The Four Merchants And The Cat Story

Long ago there lived four merchants, in a village who jointly owned a big shop of grains. The four merchants were great Friends. They all used to work very hard to improve their business. Their hard work payed and their business earned huge profits. One night a group of rats were searching for food in the streets when they came across the merchants shop. They went inside and found huge bag of grains   and decided to stay in the shop and feed themselves. The rats rampaged the storeroom, destroying almost a quarter of the grains.

When the four traders came to the shop in the morning they were surprised to see the damaged caused by the rats. The four merchants were worried. "This is a disaster!" said one of them. "We must find a solution to get away from these rats else our business will be ruined." "Let’s buy a cat and keep it here in our shop," suggested the other. "Great idea! agreed the other three merchants. So, they bought a cat and left the cat in the shop to guard their grains.

The merchants looked after the cat very well and the cat was well fed with milk and fish. They gave her all the attention and care she needed. The cat used to perform her duties very well. Everyday during night, the merchants, left the cat in the storeroom of their shop and used to go home. The cat used to roam freely in the shop in search of the rats. In just a short, she caught and ate up all rats. The four merchants were happy with the cats work as they always found the storeroom neat and tidy, with all the sacks intact. "Ah, it seems the cat has done her job," said the merchants, happily. They decided to take good care of the cat and keep her as a guard in their shop.

One of the merchant said we four should equally take care of the cat so that no other is burdened with extra work. One of the traders said, "As the cat has four legs, each of us should look after a leg. That will ensure we all look after the cat equally." The others friends liked the idea; so, each of the partners took charge of one leg of the cat.

One day, while searching for rats the cat accidentally hit the table and hurt one of its legs. The merchant who was supposed to look after that particular leg immediately cleansed the wound and bandaged the cat's leg. "Don't worry! You will be all right soon, dear!" he said, patting the cat, lovingly. The cat recovered within a few days.  The trader thought let the bandage remain for few more days so that the cat's leg will not get any infection so he did not remove the bandage for a while. One night, as the cat was roaming in the storeroom, she went too close to a oil lamp which was in a corner and knocked it down by mistake. The lamp broke and the cat's bandage caught fire. " Meaaaoooow! Cried the cat, running around panic stricken.

The cat leg was burning and she was desperate to put off the fire, so she began to rub her bandaged leg against a sack. Now the sack caught fire too. The cat jumped from one sack to the other to rub the bandage. One by one all the sacks caught fire and soon the entire shop was in flames. In the morning, when the four merchants came to their shop they were shocked. "We are ruined!" they cried. "What shall we do now?" When they figured out the reason for the fire, they began to blame the partner who took care of the bandaged leg. "It was all because of you!" they shouted at him. "You bandaged the cat's leg that belonged to you and did not remove the bandage; the bandage caught fire and spread all over, destroying the entire shop. You must compensate us for it!"

They started fighting with each other. The villagers gathered and after hearing the whole story advised them to go to the Magistrate. The four merchants went to the Magistrate. The Magistrate, who was a wise old man, listened to the whole story, then said,” It is true that the bandage caught fire. But how did the fire spread? Certainly not because of the bandaged leg. But, because of the three sound legs that carried the cat from one sack to another, setting the entire shop on fire. So, not the fourth partner but the other three are to be blamed. You three, who own the three sound legs of the cat, must compensate your fourth partner for his loss."

The other three merchants realised their mistake and began to beg for mercy. The fourth merchant, who was kindhearted, and a good friend of theirs requested the magistrate to forgive the other three partners. The magistrate advised them, "If you trust an animal to guard your place, this will be the result." The four partners thanked the Magistrate and went home wiser and decided never to fight with each other rather stay united.

 

The Secret of the Farmer's Story

Once, upon a time on a hot summer day a farmer was ploughing his field to sow the next crop. While ploughing suddenly he heard a large sound under the ground. Actually his pick-axe had hit something under the ground which caused the sound. The harder the farmer hit the ground the greater the sound came Clink! Clink! The farmer was surprised and wondered what could be there inside the ground?

