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01.A
Happy Cobbler and His Money
Once there lived a happy cobbler who passed his days in working and
singing. A rich neighbour of his was a banker who one day said to him, “How
much a year do you earn?” The cobbler answered loughly. “I never count in this
way but what I can tell you now is that I can somehow maintain my family.” The
banker said, “I am going to end your poverty. Take these gold coins and remove
your poverty.” The cobbler took the bag full of coin and went to his house. He
had never seen so much as a gold coin.
He told his wife about the gold coin. His wife was very wise and she kept
it as confidential. After a few days, the cobbler sold those gold coins and
started to build a palace. Then he left his hut and lived in that palace with
his wife. He left his former job and spent his days in leisure. He appointed
some servants to take care of his daily chores. But it was a matter of regret
that both he and his wife were in trouble. Their happiness faded somehow. They
were not mentally happy as they always remained idle. They did not have a sound
sleep. They often thought about their wealth and were very tensed to save their
wealth.
At last the cobbler went to the banker and told him about their present
condition. The banker understood him well and advised him to take his former
profession. The cobbler decided to do his former job and started doing that.
Then he was able to regain his happiness. In
fact, happiness is a relative factor which varies from person to person. It can’t be possessed
in spite of having vast properties.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Happiness lies in contentment.”
02.A
Poor Man And His Magic Goose
Once there lived a poor man in a village. He had a
peculiar goose which laid a golden egg every day. The poor man earned his
livelihood by selling the golden eggs in the nearby market.
The man was very greedy. He thought that, the goose
laid only one egg a day. so it would take much time for him to be rich. He
thought if he cut the goose, he would get all the eggs at a time. And by this
way he would be rich overnight. So he told his plan to his wife. His was a wise
woman and she was not greedy. So she requested her husband not to do so. But
the man did not pay heed to his wife.
Finally he cut its stomach with a sharp knife. But
alas! There was no egg in it.
The man was sorry. His wife also scolded him. She
said, “You are foolish but greedy. So you have lost all.”
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “ Grasp all, lose all.”
03.A Dog
And A Piece Of Stolen Meat
Once a dog stole a piece of meat from a shop. Holding it in his mouth, he
was running beside a stream. When the dog was crossing a bridge over the
stream, it discovered an image in the water.
He saw another dog carrying a piece of meat in its mouth. The dog stopped
on the bridge and looked down very carefully. He became greedy to get the other
piece of meat. In fact, he saw his own image in the clear water of the stream
and he took it for another dog. So he barked
and jumped into water to have the piece of meat. But alas! When he opened his
mouth, instantly the piece of meat fell into the water. The dog jumped
after the piece of meat.
Alas! the current swept it away
and he failed to get it. He
somehow swam to the other bank of the stream and remained unfed. So we should
be satisfied what he have.
In
fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Greed loses all.”
04. A
Farmer And His Quarrelling Sons
There was an old farmer. He had four sons. They were
all grown up. But they had no good relation with one another. They were
disobedient and always quarreled. So there was no peace in the house and this
made the old man extremely anxious. He tried to bring them to their senses but
failed. At last he hit upon a plan. He called all his sons and asked them to
bring a bundle of sticks.
Each of them told his father “It is quite impossible to break it beacause
the bundle is very strong.” The farmer was an intelligent and exprienced man.
He said to them, “All right. Now I will do one thing for you and you will
please do it.” The sons readily agreed to do that.
Then he untied the bundle. He then gave one stick to each of them and he
asked them to break it. This time each son easily broke his stick.
The sons got curious to know the reason of these activities. They all
said to their father, “Why have you made us do these thing, dear father? What
good will come of it?”
Then the wise father told the sons, “Wait a bit, dear sons, I’m making it
clear to you.” Now the father drew their attention to the tied bundle and the
separate sticks. He clearly explained to them saying “When the sticks are tied
in a bundle, it is impossible for you to break the sticks. But when the sticks are
separate, it is very easy for you to break them.”Then famer told his sons, “If you all remain united and live
together, nobody can harm you and if you are separate, anybody will break you
like the single broken sticks.” So unity is streangth. We can do any
hard task unitedly.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “United we stand , divided we fall”/ “Unity is strength.”
