Short Stories

The Lion and The Hare : Once in a forest there lived a lion who was very proud of his strength. He would kill any animal which came in his way just for fun. All the animals in the forest were worried about their survival. “If the lion keeps this up, none of us will be left in the forest," said the bear. “He kills much more than he really needs to," squeaked the little hare. “We have to come up with something to stop this massacre," said the monkey. So they all joined together and went to meet the lion. “O king of the forest, we have come to make a small request," they all said to the lion. “Now what would that be?" asked the amused lion. “You are the king of the forest, but soon there will be no animals to rule over. So we beg you to stop this unreasonable killing and we promise that one of us will come to you everyday for your food," pleaded all the animals with the lion. So from that day, the animals drew lots to decide on who was to g...

The Lazy Dreamer : Once, in a small village, there lived a poor Brahmin. He was very learned, but did nothing all day. He lived on the alms the villagers gave him every day. One day, as usual, the Brahmin got up in the morning, performed his morning rituals and set out to beg for alms. As he went from door to door, people gave him several things. Some gave dal. Others gave him rice and yet others gave him vegetables. But one generous lady gave the Brahmin a large measure of flour. “Ah! What good luck. I will not have to beg for alms for a long time," thought the Brahmin to himself. He went home and cooked his lunch. After he had eaten, the Brahmin put the flour into a large mud pot and hung it near his bed. “Now, it will be safe from rats," he said to himself as he lay down in his cot for an afternoon nap. He began to think, “I will save this flour until there is a famine. Then I will sell it at a very good price. With that, I will buy a pair of goats. Very soon, I...

Once there lived a kind Brahmin in a small village with his wife. They had a little son. One day, as he was returning home from a nearby village, he came across a baby mongoose crying next to its mother’s dead body. “Oh! poor creature," thought the Brahmin. “If I leave it here it will surely die." He picked it up and took it home with him. “Gowri, I found this little creature on my way home. Let us take care of him," he said to his wife. “Very well along with our son, I will take care of the mongoose also," replied his wife. The mongoose grew up with a lot of love and care in the Brahmin’s house. He slept next to the Brahmin’s son in the cradle, drank milk and played with the boy everyday. The baby mongoose’s days were full of joy in the Brahmin’s house. As both the boy and the mongoose grew up, their friendship changed to a relationship between two brothers. The mongoose grew up fast and as days went by, the Brahmin’s wife began to get doubts in her mind...

The Donkey Who Would Sing A wild donkey once lived in the woods. He had no friends and lived all alone. One day a jackal passing by saw the donkey. He went up to the donkey and said, “What is the matter? Why do you look so sad my dear fellow?" The donkey turned to the jackal and said, “I have no friends and am very lonely." “Well, don't worry. I will be your friend from today," the jackal comforted him. From that day, the donkey and jackal became very good friends. They were always seen together. One moonlit evening, the jackal and the donkey were strolling through the woods. It was a cool and pleasant evening. As they walked on, they came to the outskirts of a village bordering the woods. There in front of them was a grove of fruit trees. “Ah. Look! How wonderful and delicious the fruits look," said the donkey. “Let’s eat some of them." “Okay," said the jackal. “But let’s do it very quietly." They entered the grove and silentl...

Once, there lived a peddler. The peddler sold all sorts of goods….sturdy shoes for the farmers and pretty trinkets for their sweethearts, warm, woolly shawls to keep the women warm and sweet, sticky toffees for the children to munch on their way back from school.  Some days he sold fruits and on other days, kettles. To carry all his wares, the peddler had a donkey. Every morning, the peddler loaded the donkey with his wares. The two would set out and walk from farmhouse to farmhouse, from village to village and from market to market.  The peddler always walked ahead, whistling merrily as he went. The poor donkey followed, trying as hard as he could to keep up with his master and groaning under the weight of his load.  Every evening, their wares sold, the peddler and his donkey would wend their way home. The peddler, pleased with the day's takings, would walk ahead, jingling the pennies in his pocket. The poor old donkey would follow, foot sore and weary from carry...

In a forest there lived a lion. He had grown old and could not run fast anymore. As days went by it became more and more difficult for him to hunt.  One day while he was wandering through the forest in search of food, he came across a cave. He peeped in and smelt the air inside the cave. “Some animal must be staying here," he said to himself. He crept inside the cave only to find it empty. “I will hide inside and wait for the animal to return," he thought.  The cave was the home of a jackal. Everyday, the jackal would go out in search of food and return to the cave in the evening to rest. That evening, the jackal after having his meal started towards home. But as he came closer, he felt something wrong. Everything around him very quiet. “Something is wrong," the jackal said to himself. “Why are all the birds and insects so silent?"  Very slowly and cautiously, he walked towards his cave. He looked around him, watching for any signs of danger. As he got close...

On a lily pad in the little stream that flowed at the bottom of the meadow, there lived an old Frog. He was a big frog and he was very proud of his size. All the other frogs were in awe of him and treated him with the greatest respect.  So did all the other creatures. The shining blue dragonflies that hovered over the stream during the day took great care to keep far out of the reach of his long sticky tongue. So did the little midges that fluttered by in a soft cloud in the evenings. Even the fishes in the stream were careful not to annoy him. The Frog ruled his watery kingdom unchallenged.  The Farmer who owned the meadow by the stream also had an old Ox. The Ox had worked hard for the Farmer all his life. He had helped him plough his fields. Yoked to an old wooden cart, he had carried his crops to market and his children to school. But now the Ox was growing old. He no longer had the strength to work as hard as he used to.  The Farmer was fond of his old Ox an...

