One Good Turn Deserves Another   Once a swarm of bees had put up their hive in a tree that stood on the bank of a river. They remained busy collecting honey all the day. One day a bee felt thirsty and went to the river. As it tried to drink water, the water carried it away. So, it was about to drown. Fortunately, a dove was sitting on the branch...

Unused Riches are Useless Once there was a miser having a lot of gold. He melted it down in a lump and buried it in a pit. He was very happy that he had hidden his gold safely. So, he kept gloating over his treasure almost all the time. He used to visit the spot regularly where he had hidden the gold. One of his friend’s was keeping an eye on...

Beauty is Not Eternal Once there was a gardener having a beautiful garden of flower-plants-mostly rose plants. By chance a lily plant blossomed near a rose-bush. Lily is believed to yield flowers that never fade and have an everlasting beauty. But the rose flowers have a short life. The lily said to the rose, “How beautiful you are! What an aroma you possess! No wonder, you are universally a favourite flower....

Spot Your Foe Before You Hit Once there was a bee-keeper who had developed a good apiary. He used to take good care of the bees and they gathered a lot of honey in the hives. Once the bee-keeper went to the market for some urgent work. The bees had also gone to collect honey and the apiary was left unguarded. Unfortunately, a thief came there and broke into the apiary....

Appearances are Often Deceiving It was a very cold day in the winter season. A crow was flying here and there searching for food. Suddenly, he saw a snake lying curled up in a sunny spot. It was sun bathing because of extreme cold. It lay quite motionless indeed. So, the crow thought it to be dead. The crow swooped down and carried it away in his claws. He decided to...

Disguise Never Works Once upon a time a donkey was grazing in a pasture just near the edge of a forest. After satisfying his appetite, he strayed into the forest. All of a sudden, he saw a lion-skin lying near a bush. How happy the donkey was! He dreamt of passing himself as king of the forest after putting on the lion=skin. So, he took it up and wore it. Then...

Never Be Double Faced Once a rabbit was wandering in a forest when a dog saw it from a distance and made for it at the top of his speed. The rabbit, seeing the dog approaching it, took to it’s heels to save itself from being killed. As the dog was getting nearer and nearer the rabbit could not run anymore and hid under a bush. In no time, the dog...

Live and Let Live Once there was a big pool near a village. The villagers used the water of the pool for drinking and for other purposes also. The pool was abounded with fish. Once a fisherman went fishing to the pool. He cast his net into the pool and sat down. But he was very impatient. So, he tied a long string to a small stone. Then putting it into...