He started digging up the ground carefully with all his strength and was amazed to see two big pots full of gold coins buried there. "So much wealth!" the farmer cried with joy. He had never seen so much treasure in his entire life. The farmer was  very happy and decided to take the two gold filled pots home secretly before anybody else saw it. "But that won't be a great idea!" he thought because the farmer had a foolish wife and he feared that his talkative and foolish wife may spread the news around the whole village. 'Once the people come to know about the gold pots, they may think that i have stolen it from somewhere else and may hurt me!" thought the farmer. He was greatly confused as; neither could he leave the treasure there, nor could he take it home.

The farmer thought for a while and came with a plan to test his foolish wife. "I will tell her some story and ask her to keep it a secret. If she obeys me and keeps the secret, I need not fear that she will talk about the treasure." So, the farmer buried the pots of gold again in his field and went home. As soon as he saw his wife, he said, "My dear, Did you hear? The king has a fish inside his belly!" "Is that so?" asked his wife. 'Yes, dear!" said the farmer. "Please keep this a secret and don't let anyone about this". "Of course!" his wife nodded. But the foolish wife wanted to discuss this with her neighbors. That afternoon, as the farmer was taking a nap, his wife went to the neighbors, "Did you hear? The king has a fish inside his belly!” she said.

The news spread across the kingdom. And spreading fast, the news finally reached the to the king himself. The king became very angry and was very upset. He asked one of his courtiers to find out who had been spreading the false rumor.

The courtier went to his friend and asked if he knew about the rumor. Of course! I heard the washer man saying this to me in the morning he said. The washer man, who in turn had heard it from his wife, who in turn had heard it from her sister.... and the chain went on until finally it reached the farmer.

The courtier came back to the palace and informed the king about the farmer who in fact had spread the false news. The king immediately sent his guards to bring the farmer. When the farmer saw the king's guards, he knew his wife had been talking. "What a fool I've been to ask my wife to keep a secret. Now I will have to pay for my foolishness," he thought.

The farmer was bought before the king. "Why did you spread such a silly rumor about me?" asked the king, who was very angry. "Tell me the truth or I shall punish you!" shouted the king. The farmer out of fear decided to tell the truth, " This is the only way I can get away alive," he thought.

"Speak up!" shouted the king. "Why did you spread the rumor?" "I didn't spread the rumor, Your Majesty!" the farmer replied softly. "It was in fact my wife who did it!" "What do you mean?" asked the king. The farmer said, " I wanted to test whether my wife could keep a secret or not. And so I....." "What secret?" the king interrupted. "That I have found two pots full of gold coins!" replied the farmer." TWO POTS OF GOLD COINS!" the king exclaimed. "Where?" Now the farmer realized that once he showed the pots to the king, he would get only a small amount of it as a reward. So, he replied, " I will tell you where it is, your Majesty, but first you must promise me that you will let me take half of the treasure."

The king agreed. The farmer then took the king to his field and showed him the treasure. The king was moved by the farmers honesty" You deserve to keep both pots for speaking the truth, dear farmer," said the king. The farmer was delighted to hear this; he thanked the king and carried his treasure home. Now he had no need to keep it a secret.

The Elephant's Nose And The Crocodiles Colour

Long Long ago, there used to be a very big Forest in India. In this Forest there were all kinds of animals and birds and there were elephants too. But during that time the elephants had very small and stubbed nose instead of a large trunk. There used to be a very cute elephant named Gajju. It happened that one year, it did not rain for many months. All the ponds and lakes began to dry up, and the streams had very little water. The animals in the forest were very thirsty, and were in search of a source of water. A river used to flow not very far away from the forest, and Gajju elephant decided to go there in search of water.

Walking slowly, he reached the river. In that river there lived a crocodile and the crocodile skin was bright green. The crocodile was very proud of his color. As the crocodile saw the elephant, he shouted, "Go away you naughty elephant! We don't have enough water here and If you start drinking, what will be left for me?" The elephant knew that the crocodile was very proud and powerful and he may harm him with his sharp teeth. So, he thought for a while and decided that he will come and drink water from the river once the crocodile is asleep.