05. A
Liar Cowboy
There was a naughty cowboy who grazed his cows
beside a forest. He used to make fun with the people crying “Tiger!” The people
looked up and saw the cowboy motioning wildly to them and pointing towards his
cows. They threw down their sickles and ran to the cows. But they found the
cows quietly grazing and there was no tiger to be seen.
“Where is the tiger?” They asked.
“ I didn’t say the tiger was here,” here replied the
cowboy, and he laughed aloud and long as he saw the look of surprise in the
men’s faces . They got very angry and left the place. Not many days after,
these same men heard the cry, “Tiger! Tiger!”
Hearing the cry the kind-hearted men left their work
and hurried toward the cows’ pasture.
When they came to the pasture, they knew that he had
been playing another trick on them.
They looked for him, but could not find him. He hid
himself in some bushes where he could look on and enjoy the surprise and anger.
Once day a tiger really came. The was very much
frightened. He ran to the men for help “Oh, you have fooled us twice,” they
said. “You shall not have another chance.”
But the tiger is surely there, cried the boy. It is
killing my cows. Do come and help! But the men kept on with their work and did
not even look at him. The tiger fell upon his cows and killed many. At last it
fell upon the boy and tore and him into pieces.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is“Falsehood brings destruction.”
06. The Selfish
Giant
Once there was a selfish giant who had a beautiful
garden. The garden was full of soft green grass. Here and there all over the
grass stood many colorful flowers like stars. The was a nice playground for the
beautiful children.
The giant was away staying at his friend place. When
he came back he scared the children away from the garden. Bow the children had
no place to play and were sad. hat year spring came all over the country but
not in the giant’s garden. It remained covered
bloomed neither did the birds sing.
One morning he found flowers in the garden, the
birds singing and found children on the branches of the trees. But there was
still winter in one corner of the garden. There was a little boy in that corner
who could not climb the trees. The giant came out and helped him to climb the
tree. He also played with the children. The little child kissed the giant. This
melted the giant’s heart. The children played everyday in the garden after
school. One afternoon the little child was missing. The giant looked for him
daily but couldn’t find him. Years passed. The giant grew old and weak.
One winter morning that very child was again seen in
the garden. The giant ran to him and found that the child had prints of nails
on his palms and feet. The child had said that they were the wounds of love. He
said he wanted to take him to his garden ,which is the Paradise.
That afternoon the children found the giant lying
dead and covered with flowers in the garden.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “God lives with the children.”
07. Shaikh
Sadi And His Dress
Shaikh Sadi was a great poet. He used to put on
simple dress. Once he took shelter in the house of a nobleman. The nobleman
could not recognize him and treated him a s an ordinary man.
Without disclosing identity, the great poet left the
house in the next morning. The nobleman did not know who he was though about the greatness and name and fame of Shaikh
Sadi. After a couple of months, Shaikh Sadi came to the same house to spend a
night on the way back home from the court. But he was then dressed in royal
suit. When he reached the nobleman’s house he was accorded warm reception. The
nobleman entertained him in a different manner. He treated the poet as a great
man though he was still unknown about his identity.
“Why am I respected in this manner?”thought the poet. He understood that the dress that
he wore was the root cause of the variation of entertainment. So he wanted to
teach the nobleman a good lesson. The poet took the foods given him to eat and
began to put them into his pocket. The noble man and all his companions became
surprised at this. What are you doing, sir? asked the nobleman. “These foods
are made for my dress,” replied the poet. The nobleman understood his fault and
sought pardon from the royal guest.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Dress doesn’t make a man great.”
08. Robert Bruce And His
Perseverance
Once there lived a good king in Scotland. His name was Robert Bruce. He
loved hi country and his subjects very dearly. His subjects had a great love
and respect for him. One day his enemies attacked his country and drove him
away from his kingdom.
