Short Stories

The Deep inside a forest, there was a pond. Many fishes, crabs and frogs lived in the pond. Theirs was a happy and peaceful life. Among them lived two beautiful fishes named Sahasrabuddhi and Shatabuddhi. They were bigger than the other fishes in the pond. They were very proud of their good looks and intelligence. Animal Stories: The Clever Frog In the same pond lived a frog with his wife. His name was Ekkabuddhi. The fishes and frogs were good friends. They all led an undisturbed life. But one day two fishermen, returning from the river in the forest after fishing. came across the pond. It was late in the evening and as usual all the fishes and frogs were at play. Sahasrabuddhi, Shatabuddhi, Ekkabuddhi and many others joined the game. They leaped high into the air and chased each other. Seeing the beautiful scene the fishermen were amazed and stopped in their tracks. “How beautiful they look?" said one fisherman. “Yes. And so many of them too," replied the ...

There once lived a lion, the king of the forest. He was always accompanied by a jackal and a crow. They followed him every where and lived on the remains of his food. In a village close to the forest there lived a woodcutter. Everyday, he would go into the forest with his axe to chop wood. The Lion and The Woodcutter One day as the woodcutter was busy chopping a tree, he heard a noise behind him. Turning around, he saw the lion looking straight at him, ready to pounce. The woodcutter was a clever man. He quickly said, “Greetings… King of this forest. It is a pleasure to meet you." The lion was surprised. “A pleasure to meet me? Are you not afraid of me?" “I respect you a lot…lion. I was hoping to meet you. You see, my wife is an excellent cook. I wanted you to taste her dal and vegetables." “Dal? Vegetables? Don’t you know that I eat only flesh?" asked the lion in surprise. “If you taste my wife’s cooking, you will stop eating flesh," said the...

Once there were two friends Kanakaksha the owl and Sumitra the swan. Sumitra was the king of the swans. But Kanakaksha was an ordinary owl. He was afraid to let Sumitra know that he was a poor owl. So he told Sumitra that he was also a king and also had subjects. Everyday the owl would fly to the pond where the swan lived. The Owl and The Swan One day as usual, Kanakaksha flew to the pond to meet his friend. “Good morning Sumitra, how are you today?" he asked. “Good morning my friend, I am fine. Just caught up with the usual work of a king – solving disputes among my subjects," replied Sumitra. Just then, one of Sumitra’s subjects came up to him and whispered something in his ear. “Oh!" exclaimed Sumitra. “Kanakaksha, please give me a moment. I have to settle another dispute between two of my subjects." “Very well Sumitra," answered the owl. “I will wait right here." After Sumitra left to find his subjects, Kanakaksha thought to himself, “I...

One day a peacock met a crane and said, “So sorry for you. You have so dull feathers. Look at the fine colours of my feathers." The Peacock and The Crane  “Well!’ replied the crane, “your look are brighter then mine. But whereas I can fly high up into the sky. All you can do is to strut about on the ground."

Once a snake who had grown weak with old age came across a pond where many frogs lived with their king, queen and little prince. The snake had not eaten for many days. He tried to catch some of the frogs, but was too weak to catch any of them. “I will have to think of some solution or I will soon die," the snake thought. The Snake and The Foolish Frogs Just then he saw the frog prince and his friends. They were busy in their game and did not notice the snake. When they came very close, one of them saw the snake and jumped up, “Oh, a snake," he shouted in fear. All of them ran for their lives. But when the snake did not move, the frog prince went up to it. The snake still did not move. “Let me see if he is dead?" said the frog prince and knocked on the snake’s head and jumped away quickly. The snake slowly opened its eyes and said, “Do not worry. I will not get angry no matter what you do." The frogs were very surprised. “I once bit a sage’s son," exp...

There was a lake at the outskirts of a small village. Two swans and a turtle who were good friends lived in the lake. They would play with each other and pass time telling stories. One year, there were no rains and the lake started drying up. “The lake is almost dry. We have to find some other place to live," said the turtle to the swans. “We will fly around and look for a suitable place," said the swans. Both the swans flew in different directions in search of a better place to live. A little distance away, one of the swans spotted a large lake. It had plenty of water and there were many fishes in it. He flew back to tell the others. The three of them were very excited with the find. “Wow! Now we won’t have any problem," said the turtle. “There is only one problem," replied one swan. “The two of us can fly there in no time. But you crawl very slowly. And it is some distance away. You will never reach there." The turtle thought for some time. Suddenly...

There was a large berry tree on the bank of a river. On this tree lived a monkey called Rhesa. He was a clever and good hearted monkey. He offered berries to all the animals and birds who came to the river to quench their thirst. In the river, there lived a crocodile named Magar. He lived with his wife in a cave at the bottom of the river. One day Magar the crocodile came to the river bank to catch his prey. It was a hot and sunny day and Magar had not caught any thing the whole day. Tired and hot, he dragged himself to the shade of the berry tree for some rest. He had hardly closed his eyes when he heard somebody calling out to him. “Hello friend. I am up here." Magar looked up to find Rhesa the monkey smiling down at him. The monkey plucked a handful of juicy berries and threw them down to Magar. “Eat these. They will quench your thirst." “Thank you," said Magar and ate the delicious berries. From then on, everyday, Magar would come to the river’s bank and ea...

There were two goats. Over a river there was a very narrow bridge. One day a goat was crossing this bridge. Just at the middle of the bridge he met another goat. Two Goats There was no room for them to pass. "Go back," said one goat to the other, "There is no room for both of us". "Why should I go back?" said the other goat. "Better you must go back." “You must go back", said the first goat, "because I am stronger than you." "You are not stronger than I", said the second goat. "We will see about that", said the first goat and he put down his horns to fight. "Stop!" said the second goat. “If we fight, we shall both fall into the river and be drowned and instead I have a plan. I shall lie down and you may walk over me." Then the wise one laid down on the bridge and the other goat walked highly over him. So they crossed the bridge comfortably and went on their ways.

A rat and its big family were living in a baker's shop. They scraped the buns and cakes in the bakery. The baker tried his best to put an end to the nuisance of the rats. But all were in vain. At last he brought their real enemy-the cat to solve the problem. In the very next day the cat got some tiny rats for its breakfast. The rat family got worried of the loss of their dear ones. They arranged a meeting soon. They looked for an idea to escape from the cat. In the end, they decided to bell the cat. Then one of the elder rats asked them, who is ready to bell the cat? Nobody said yes. Instead they kept quiet.

This is a short story to teach you that you can not please everyone. A man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said : "You fool, what a Donkey for but to ride is upon?" So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men. One of whom said : "See that lazy youngster. He lets his father walk while he rides." So the Man ordered his Boy to get off and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women. One of whom said to the other : "Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along." Well the Man did not know what to do. But at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said : "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for ove...

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...