The Rose and The Amaranth Amaranth, which was growing beside a Rose, said none day, ‘How beautiful you are, Rose! You are the delight of the gods and of men. I rejoice with you for your shapeliness and your perfume!’ ‘Oh, Amaranth,’ the Rose replied, ‘I live only for a few days and even if no-one picks me, I still wither and die. You, on the other hand, are always in...

The Princess and The Peas One day a young beautiful girl arrived at the palace, claiming she was a princess. The queen had made ready a room for her. And to put her to the test, she placed two peas under the bed and over it she put twenty mattresses and twenty featherdown covers. In the morning, when the young girl woke up, she was aching all over and covered with...

The Poor Devotee Once a very poor man lived in a village. He worked very hard the whole day. But the wages of his labour could barely feed his family once a day. His house was nothing but an old hut with a leaky roof. But all through such misery, the poor man did not ever complain to God. He was also thankful for what he had. He went to the...

The Peacock and The Crane The peacock would often laugh at the crane which, according to the peacock, had very drab plumage indeed. ‘I am dressed in gold and purple,’ the vain bird would say to the crane, ‘while you have absolutely nothing of any beauty on your wings at all.’ ‘On the other hand;’ the crane replied, ‘I can sing to the stars while I fly high in the heavens,...

The Patched-Up Boot Castles, palaces, villas, houses, huts…. how many different types of buildings we live in. Yet! who have been all over the world, can assure you that I have never seen a strange dwelling-place than the patched-up boot, in which I found a mother living with her children. All conversion work to make the boot comfortable and homely had been done by a master builder who was a friend...

The Owl and The Seagull An owl and a Seagull went into business together. The owl did not have any money so he borrowed some. The seagull owned a precious jewel and he put that into the venture as well. The two of them went to board a ship, having decided to start their business in a far off land. But there was a storm and the ship sank. The owl...

The Owl and The Nightingale There was once a nightingale, in a cage by a window, who was in the habit of singing only at night. An owl was puzzled by this and went to ask the nightingale what the reason was. ‘When I was captured,” explained the nightingale, ‘it was day and I was singing. In this way I learnt to be more prudent to sing only at night.’ ‘Are...

The Old Woman and The Healer An old woman whose eyes were inflamed called in a healer and he told her that the eyesight would become faultless again, provided she would pay a very expensive fee for his services. She agreed and he insisted her to keep her eyes shut during the treatment at which time the healer stole all the old lady’s furniture. When he asked the woman for his...