The king fought bravely but lost the battle. He had to life from his
kingdom to save his life . He took shelter in a remote cave. The king was
always in a gloomy state for his unhappy condition. Once he was lying in the
cave. Then he saw a spider trying hard to reach the ceiling of the cave. The
spider failed again and again to succeed. But it did not give up hope.
Bruce saw the spider climbing to the ceiling after some unsuccessful
attempts This dauntless spider inspired Bruce to shake of the darkness of
despair . He gathered and army of strong men and attacked his enemies. The
enemies courted defeat and Robert Bruce regained his kingdom.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Failure is the pillar of success.”
09. A Hare And A Tortoise
Long ago there lived a hare in a forest. A tortoise also lived nearby.
The hare was proud of his speed. He always teased the tortoise. One day the
hare was going back to his house and at the same time the tortoise was also
returning his house. The tortoise was going without disturbing the hare.
Suddenly, the hare stopped the tortoise and laughed at the tortoise and said. “You
have as many legs as I have. But I am sure, you cannot run as fast as I can. “You
slow coach! I feel pity for your speed’’.
Perhaps, you cannot run at all”.
The tortoise became very angry. He answered quietly, "You can run quite
fast, no doubt. But I think, you can talk even faster than you can run”.
“However, I agree to run a five mile race with you.”At this the hare was
much amused. So he said, “come along, let’s fixed a date for the race.” They
fixed a date. A fox came to see the race. The tortoise and the hare came to the
starting point. The race began. The hare began to run very fast. He jumped and
jumped. He ran a mile in a few minutes. Soon he found the tortoise far behind
him. Then he stopped. He said to himself. “What’s the use of going so fast?
Perhaps, the tortoise has gone only a few yards by this time. So, I can very
well have a good sleep before he comes up.” Saying so, the hare went to sleep
in a bush. In the meantime, the tortoise walked on and on. He did not stop
anywhere. When he came to bush, he saw the lazy hare lying fast asleep. He
smiled and quietly passed by him.
Many hours passed. The hare woke up. He saw that it was already evening.
He immediately got on him feet. He began to run very fast. But alas! The
tortoise had already gone far. He came in sight of the goal. But the tortoise
was already crossing the winning post. The hare felt much ashamed.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Slow and steady wins the race.”
10. An Honest Woodcutter And
The Beautiful Fairy
Once there lived a poor wood cutter. But he was very honest. He earned
his livelihood by selling wood in the market. One day while he was cutting wood
near a river, suddenly, his axe fell into the river. The river was very deep.
The woodcutter did not know how to swim or dive. So, he was sitting there
sadly. Then a wonderful thing happened. A beautiful fairy appeared before the
woodcutter. She asked him in a sweet voice, “Why are you so sad? Why are you
not cutting wood?”
The woodcutter replied sorrowfully, “My axe has fallen into the river. I
can’t cut wood now.” The fairy took pity on him. She went into the river and
come back with an axe. The fairy then showed him the axe made of silver. She
asked him if it was his axe. The woodcutter saw the axe and said, “It’s not my
axe.”
She then again went into the water and returned with an axe. The fairy
showed him another axe made of gold. She asked, “Is this the axe that you
lost?” The woodcutter said, “No, it’s not. My axe is made of iron. It was old.”
Finally she brought the axe of the woodcutter from the water. She showed
him the lost axe with a wooden handle. The woodcutter then said happily that it
was his axe. The fairy became very pleased with the honesty of the woodcutter
and gave him the gold and the silver axes as reward. Then the woodcutter became
rich and began to live happily. So, we must keep in mind that honesty is always
rewarded.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Honesty has its reward.”
11. King Lear, A Tragic
Figure
Once upon a time was a king in England. He had three daughters. He made
up his mind to divide his kingdom among them. He wanted to know firstly, how
much they loved him.