In the same river, there also lived a shiny green toad. Whenever the crocodile would be swimming across the river, the toad would jump onto the crocodile's back and enjoy a ride. Over the time, the crocodile was angry giving free rides to the toad. Many times, the crocodile tried to shake the toad off his back, but in vain. "Ha ha ha!" the toad would laugh.

One hot summer day, the crocodile was resting on a rock. The elephant was watching the crocodile secretly from the bushes and seeing him asleep he went to the river silently and began to drink water. Just then, the toad as usual jumped onto the crocodile's back, disturbing his sleep. The crocodile was irritated! He furiously began to swim around the river and shake his body violently. "Now, I shall get rid of you!" he cried at the toad. But, the toad remained unmoved on the crocodile's back.

Suddenly, the crocodile noticed the elephant drinking water from the river. "How dare you drink from my river when you not to?" he shouted at the elephant. The crocodile was already frustrated because of the toad and so the crocodile decided to  show all his anger on the elephant. He caught the elephant's trunk with his sharp teeth and began to pull the elephant into the river. The poor elephant started to pull back, crying, "Let go of me....please! Leave me....my nose is paining!" But the crocodile showed no mercy. Then, with a mighty jerk, the elephant succeeded in freeing his trunk from the crocodile. But, in tug of war, the elephant's nose had become really long! The elephant was so angry seeing his long nose that he sucked all the water from the river. The toad was watching the fight from a corner of the river. He laughed seeing the elephant with a big nose. The elephant then sucked some mud from the river with his trunk and sprayed it on the crocodile and the toad. Since then, it is said, elephants have had long trunks, and crocodiles and toads are not bright green anymore.

Sincere Work Pays Off

Long ago, there lived a king named Ashoka. He was a great scholar. The king always believed in honesty and hard work. The king always desired to see the people in his kingdom to work honestly and follow the principles. The king's favorite proverb was- work is worship.

One day, king Ashoka decided to find out whether the people in his kingdom followed his ideals or not. So, he called some of his ministers and said, "Travel around the kingdom and find out what jobs the people have undertaken, and whether they are performing their duties sincerely or not. Find the person who knows the secret of hard work, and bring him to me. But no one should know that you have been sent by me." "As you wish, you’re Majesty!" said the courtiers and took leave of the king. 

"The king has given us a difficult task to perform," said one of the ministers."Let's start right away." "But many people know that we are the king's ministers," said another. "The  people may identify us." Among them there was a minister name Rama and he suggested, "Let's disguise ourselves as tribal men." So, they all dressed up as tribal men, boarded a bullock cart and set out on their way.

They came across a woodcutter, who was cutting trees with his big axe.” Let’s talk to him," said Rama to the fellow ministers. They stopped their bullock cart and walked up to the woodcutter. "O woodcutter, do you like your job?" The woodcutter paused for a while and flung his axe aside and said with gloomy face,” Not at all! I do it because this work has been inherited by my ancestors." Rama and his fellow ministers boarded their bullock cart and proceeded on their path. After travelling few more miles, and they came upon a washer man. Rama walked up to the washer man. "Hello, dear washer man," he said. "It seems you are enjoying your work!" The washer man became angry and began to beat the clothes harder. "Is this work enjoyable?" he retorted. "It's a punishment for me. When I was a child, I did not show much interest in studying. I never listened to my parents and never worked hard. So, I could not qualify for a good job. Now my family is dependent on me and I have to do this job to feed them."

Rama went back and boarded his bullock cart. They continued their journey and after going a few miles, they saw a young man who was studying seriously. "What are you doing, young man?" asked Rama. The young man replied humbly "I am a teacher". I am reading this book so that I can teach my students tomorrow. It gives me great satisfaction to spread my knowledge.

"Can you explain me the secret of hard work?" asked Rama. "Of course I can!" replied the teacher. "Work is worship! No matter what you do, you must love it and do it sincerely." Rama and his group took the teacher to the king. After listening what the ministers said the king was pleased by the teacher and said, I'm going to built a big school for you and your students. Many people took inspiration from this incident, and ever since then hard work and sincerity was deeply valued by the people of the kingdom.