The winter had been especially cold. The snow lay thick and heavy on the ground. The squirrels, the badgers and the hedgehogs had vanished into their snug winter homes to sleep away the cold, dark months. The swifts and the swallows had left for warmer countries long ago. Even the slugs and snails had disappeared, hiding away in some dark, warm patch of woodland to wait for the spring. The woods and fields were silent and empty. Only a big, black Crow was hunting for her evening meal.  The Crow had flown all day in search of food. But she had found nothing, not even a tiny mouse or a piece of someone’s leftover lunch. Now she was tired and hungry. She cawed sadly.  “I will have to go without dinner tonight,’ she thought as she flapped slowly across the sky in one last desperate search for something to eat.  She was on the point of turning back when she saw a thin column of smoke coming up into the sky, far away in the distance.  “Smoke means fire and fire ...

The Crow and The Eagle:  It was a bright spring day. The sun was high in the blue sky. A herd of sheep was grazing contentedly on the hillside. The little lambs with their soft white coats and curly tails were playing among themselves. The Shepherd, seeing that his flock was safe and happy, had fallen asleep under the spreading branches of a large old tree.  Suddenly an Eagle swooped down from the sky. It pounced on a little lamb and carried it off so swiftly that none of the other lambs even had the time to bleat. The sleeping Shepherd heard nothing.  A Crow was sitting on the tree under which the Shepherd lay asleep. He had seen how the Eagle had caught the lamb and carried it off to his nest.  ‘What a wonderful way to get dinner!’ he thought. 'Why do crows look for old smelly food?’  The Crow decided to do exactly as the Eagle had done. It had looked easy enough. All he had to do was to decide which sheep he wanted, swoop down upon it, hold it as ...

In a forest close to the river bank mere lived a crane with his wife. They were very unhappy. Every time the wife laid eggs in their nest, a big black cobra who lived in a hollow in the tree, would eat them up. The crane had a friend the crab. He went to his friend the crab and shared his misery. "I feel so hopeless….That sneaking thief has eaten our eggs again," complained the crane angrily.  “Don’t worry," said the crab comfortingly. “You need not be hopeless when you have a friend like me. We will come up with a solution."  The crab sat to think of a plan. Suddenly he jumped up and rushed to the crane.  “Friend, I have a wonderful plan," said the crab and whispered something into the crane’s car.  The crane flew back to his nest and told his wife all about the crab’s plan. He was very excited.  “Are you sure this will work?" asked the wife.  “I hope we are not making a mistake. Think twice before going ahead with the plan."  But th...

One day an elephant wandered into a forest in search of friends.  He saw a monkey on a tree.  “Will you be my friend?" asked the elephant.  Replied the monkey, “You are too big. You can not swing from trees like me."  Next, the elephant met a rabbit. He asked him to be his friends.  But the rabbit said, “You are too big to play in my burrow!"  Then the elephant met a frog.  “Will you be my friend? He asked.  “How can I?" asked the frog.  “You are too big to leap about like me."  The elephant was upset. He met a fox next.  “Will you be my friend?" he asked the fox.  The fox said, “Sorry, sir, you are too big."  The next day, the elephant saw all the animals in the forest running for their lives.  The elephant asked them what the matter was.  The bear replied, “There is a tier in the forest. He’s trying to gobble us all up!"  The animals all ran away to hide.  The elephan...

There lived a heron by a big lake. He used to catch fish and eat them. But he had become old and could not catch fish like before. He went without food for many days together.  “I have to think of a plan. Otherwise I won't live for long," thought the heron. Soon he came out with a clever plan. The heron sat at the water’s edge looking depressed and thoughtful. In the same lake lived a crab who was friendly and thoughtful. As he went past, he noticed how the heron looked and asked him, “Why are you looking depressed my friend?"  “What can I say," said the heron in a sad voice. “Something terrible is going to happen."  “What is that?" asked the crab anxiously.  “When I was on my way here this morning, I heard an astrologer say that there will be no rains in these parts for the next twelve years. The lake will dry up and we will all die. I am quite old. It does not matter if I die. But you all are so young. There is so much for you to see and enjoy,...

This is a short story about Hungry Wolf.  Once, a wolf was very hungry. It looked for food here and there. But it couldn't get any. At last it found a loaf of bread and piece of meat in the hole of a tree.  The hungry wolf squeezed into the hole. It ate all the food. It was a woodcutter's lunch. He was on his way back to the tree to have lunch. But he saw there was no food in the hole, instead, a wolf.  On seeing the woodcutter, the wolf tried to get out of the hole. But it couldn't. Its tummy was swollen.  The woodcutter caught the wolf and gave it nice beatings. 

Once upon a time there lived a lion in a forest. One day after a heavy meal. It was sleeping under a tree. After a while, there came a mouse and it started to play on the lion. Suddenly the lion got up with anger and looked for those who disturbed its nice sleep. Then it saw a small mouse standing trembling with fear. The lion jumped on it and started to kill it. The mouse requested the lion to forgive it. The lion felt pity and left it. The mouse ran away.  On another day, the lion was caught in a net by a hunter. The mouse came there and cut the net. Thus it escaped. There after, the mouse and the lion became friends. They lived happily in the forest afterwards.