came home but was afraid to see his hound all bloodstained standing at
the gate. The hunter thought that the hound had killed his son. He whipped out his
sword and killed the dog.

He quickly walked into the house and saw blood pools here and there. Just then, he
saw his son coming out of his room. The boy told his Father that a wolf had come
into the house and was about to kill him when the hound pounced upon it and tore
it to pieces. The hunter began to cry at his haste in killing the faithful creature.

Moral: Hastes makes wastes

 The Tailor and Elephant ENGDIC.ORG

A tailor ran a shop in a town. He was a good natured jolly fellow. A man in the town had a
pet elephant. The elephant went drinking at a pool out of the town daily. It passed by the
tailor's shop. The tailor gave him a bun every day. In course of time, they became good
friends and were well pleased to meet each other. The tailor always waited for the elephant
to come to him and the elephant was also there at the usual time.

One day, the tailor had a dispute with one of his customers. He was feeling unhappy and
cross. Meanwhile, the elephant arrived and put his trunk into his shop through the window
to receive the friendly bun as usual. The tailor instead of giving a bun, pricked its trunk with
a needle. The elephant felt hurt at this but silently went his way to drink.

The elephant quenched his thirst and then filled his trunk with dirty, muddy water. It came
back quickly, put its trunk in, and emptied it. The whole shop looked as if it was plastered
with mud. All the fancy dresses and rich wedding robes were mud-stained and badly spoiled.
The tailor was sad but it was too late.

Moral: It is well said, "Look before you leap."

 The Clever Cat and Vain Fox ENGDIC.ORG
One day a cat and a lox happened to meet in a forest. The fox said to the cat, "Good
morning, where are you off to? Let's have a chat. It's all safe here." The cat stopped
and greeted the fox and said, "Mr. Fox, I think it is not safe to stop here for long. I
usually see hunters about here.“

The fox replied, "Oh, never mind the hunters. I know some of the tricks to dodge the
hunters. Do you also know any such a trick?" The cat said. “I only know how to climb
a tree in time of danger.” The fox was vain and looked at the cat with contempt. He
said, "Ah! Poor soul, Is that all? How can you escape death if your single trick fails?
Shall I teach you some sure tricks?“
Just then the cat saw a huntsman approaching with a
pack of hounds. It said, "Look! There come the
hounds. Goodbye." It climbed up the nearest tree and
cleverly saved her life. The hounds came upon the vain
fox very soon. The fox ran for his life but the hounds
overtook him before long and tore him to pieces.

Moral: Pride hath a fall.

 A Big Reward ENGDIC.ORG

Once a hungry wolf was devouring his prey. In a bid to finish it quickly, he swallowed
a big bite of the flesh but a bone also went in and got stuck in his throat. It hurt him
Very much. So he decided to go to a crane to get help from him. He said, “Well dear
friend, I Am in a great trouble. Please pick out the bone in my throat.” The crane was
afraid lest the Wolf should bite off his head. But the wolf assured him of safety and a
big reward besides, for the service. At last, the crane agreed to do the needful. It put
its long beak into the throat of the Wolf and pulled out the bone. The wolf was very
happy now. The crane demanded the Promised reward for his service. The wolf, at
once, said, “Isn't it a big reward that I have not bitten off your head when it could
not have escaped my teeth.”
The crane hopped away disappointedly.

Moral: Pride hath a fall.

 The Jester and the king ENGDIC.ORG

Once upon a time a king had a jester in his court. The king was so fond of him that
the jester enjoyed every kind of liberty of speech. He did not even spare the lords
and ministers. So much so that he began to ridicule even the king but no one could
dare to complain against him. This made the jester bold and proud. He cared for
none.
One day while the king was holding a court and was busy in serious state affairs, the
jester made fun of the king. Dead silence fell on the court. The king got highly
offended and sentenced the jester to death. The jester bent down over his knees and
begged for mercy but the king was so angry that he turned down his request.
At last, when the jester pleaded for mercy again and again, the king said, "Die you
must but I grant you the freedom to choose the kind of death you like."
The clever jester at once used his ready wit and took good advantage of the
concession saying, "Your Majesty! I choose to die of old age." The king was
impressed and forgave the jester with a warning for future.

Moral: It never pays to overreach yourself