Wedding Of The Lion

Once upon a time, in the forests of Gujarat in India there lived a young lion. All the animals in the jungle were afraid to go near the lion. "Never get close to that lion for he is very furious," the monkeys would instruct their young ones. "Get inside the cave, children, it's time for the lion to go for his evening stroll," the bears would warn their cubs. Actually, the lion only looked fierce, but in real he was very gentle and kind hearted.

After a few years the lion grew quite bigger and finally reached a marriageable age, and so he started looking for a suitable match. Within a few days, he arranged his marriage to a beautiful lioness in the same jungle. After consulting the priests, an auspicious date was set. The lion wanted to invite all the animals of the jungle. "Maybe this way I can make them realize that I am not all that bad," thought the lion.

The lion went through the forest, inviting all the animals he met. "You must come to my wedding, dear elephant," said the lion,” to blow the trumpet!" "Y... Ye...sir! D....D....definitely!" said the elephant. Then lion said to the monkey,” You are good dancer, dear friend! You must come to my wedding to entertain the gathering!" The monkey nodded and leapt away. "Please collect some fresh honey for the rituals, dear bear!" said the lion. "Sure...." said the bear, avoiding the lion's gaze. In this way, the lion invited the crow, the cat, the elephant, the fox, the jackal, the monkey, the bear, the camel and the giraffe. But on the day of the wedding, none of the guests arrived at the venue. The lion felt very sad.

The other day when the bear met the elephant he asked the elephant,” Why didn't you go to the lion's wedding?" The elephant replied, "I am strong, but I still fear the lion." Then he asked the bear, "Why didn't you go there, friend?" "I couldn't collect sufficient honey! The lion would have been upset and may have even killed me," replied the bear. The monkey said that," I am so afraid of the lion that I may not have been able to dance." "It is Indeed true, friends!" said the wise crow, "We can't share our happiness with someone we are afraid of!" It was because of the animals fear no one attended the gentle lion's wedding. If only they knew- don't judge a book by its cover.

The Beggar And His Pan Cakes

Once upon a time, in India there lived a beggar with his wife. The couple used to beg   food for the whole day in the village. At night they return home and eat the offerings the collected and go back to sleep. The husband's favorite dish was do Pan-Cakes". I wish I could buy some pan cakes he would constantly say. One day, he got lucky. A kind lady gave him some left-over pan cakes batter. The beggar brought the batter home and found that there was no firewood to cook it on." I will go to the near-by jungle and cut some wood away," he said and went to the forest. When he reached the forest, he found a tree, climbed it, and started to cut a branch with his axe. All the time the beggar was dreaming of delicious pan cakes.

While cutting the trees the beggar suddenly heard a loud roar. To his horror, he saw a fierce demon thundering towards him. "I am the lord of this jungle, and you did not even ask me before cutting the trees!" The terrified man babbled, "Forgive me, sir! I was only cutting firewood for my wife. She is going to make pan cakes for me!" The demon's face changed. Did you say pancakes? I love pan cakes! I will let you go if you promise me to get some pancakes for lunch!" "Gladly!" promised the relived man and hurried home with firewood.

The beggars wife was waiting eagerly for him. She made fire from the wood and prepared several delicious pancakes. The beggar started to eat heartily. "This is so tasty!" exclaimed the man, chewing happily. After eating as much as he can he remembered what the demon said so he asked his wife "I hope there are ten pancakes left for the demon". The wife cried and said that, there was no batter left to make pan cakes for the demon. Oh my god! what do we do now? He’s going to eat us both!" cried the man.

Just then the couple heard the demon approaching their house. His wife hid inside a basket, and he hid behind a pot after locking all the doors. The demon banged on the door." Open up!" he said. Hearing no response, he broke down the door and roared, "Where are my pan cakes?". The couple trembled. The demon searched all the pots for pancakes but in vain as he found nothing. "Nothing here!" he fumed. In a fit of rage, he kicked a vessel. Unfortunately, it was filled with pepper powder. The powder flew into the air and got into his eyes. "My eyes!" he screamed in agony. With his eyes stinging terribly, the demon rushed out of the house. The relived couple came out of hiding. 