Do you know what the name of the king was? His name was King Lear. He was
a powerful king of England. When became old he wanted to hand over his
responsibilities to his druthers. He loved his youngest daughter, Cordelia very
much. He cherished to offer her the best part of the kingdom. So he called his
daughters in the court. He asked them one after another how much they loved
their father.
At first Goneril, the eldest
daughter was asked about the depth of her love to her father. She declared
before the court: “Sir, I love you more than I can say. You are dearer than my
life itself. I love you with all my heart and I’ll always love you.” The king
was quite satisfied with her statement.
He then turned to the second daughter Regan. She said, “I love you as
much as my elder sister. Indeed I love you more. My love for you will never
change. My happiness is only in loving you.” The king became satisfied more
than before.
He then turned the youngest and dearest one. What can you say to draw a
third more opulent than your sisters? “Speak,”asked the king.
Cordelia : “Nothing , my lord.”
Lear : “Nothing ?”
Cordelia : “Nothing .”
Lear : “ Nothing will come of
nothing , speak again .”
Cordelia : “Unhappy that I am . I
cannot have My heart into my mouth; I love your Majesty. According to my
bond-no more nor less.”
The king could not be satisfied with this, rather he expected more than this . Out of emotion, he
disclaimed all his kinship and blood relationship with Cordelia . She was
deprived of the share of the share of the kingdom.
Elder sisters became the tragic figure when he could not adjust himself
with his elder daughters and went to the jungle . Then only Cordelia, who stood
beside him, was the saviour of the king .
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Nothing will come of nothing.”
12. Two Friends And The Bear
Once two friends were passing through a dense forest. They were very
intimate friends. All on a sudden, they saw a bear coming towards them. Both of
them got afraid. One of them knew how to climb up a tree but the other did not.
He thus climbed a tree nearby without considering what would happen to his
friend.
The other friend became very afraid. He, however, had courage. Soon he
could remember that the bear does not touch any deadbody. So, he lay flat on
the ground like a dead man.
The bear came and smelt his nose, ears and mouth. He thought that the man
was dead and thus left the place quietly. Now the friend who climbed the tree
got down. He went to his friend and asked him “what it is the bear has
whispered in your ear?”
In reply, he told “The bear has given me some good advice. The bear
warned me to be aware of any false friend. He also advised me not to rely on a
person who can leave his friend in danger.”
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is“A Friend in need is a friend indeed.”
13. Who will Bell the Cat?
There was old house in a village. A number of mice lived in that house.
They were doing a lot of mischief there. The master of the house was very annoyed
and made a plan.
He brought a cat to drive the rats away. The rats were deprived of their
precious facilities. Besides, they failed to run the risk of their own lives.
They were being suddenly and frequently killed by the cat. Finding no
alternative of saving themselves, all the mice sat together in a conference.
Most of them present in the conference argued and contrived in many ways.
Towards the uncompromised finishing of the conference a young rat vigorously
stood up and said that a bell might be tied round the neck of the cat so that
they could be easily aware of the sudden appearance of the cat to escape
themselves then and there. All clapped merrily seconding him.
But soon after this, an old mouse said, “The proposal of the young lad is
good and very good, I support. But who will bell the cat?”
At this all were stone still. There was a pin drop silence in the
conference. The meeting ended with no decision and the mice virtually migrated
to save their own lives.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is“It is easy to say but difficult to do.”
14. A Cunning Fox and a
Foolish Crow
One day a crow stole a piece of meat. It flew away and sat on the branch
of a tree. Suddenly a fox came along and stopped under the tree. He sniffed something
good to eat. Looking about, he saw the meat in the crow’s mouth and wanted it.
How could he get meat? The crow would fly away when she saw him coming.
He could not coax the crow to come down to the ground.
At last the fox had a crafty thought. He said to himself, “A crow is one
of the proudest birds I ever know. I will flatter her and she will forget about
the meat.”
So he called out in his sweetest voice, “ Good day, my pretty bird.” But
the crow did not reply. She only stepped about proudly on the branch.
“I wish I had such a beautiful appearance as you have,” said the fox.
