A Wise Counting Emperor Akbar was in the habit of putting riddles and puzzles to his courtiers. He often asked questions which were strange and witty. It took much wisdom to answer these questions. Once he asked a very strange question. The courtiers were dumb folded by his question. Akbar glanced at his courtiers. As he looked, one by one the heads began to hang low in search of an answer....

The Parrot Six months had passed since Blondine awaked from her seven years’ sleep. It seemed to the little princess a long time. The remembrance of her dear father often saddened her heart. Bonne-Biche and Beau-Minon seemed to divine her thoughts. Beau-Minon mewed plaintively, and Bonne- Biche heaved the most profound sighs. Blondine spoke but rarely of that which occupied her thoughts continually. She feared to offend Bonne-Biche, who had said...

Blondine’s Awakening Beau-Minon Londine slept calmly all night; no ferocious beast came to trouble her slumbers. She did not suffer from the cold and awakened at a late hour in the morning. She rubbed her eyes, much surprised to see herself surrounded by trees, in place of being in her own room in the palace, and upon her own bed. She called her nurse and a soft mewing was the only...

Blondine Lost Blondine grew to be seven years old and Brunette three. The king had given Blondine a charming little carnage drawn by ostriches, and a little coachman ten years of age, who was the nephew of her nurse. The little page, who was called Gourmandinet, loved Blondine tenderly. He had been her playmate from her birth and she had shown him a thousand acts of kindness. But Gourmandinet had one...

Blondine THERE was once a king called Benin. He was good and all the world loved him; he was just and the wicked feared him. His wife, the Queen Doucette, was also good, and much beloved. This happy pair had a daughter called the Princess Blondine, because of her superb fair hair, and she was as amiable and charming as her father the king and her mother the queen. Unfortunately, the...

Elephants and a Rope Suri was a sweet boy and a wildlife lover. He was fond of elephants, the mammoth animals. In fact he was very crazy about elephants. However, he never had a chance to see real elephants. All he saw those mammoth creatures were only in television and computers. He lived in a small town. The place he lived didn’t provide him a chance to visit the elephants. All...

The Wooden Bowl It was a beautiful family of 5. The family had a weak and old man, a man and a wife, and two children, a boy and a girl. The old man was the head of the family and he had only one son, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. The family had a lot of fun and enjoyed the life at its fullest. As a family, all the five...

The Power of Silence Joe was an old man aged 75 years. He lived very happily and formed a beautiful family. His children grew up and moved to different cities in pursue of good career and future. He lived in a small village carrying the memories of his deceased wife. Joe had 4 grand children and they used to visit him during their holidays. And it was the vacation time and...