The Brave Monalisa And The Witch

Long ago, in a certain village in Russia there lived an old couple, who had just one daughter, named Monalisa. They lived in small cottage, but they were comfortably off. One day Monalisa's mother became very ill. So she called her daughter to her, and gave her a small doll. She said "Listen, my dear daughter," take great care of this little doll, and don't let anyone know about this doll. If you ever get into trouble, give the doll something to eat and ask her advice. She will eat the food and will help you in your trouble."

She gave Monalisa a last kiss, and soon after she died. Monalisa's old father mourned the loss of his beloved wife, after some time he married again, thinking he would find his daughter a second mother. But all he gave her was an unkind stepmother. The new wife had two daughters of her own, who were stupid and fussy, and not at all good-natured. Their mother was very fond of them, but she made Monalisa's life a misery. She was always scolding her, treating her unkindly, working her hard. And her daughters were just as bad. They did their best to make her look thin by overworking her, and to spoil her good looks by exposing her to the sun and the wind. All day the girl heard nothing but: "Get on with cooking the dinner, It is time you sweep out the home. Fetch some firewood, the fire is going out. Have you milked the cows yet? Do not stand there doing nothing, get a move on. You must work faster." Monalisa was very willing, she did everything they asked, was always trying to please them, and managed the work very well. And with every day she grew more and more good-looking. She was too beautiful to be described. And she found the little doll of great help. Early every morning she got some milk, shut herself away in the pantry, gave the doll the milk, and said to it:"Drink up, Dollie, and listen to my troubles." The doll drank the milk and comforted the girl, and did all the work for her. Monalisa would sit quietly somewhere in the shade, before anyone else was up, while the doll weeded the flower beds, fetched water, lit the stove, watered the cabbages. The doll even showed Monalisa certain herbs that would protect her from sunburn, and so the girl grew more beautiful than ever.

Then a day came when her father had to be away from home for some time. It was late autumn, and it was dark outside the cottage; rain was falling, and the wind was howling. So the stepmother and her daughters would not set foot outside the house. All around the village was a deep forest, and in the forest lived the witch: she ate people as if they were chicks.

The stepmother gave all the girls work to do; one of her daughters was to make lace, the second to knit stockings, while Monalisa was to spin. She put out all the lights except one small glimmer where the girls were working, and then lay down to have a sleep. But the birch splinter which the girls were using for light crackled and spluttered, and at last went out. "Now what are we to do?" the stepmother's daughters wondered. "There is not a light anywhere in the house, and we have our work to do. Someone must go to the witch  and get light."But I shall not go," the elder stepdaughter said. "I am knitting lace, and the crochet hook gives me all the light I need."And I shall not go either," the second stepdaughter said. "I am knitting stockings, and the needles give me all the light I need." And they both cried at once: Monalisa you must go for the light. Go to the witch and get the light. Saying so they pushed the girl out of the house. All around her Monalisa saw only the dark night and the deep forest, she heard only the angry wind. She burst into tears, and took the doll out of her pocket."My darling Dollie," she said, "they are sending me to the witch for light. And the witch eats people and crunches the bones."Do not worry," the doll told her. "I'm there to help you. So long as you have me no harm will touch you. Monalisa thanked dollie, for her kind words and she set out to go to the witch's hut. All around her the forest stood like a wall; she could not see any stars shining, and the bright moon did not rise. She walked along trembling, pressing the doll to her breast. Suddenly a horseman galloped past her; he was dressed in white, he was riding a white horse, and the horse's harness was bright. Dawn began to break. As Monalisa went on she stumbled, and hurt herself against a stump. Dew clung to her dress, her hands were icy with cold. Suddenly a second horseman galloped past; he was dressed in red, was riding a red horse, and the horse's harness was red. The sun rose. It caressed Monalisa warmed her, and dried the dew on her dress.