Still no answer, but the crow held up her head and turned it first to one
side and then to the other, showing that she was pleased.
“What a graceful neck and bright eye! said the fox. “The other birds may
well be jealous of you.”
NO answer yet. She only raised her wings a little and gazed down upon the
fox.
“If your voice were only as beautiful as your appearance and your dress,
you would be the queen of all the birds; but it seems that you cannot talk at
all. What a pity that you are dumb!”
The crow gave a loud "caw!” As she did so, the meat fell from her mouth.
The fox snapped it quickly and went away.
The poor crow at last understood that the fox was only fooling her but it
was too late.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Never believe a flatterer.”
15. The Wisdom of King
Solomon
King Solomon was renowned as a powerful king all over the world. Everyone
became charmed at his ready wit and excellent wisdom. The queen of Sheba heard
that the King could answer any difficult question instantly.
She hit upon a plan to test the king and made two similar garlands one
was made of real flowers and another was artificial.
She called on King Solomon and asked, “ Oh the wise king ! I have taken
these two garlands for you. Both are similar to look at but only one is real.
Can you choose the real one?”
The garlands were on the table which was near the window. The king looked
at them at a glance and opened the window at once. There were some bees in his
garden beside the window. He found a few of the bees enter the from though the window and sit on one of the garlands of the queen of
Sheba. He instantly could understand which one the real garland was. He then easily chose the
real garland and left the artificial one.
“Long live our wise king”! cried out the Queen. “You are really the
wisest king of the world, æshe added.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the
story is “A man of wisdom can
easily win the heart of
everyone.”
16. Bayezid and His Devotion
to Mother
Once there lived a widow in a village ‘Bostam’ in Iran. She had one child
named ‘Bayezid’. He was the apple of the eye of his mother. He was also very
much devoted to her . one day the mother became very ill. At the dead of night
she cried out, “water! water!”
Hearing the cry, young Bayezid woke up and saw there was o water in the
jug . He at once, went out in search of water. But the source of water was far
away from their cottage. the boy alone
went there and took a jug of water.
When he came back, he saw his ailing mother sleeping again deeply.
Bayezid did not want to interrupt her sleep. He remained standing by her head with a glass of water thinking that she
might cry for water again . He was waiting for the moment when his mother would
wake up again. He was standing still till the Ajan or the dawn prayer.
At the sound of Ajan, mother woke up, and became surprised to see her son
standing by her bed with a glass of water.
“Why are you standing, my boy?” she asked.
“Because, you’re crying for water,” replied the boy.
“But why didn’t you awake me?”
‘’I didn’t want to interrupt your deep sleep’’.
‘’O Allah! include my son with your beloved ones,” She prayed.
The mother burst into tears at the devoted attitude of her young son and
preyed to Allah for his bright future. So Bayezid is still respectable to us
all. We remember his for him extraordinary devotion to his mother.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Heaven lies in the feet of mother.”
17. A Scholar and a Boatman
Once a scholar was going to a place by boat. It was the beginning of the
summer season. The boatman set sail and the boat was advancing smoothly. The
scholar said to the boatman, “Did you read history?”
The boatman said, “No.” The scholar told him, “Without any knowledge of
history one fourth of your life is spoilt.”
The scholar looked at the beautiful scenery and asked again , “Have you
read geography?” As usual the reply of the boatman was “No”. This time the
scholar said , “One half of your life is spoilt.”
Then they were silent for some time. It was afternoon. The scholar broke
the silence and said to the boatman, “Do you know anything about science?” “No,
nothing do I know of science,” was the answer of the boatman.
The scholar said to him , “Your life is of no use. Three-fourths of your
life is spoilt.” Hearing this the boatman remained silent.
All on a sudden, the sky became covered with dark clouds. The
‘Kalboishakhi’ began to blow in the form of a storm. The scholar was very much
frightened.
This time the boatman said to him, “Sir, do you know how to swim?” The
scholar replied in the negative in a pitiful voice. The boatman then said, “The
boat is going to sink. Now I see, your whole life is spoilt. Your bookish
knowledge is of no use here.”
