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...