All day she walked on. Towards evening she came to a glade. She looked into the glade and saw a hut; all round it was a fence made from human bones. On the fence were human skulls; human legbones served instead of a gate, there were hands instead of bolts, and sharp teeth acted as the lock. At this sight the girl was terrified: she stood rooted to the ground. Suddenly a horseman rode past; he was dressed entirely in black, was riding a black horse, and the horse's harness, too, was black. He galloped up to the gate and vanished as if he had been swallowed into the earth. Night came on. And as darkness fell all the eyesockets of the skulls on the fence began to glow, and it grew as light as day in the glade. Monalisa trembled with fear. She could not move, her feet would not carry her away from the fearful spot. Suddenly she heard and felt the earth quivering and shaking as though rocked by an earthquake. It was the witch on her way home; she was riding in a mortar, using a pestle to urge it on, and sweeping away her tracks with a besom. She cried "Pfooh! Pfooh! The place stinks of a Russian soul. Who is here?" Monalisa went up to her, bowed very low, and spoke very humbly and said "It is Me , Grannie," Monalisa. "My stepmother's daughters have sent me to you to get a light."Ah, yes," the witch said. "Your stepmother's a relation of mine. Well, you can stay and work for me, and then we will see about the light." Then she shouted: "Hey, my powerful bolts, unfasten yourselves! My broad gates, open for me!. Monalisa followed her. By the gate a oak tree was growing; it tried to clasp Monalisa with its branches."Do not harm the girl, oak tree," the witch said. "I have brought her in. At the door steps a dog was lying; it tried to bite Monalisa."Do not touch her; I have brought her in," said the witch. In the porch a cat tried to scratch Monalisa. "Do not touch her, cat, I have brought her in," the witch said again. "As you see Monalisa," the witch said, "it is not easy for you to escape from me. If you do so the cat will scratch you, the dog will bite you, the oak tree will lash out your eyes and the gates will not open. Monalisa trembled with fear but she bravely went into the hut and sat on a bench. The witch came in after a while and called:"Hey, swarthy child, get me some food. A swarthy young girl ran in and began to feed the witch; she brought a soup made of beetroot soup, a bucket of milk, twenty young chicks, forty ducklings, and two pies, as well as endless quantities of bread, butter and jam. The witch ate and drank the lot. She gave Monalisa only a small piece of bread. "Well," the witch said, "Take this bag of millet and sort it out seed by seed. Take out all the black seed. And if you do not get it all done I will kill and eat you. After saying so the witch went to sleep. Monalisa took the piece of bread, fed her doll, and weepingly said:"Dollie, please eat the bread and listen to my troubles. The witch has given me a difficult task and she says she will kill me if I do not finish it. The doll replied "Do not cry Monalisa". Better go and lie down to sleep. You will feel better after a good sleep." As soon as Monalisa went to sleep the doll cried: "Little birdies, sparrows and doves, fly here my friends and save Monalisa from harm. At once all sorts of birds came flying up in great numbers. Trilling and cooing, they set to work to sort the millet, putting the good grain into a sack, and the black grains into their crops. They sorted out all the grain seed by seed, and cleansed it of all the weed seeds. Just as the task was finished a white horseman on a white horse galloped past the gates. The next day morning the witch woke up, and at once asked "Well my dear child Monalisa, have you done the work which I gave last night?"It is all done, Grannie," she answered. The witch became very angry as she was planning to eat Monalisa, but there was nothing she could do. "Well," she grumbled, "I have to go out now to fetch something. But take that sack over there; in it peas are mixed with poppy seed. Sort them all out, seed by seed, and put them into two heaps. And if you do not get it done I will eat you. She went out and whistled, and the mortar and pestle rolled up to her door. A red horseman galloped past. The sun rose. The witch seated herself in the mortar and rode out of the yard, using the pestle as a stick, and sweeping away her tracks with a besom. 
Monalisa immediately took a piece of bread, fed the doll, and said: "Have pity on me, Dollie dear. Help me. The doll replied in a loud voice: Dont worry and started shouting "Hurry to me, field mice, house mice, granary mice! The mice came running up in large numbers. And in an hour they had sorted all the peas from the poppy seeds. Late in the afternoon the swarthy child laid the table, and waited for the witch to return. A black horseman galloped past the gate. Night fell and the skulls the eye sockets began to burn, the trees creaked, the leaves rustled. The bony-legged witch was on her way home. The witch came inside and asked "Well, have you completed my task Monalisa?". "It is all done, Grannie," the girl answered. The witch was furious, but she could do nothing. "In that case," she said, "go to bed, and sleep and I need to take rest as well." Monalisa went to lie down behind the stove. But before she could get to sleep she heard the witch say:"Swarthy girl, make the stove really hot, get a blazing fire going. When I wake up I am going to cook Monalisa. Then she stretched herself out on a bench, covered her feet, and started to snore so loudly that she could have been heard all through the forest. Monalisa lay in her corner, weeping. But then she took out her doll and set a crust of bread before it. "My darling Dollie," she said. "Eat the bread and listen to my troubles." The doll ate the bread, and then told Monalisa that all she had to do was to escape from the witch. So the girl went to the swarthy child, and bowed to her. "Help me, swarthy child," she pleaded. "Do not burn the wood, but make it only smoulder by wetting it with water. Here, take my silk handkerchief as a present." "All right," the girl said, "I will help you. I