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Practical knowledge is more important than theoretical knowledge.”
18. An Astrologer and a King
Once there was a king in India. He was fond of knowing his future form
the astrologer. One day a clever astrologer happened to visit the capital.
The king came to learn about the name and fame of the astrologer. He at
once invited the astrologer to the court. The king asked him about his future.
He told the king something unpleasant. At this the king got furious and
condemned him to death.
When the astrologer was being taken to the place of execution, the king
asked him. “How long would you live?”
“I’ll die only week before your death” replied the astrologer with a
ready wit. “I’ll receive your Majesty where you are sending me” he cleverly
added.
At this reply, the king turned pale like a dead man and shouted, “Drive
this wretch away and let him not come here again.”
“So goodbye” said the astrologer promptly. Thus he managed to escape from
the king’s wrath.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Ready wit is a great weapon for the wise.”
19. The Fox Without a Tail
One day a fox fell into a trap. He struggled
hard to get free and managed to be free but lost his tail. Without the tail the
fox looked strange. He felt sad and ashamed. He thought and thought and hit
upon a plan. He called a meeting of all the foxes in the jungle.
When all the foxes came to the meeting, the
fox without the tail felt pleased and said, “I’ve made a great discovery. What
use are the tails of? No use at all. Moreover, it makes us ugly. That’s why I’ve
cut my tail. Without my tail I feel so free, light and sportive. I can run
faster than ever before. So cut off your tails as I’ve done.”
The foxes listened to him with attention and
many of them called his suggestion a
good one. Gradually almost all the foxes were moved with the new idea. Again
the fox without the tail had told them about the disadvantages of having tails.
They started to feel their tails like a burden. So, most of the foxes decided, “We’ll
cut our tails off without any delay.”
At that very moment a wise fox said, “He fell
into a trap and lost his tail. Now he looks funny. So he wants us all to look like him. Don’t follow his suggestion.”
Now,
all the foxes started thinking over the point of the wise fox. They found sense
into his speech. The wise fox then said, “Look at your tails. How nice they
are!. Nature has given us this tail. And remember, everything natural to animal
kingdom is beautiful and useful.”
The fox without the tail found that his trick
had been spoiled. So, he ran away. Thus the wise fox frustrated the plan of the
deceitful fox.
In
fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Everything natural to animal kingdom is
beautiful and useful.”
20. The Pied Piper Of
Hamelin
A long time ago the town of Hamelin was faced with a great problem. It
became full of rats. The rats were so big and fierce that they fought the dogs,
killed the cats and bit the babies in the cradles. In no way people of the town
could protect their belongings and even lives from the attack of the rats. So,
they were leaving the town in group.
In this situation, the mayor of
the town called a meeting of the elite persons to discuss their problems and
find a way out. The meeting went on for a long time but there was no result.
Nobody could suggest any solution to the problem.
At that time, a strange person with a colourful flute in his hand appeared
before the meeting. He declared “I will drive the rats from the town.” "How much do you want?" asked the Mayor. "A thousand
guilders", replied the pied piper. "All right", said the Mayor.
"We'll pay you a thousand guilders. When will you set to work?" , asked
the mayor. "Now", replied the pied piper.
The man started walking and the rats followed him. There was a stream of
rats on the road. The people of the town became spell bound watching such a
magical job. They even could not imagine that rats could join such a
procession.
However, the pied piper walked towards the direction of the river flowing
by the town. There was a strong current in the river. The pied-piper suddenly
stopped by the river. But they did not stop. They jumped into the current of
the river and all drowned. Thus the magical power of the piper’s flute freed
the people of the town from the devastation of the rat.
But when the pied piper returned ,the mayor asked him, "Have you
killed the rats?" said the Mayor. “Yes, I have," replied the piper.
"Give me the money you have promised." said the pied piper. "How
funny you are!" the Mayor mocked at the pied piper. "Take only
fifty." said the mayor.
