Building Castles in The Air

           Once there lived a poor young man of a romantic turn of mind, rather given to day dreams. With a very small capital he bought a basket of glassware and opened a shop in the heart of a city. The customers would like the man, and so his articles commanded a good sale.

           One day he was waiting for the customers and was giving a free play to his romantic ideas. Soon he fell into a bliss of deep sleep, leaving the basket of glassware at his feet.

           In course of his sleep he began to dream that his glassware brought him a good profit. With that amount he would start one business after another. He fancied that he would be a. millionaire with a palatial house in the city. The vizier should then give him his daughter in mart His wife would be proud of her high rank and disobey him.

           In course of his dream the young man flew into a great rage to leach his wife a lesson, and fancied to kick her.

           But unfortunately for him, his kick fell on the basket of glassware which broke into pieces. The sound of the crash roused him from his foolish dream. He was shocked to find that his castle in the air had all collapsed. That was the end of all his property and ambition.

The Lion’s Shabb

          In a forest there lived a lion, a fox and a wolf. One day the lion said, “From to-day we are all intimate friends. We shall share our booty equally.” The fox and the wolf gladly agreed.

          One day, they managed to hunt an ass, a deer and a hare. The three hunters stood round the dead animals for the distribution of the booty.

          The lion said to the wolf, “Friend wolf, how are we to divide our booty?” “Very simple,” said the wolf. “You take the ass, let the fox take the hare and let me have nice-looking deer.”
The lion did not like this division. In anger he fell upon the poor wolf and killed him on the spot.

          The lion then turned to the fox and said, “Now, my dear fox, what do you suggest?” The fox trembled to see the fate of the wolf. He said very humbly, “0 Sir, the matter is very easy. Please take the ass for your morning meal, the deer for the evening meal and the hare for your tiffin.”

          “What a nice division!” cried out the lion, “Who taught you such wisdom and justice?” “Well, friend lion, I learned this justice from yonder dead wolf.” So saying the fox ran away never to come back.

Cap-Seller and The Monkeys

          One day a cap-seller was returning home from the market. He sold out almost all his stock, but only ten caps were left. Being tired and hungry, he placed a rug on the ground and sat in the shade of a tree for rest. The day was hot, and there was a gentle breeze. This made him drowsy, and very soon he fell fast asleep with his basket of red caps by his side.
          When he woke up, he was surprised to find that all his caps were gone. Suddenly he heard a sound and looked up. He saw a number of monkeys swinging on the branches, each one with a red cap on his head.
          The cap-seller was now in a fix. To get back his caps, he made various gestures to the monkeys. He even threw stones at them, but to no effect. Then a bright idea dawned on him. In pretended anger he pulled out his own cap and threw it away from him.
          At once the monkeys imitated the cap-seller and threw away all the caps they had stolen. He picked up the caps and went away.
Moral: ‘Necessity is the mother of invention,’

The Father, The Son and The Donkey

          An old farmer and his son were going to a distant fair to sell their donkey. The father was leading the donkey, and the son was beating it from behind. On the way a group of men remarked, “How silly they are! They are walking in the hot sun. One of them can easily ride the donkey and drive it.” So the old man made his son ride the donkey and himself walked by.

          On the way an old man remarked, “Look here! how selfish this stout fellow is  He is riding on the donkey while his old and feeble father is plodding behind it.”

          This remark cut the son to the quick. He got down and the father rode in his place. Some young boys rebuked the father for his selfishness. To please them the old man placed his son also on the donkey’s back.

          They had not gone far when a crowd of people accused them of their cruelty to a dumb animal.

          At this they got down and began to carry the donkey on their shoulder. While crossing a narrow bridge across the river, the donkey fell into the river and was drowned.

The Camel and The Jackal

          In a wild jungle there lived two friends, a camel and a jackal small river flowed in a zigzag course by it. One day the jackal said, “Friend camel, if you carry me across the river, I can show you a fine field of sugarcane. You may.eat to your fill of the sugarcane there and I shall cat crabs on the bank of the river.”

          “What a nice suggestion it is, my friend I” said the camel. “You wish will be fulfilled now.”

          The camel carried the jackal on his back and swain across the river. His joy knew no bounds at the sight of ripe sugar canes.  He entered into the field and began to eat to his heart’s content.

          The jackal ran to the bank of the river. He got plenty of crabs there and soon ate to his fill. To make the camel quickly finish his dinner, he began to run to and fro and howled at the top of his voice.

          The villagers came to the sugarcane field with sticks. They beat the camel mercilessly and drove him out.

          Without a word the camel began to cross the river with the jackal on his back. In the middle of the river the camel began to roll over in deep water. Down went the jackal and he was drowned.


Moral: Tit for tat.

An Old Tiger and The Greedyman

           Once a party of Indians was passing through a jungle. By chance  a tiger sprang upon a lady and ran away with her. He noticed a gold  bangle in her wrist and kept it carefully to serve his purpose in future.

           One day this tiger being very hungry, hid himself by a pool in seareh of food. A thirsty traveller was passing that way. He  saw the transparent water of the pool and began to drink it. To his horror. he saw a tiger in the bushes watching him. But great was his surprise when the tiger greeted him in a mild voice.

           “Ho traveller,” said the tiger, “don’t be afraid of me. I am now old and I have given up leading an unclean life, killing cows and men. I have atoned for my past sinful life. A holy sage has taught me to be kind and charitable to all. Here is a gold bangle for you.”

           The traveller was greedy and his greed soon overcame fear. When he crossed the pool to take the bangle, the tiger lost no time in springing upon the traveller and eating him up.

Moral: Greed leads to ruin,

The Fisherman And His Partner

           Once a rich nobleman lived in a beautiful castle. He arranged to give a grand feast to his friends and relatives. But as the weather was stormy, no fish could be caught. He, therefore, felt worried.

           On the morning of the banquet, a fisherman came with a splendid catch. He asked the fisherman to fix his own price for it. The fisherman said, “The price is one hundred lashes on my bare back.” The nobleman laughed heartily and did not take the man at his word. He said, “I would prefer to give you money, but as we must have the’ fish, we will satisfy you.” He asked his men to strike the fisherman mildly.

           When the fisherman had- received fifty strokes, he cried out, “Stop please. I have a partner and he must have his share.” The nobleman was surprised and said, “Send for the other madcap.”“The other,” said the fisherman, “is your own porter. He let me in only when I promised to give him half the price of my fish.”

           The nobleman called for the greedy porter. He was given fifty lashes and was dismissed. The clever fisherman was then handsomely rewarded.