will take a long time over lighting the stove, and tickle Witch"s feet to make her sleep more soundly. And you run away home, darling. Monalisa asked the swarthy child "But do you think one of the horsemen will catch me ? "Will they come back to catch me?". "Oh no," the girl answered. "The white horseman is the broad daylight, the red horseman is the golden sun, and the black horseman is the dark night. They will not hurt you." Monalisa ran out into the porch. The cat rushed at her and tried to scratch her. But Monalisa threw a piece of bread towards the cat , and it did not touch her. She ran down the steps. The dog jumped up and tried to bite her. But she threw him some bread. And the dog let her go. She ran through the yard. The oak tree tried to lash her eyes out. But she tied it with a ribbon, and the oak tree let her go. The gates wanted to swing shut against her. But she greased their hinges with grease, and they opened for her. But now the black horseman galloped past; in the forest it grew darker than dark. How could she ever find her way home without a light? Her stepmother would beat the life out of her if she returned without it. But once more the doll instructed her what to do. She took a skull off the fence, and set it on a pole. Then she ran through the deep forest, and the eye-sockets in the skull shone so brightly that the dark night was lit up like day. After a long sleep the old witch woke up and stretched herself. She went to catch Monalisa to cook her. The witch searched everywhere in the house but in vain and then she realised that Monalisa would have escaped. Thinking so she ran into the porch. "Snarling cat," she said. "The girl ran past you. Why did you not scratch her?" "I have served you for ten years, Oh witch, and you have never even given me a piece of bread. But she gave me bread to eat, so I let her go" replied the cat." Then the witch rushed into the yard and cried:"My faithful dog, why did you not bite the disobedient girl? But the dog answered: "I have served you all these years, and you have never even thrown me a bone. But she gave me bread, so I let her go." The witch screamed in anger:"Oak tree, my oak tree, why did you not lash out her eyes ?" "I have been growing in your yard for ten years, and you never tied up my branches even with string. But she bound me with ribbon, so I let her go." "My powerful gates, why did you not close and shut in the disobedient girl?"asked the witch. "We have served you so long, and you never even poured water on our hinges. But she greased them with grease, so we let her go. The witch was furious, and she started beating the dog, shaking the cat, chopping down the oak tree, breaking down the gate. But she did not try to go after. 
Monalisa meanwhile ran all the way home. When she arrived she saw there was still no light in the house. Her stepsisters ran out and shouted at her. "Why have you been so long bringing the light?" they demanded. "We simply cannot keep any light going in the house. We hope the light you have brought will stay alight. They carried the skull into the best room, and there the skull's eye-sockets glared at the stepmother and her daughters so fiercely that they were burnt with fire. They tried to hide from the skull, but wherever they ran the glare of the eye-sockets followed them and found them. By the morning they were burnt into ashes. The next day morning Monalisa took the skull and buried it in the ground, and a rose bush sprang up in the spot where she buried the skull. 
Monalisa did not feel that she wanted to remain in the house alone, so she went to the town and began to live with an old woman who was her mother's distant relative. One day she said to the old woman:"Grannie, I am bored with sitting here doing nothing. Buy me some flax, the very finest you can get. The old woman bought the flax, and Monalisa sat down to spin it. The work flew so fast in her hands that the spindle hummed. The thread came away even and fine, like a golden hair. Then she set to work to weave the thread, and she weave linen that could go through a needle eye just like a thread. Then she bleached the linen whiter than snow. "Now, Grannie," she said, "go and sell the linen and keep whatever money you get for it The old woman replied "No, I shall not sell it". "It is too good. Only a prince should wear such linen. I will take it to the prince. When the prince saw the linen he was astonished at its quality. "What do you want for it?" he asked."Such linen is without price," the old woman answered. "So I have brought it to you as a gift." The prince thanked the old woman and sent her home with presents. The servants wanted to make a shirt for him from the linen, but when they saw it no one would undertake the task: it was too fine for them to handle. So the prince sent for the old woman and said: "As you have been clever enough to weave such fine linen, now make me a shirt from it."It was not I who span and wove it, prince," the old woman answered. "It was the girl Monalisa. "Well then, let her make the shirt," he told her. The old woman went back home and told Monalisa what the prince had said. The girl made the shirt, trimmed it with silks, and decorated it with seed pearls. Then the old woman carried it back to the palace. Monalisa sat down at the cottage window to do some embroidering on a tambour. Suddenly she saw one of the prince's servants come running along the street. He hurried up to her window, and told her:"The prince requires you to go to the palace." So she went to the palace. And when the prince saw how beautiful she was he stood rooted to the spot. "I do not intend to let you go away," he said. I want you to be my wife. He took her white hands, seated her at his side, and there and then they celebrated the wedding. Soon after they had got married. Monalisa's father returned home from his travels and came to know about the whole story that took place in his absence from the villagers, and he went to live in the palace with his daughter. Monalisa took the old woman who had helped her into her service. And she always carried the doll in her pocket. Monalisa and the prince lived happily for ever.