When the mayor refused to pay him one thousand
guilders, he decided to take revenge by killing the children of the city and he
became successful by the majical power of his flute.
In fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Once a promise is always a promise.”
21. King Midas And His
Golden Touch
There was a king named Midas. He was very rich and loved his gold more
than anything else. He had a large kingdom, a good wife and a lovely little
daughter. But he was not happy because he was never content with the heap of
gold he had. He wanted much more.
One day, while he was counting his gold bars and coins, the only
favourite pastime of him, he heard a voice.
“Midas,” said the voice sweetly, “I have come from heaven, I can fulfil
your wish. But it must be just one wish and no more.
“Oh Lord!” said Midas with folded hands, “May I turn everything to gold with my touch?”
“So be it,” said the voice.
Next morning Midas overwhelmed with joy and wanted
to test his power. He touched the bed and it turned into shining gold a once.
Midas, now happy beyond measure, turned all the furniture around him into gold.
He was afraid. He could not eat gold. How then was he going to live? Just then
his little daughter came running to him. Midas hugged her dear daughter and
then being horrified saw his daughter turn into gold. Midas in a desperate
attempt shouted to her at the top of his voice and started shaking her like
mad.
But everything failed to bring her back to life. The
voice said, “If you want to bring back to her to life, your golden touch will
then go from you. Midas agreed. “Then fill a jar with the water of the river
and sprinkle the water on your daughter.” So saying, the voice faded into
silence.
Midas somehow collected himself and ran to the river
as fast as he could. On reaching there he washed his hands in the river-water.
Then he carried water in a jar to the palace. He poured half the water of the
jar on the golden statue of his daughter. The amazing thing happened again. The
little girl became herself once again and started shaking off the water from
her wet clothes.
Midas then hugged her daughter with all the force of
filial love he had in store for his daughter. He kissed her again and again
promising secretly to himself “I will never value gold more than anything.” He
thus learnt a lesson which he never forgot throughout the rest of his life.
In
fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Grasp all, lose sll.”
22. A Lion and A Mouse
Once a little mouse,
while playing, ran across a sleeping lion’s face. The lion awoke in anger,
caught the mouse and was about to kill it. The mouse begged for pardon. It said
to the lion, “I am very sorry, sir. I got a little off balance and ran across
your face just by accident. Please spare my life. One day, perhaps I may be of
use to you.”
The lion laughed and said, “Well, I feel like believing you, I don’t know
why. But I know one thing, when anyone is in danger he or she makes false
promises to get rid of the danger.”
The mouse became sad at heart and said, “No, sir, I am not of that type.
I know how to be grateful and how to repay debts. If I do not get any chance to
be useful to you, I shall at least remain grateful to you for your kindness.”
The mighty beast seemed convinced. He pardoned the mouse and allowed it to go.
The mouse thanked the lion and ran away in joy.
One day, the lion was strolling around as usual. Suddenly he was caught
in a net set by some hunters. He roared loudly in rage, tried his best to get
free but all his efforts ended in vain. No doubt the lion was very strong but
he could not break the net. He went on roaring in rage. The mouse playing
nearby heard the roar of the lion. It got frightened and got ready to run away
at a safe distance.
Suddenly one thing flashed into its mind. It remembered the promise it
made to the lion. So the mouse instead
of running away in fear went to the spot from where the roaring sound was
coming. Seeing the mouse coming, the lion said, “My dear little friend, see my
condition. I am in a real trouble . Will you keep your promise and help me to
get rid of this trouble?” “Of course!
That’s why I am here. Don’t worry. Let me have a try at the net.” So saying,
the mouse first cut one rope of the net with its sharp teeth and then another
and then another and finally succeeded in setting the lion free.
The lion now free from danger and became
so happy and pleased with the mouse that he had the mouse on his back and left
the place laughing. Since then the mouse and the lion became the best friend and their friendship based on mutual trust and confidence lasted till time
unknown. We should be grateful to the person who helped us.
In
fine, we can say in a word that the moral of the story is “Don’t underestimate the power of little one.”
