The Lovelorn Lion and The Peasant A lion was unfortunate enough to fall in love with the beautiful daughter of a peasant and he went to her father to ask for her hand in marriage. The peasant was worried about his daughter’s future, but didn’t have the courage to refuse the lion openly. ‘My daughter,’ he pretended, ‘is allergic to teeth and claws. Come back after you have removed them and...

The Gift of The Fox The forest was buzzing with activity. All the animals and birds were dressed in their best. They were all carrying colourfully packed gifts and heading for the lion’s den. It was the lion king’s birthday and he had invited everyone. At the den, all the animals were present but the fox was absent. The wolf was jealous of the fox. So he got a chance to...

The Lion and The Ass The lion had decided to go hunting and had chosen the ass as his companion, for he had thought of a way to make use of its distinctive braying. The silly ass was extremely proud at being chosen as the lion’s companion and with complete docility, he allowed the lion to dress him up in a cloak of leaves, thinking that this must be the correct...

The Lion and His Partners The goat, the sheep and the cow went into business with the lion. Just as in every company, it was agreed that costs and profits would be divided equally. It happened that they trapped a deer and held a shareholders’ meeting in order to apportion it out. In fact, the lion was most meticulous about dividing the catch into four equal parts. ‘I shall take the...

The Jealous Sole Once upon a time in the sea, there was a loud argument about which fish was the fastest swimmer. The dispute grew so bad tempered that at last some of the senior fish demanded that a race should take place to determine the matter once and for all. Amongst the competitors was the sole a very arrogant fish always sneering at the others. When the race was over,...

The Horse and The Wolf Once, a horse was grazing in a field when he saw a wolf approaching. The frightened horse pretended it had a limp. Knowing that horses are strong, the wolf thought it would be cunning. ‘Why are you limping?’ asked the wolf. ‘I’ve put my hoof on a thorn,’ replied the horse. The wolf said, ‘That looks like a serious wound. I’ve studied medicine. Perhaps you’d like...

The Honest Woodcutter Inder was so poor that he owned nothing except the axe he needed to earn his living as a woodcutter. One day, by a stroke of ill fortune, while he was working on the bank of a river, the blade of his axe flew off the handle and sank into the river. Poor Inder was desperately unhappy. Now how could he cut the wood which had always earned...

The Hen with The Silver Eggs One day, in an Arabian city, a woman went to the market and bought a beautiful hen. You can imagine her surprise, later when the hen laid a silver egg. If the hen could only be persuaded to lay more than one egg each day, the woman was sure she would never have to work again. Therefore, the woman decided that the hen must eat...