The Prince And His Flying Carpet

Long ago on a very hot day, a young Prince, in India, had been hunting all the morning in the jungle, and by noon had lost sight of his attendants. So he sat down under a tree to rest and to eat some cakes which his mother had given him.

When he broke the first one he found an ant in it. In the second there were two ants, in the third, three, and so on until in the sixth there were six ants and the Ant-King himself.

"I think these cakes belong to you more than they do to me," said the Prince to the Ant-King. "Take them all, for I am going to sleep."

After a while the Ant-King crawled up to the Prince's ear as he lay there dreaming, and said, "We are much obliged for the cakes and have eaten them up. What can we do for you in return?"

"I have everything I need," replied the Prince in his sleep. "I cannot spend all the money I have, I have more jewels than I can wear, and more servants than I can count, and I am tired of them all."

"You would never be tired of the Princess Lalun," replied the Ant-King. "You should seek her, for she is as lovely as the morning."

When the young Prince awoke, the ants were all gone; and he was very sorry for this, because he remembered what the Ant-King had said about the Princess Lalun.

"The only thing for me to do," he said to himself, "is to find out in what country this princess lives."

So he rode on through the jungle until sundown, and there beside a pool a tiger stood roaring.

"Are you hungry?" asked the Prince. "What is the matter?" 

"I am not hungry, but I have a thorn in my foot which hurts me very much," replied the tiger.

Then the Prince jumped off his horse and looked at the tiger's foot. Then he pulled out the thorn and bound some healing leaves over the wound with a piece of cloth which he tore off his turban.

Just as he was ready to mount his horse again, a tigress came crashing through the jungle. 

"How nice!" she cried. "Here is a man and we can eat him."

"No, indeed," replied her husband. "He has been very good to me. He has taken a thorn out of my foot and I am grateful to him. If he wants help at any time, we must give it to him."

"We would much better eat him," grumbled the tigress, but her husband growled so in reply that she bounded off into the deep jungle.

Then the Prince asked the tiger if he could tell him the shortest way to Princess Lalun's country, and the tiger told him it was across three ranges of hills and through seven jungles.

"But," said the tiger, "there is a fakir or holy beggar in the next jungle to this, and he has a magic bed which will carry you anywhere you wish to go. Besides this, he has a bag which will give you whatever you ask for, and a stone bowl which will fill itself with water as often as you ask it. If you can get these things you certainly can find the Princess Lalun."

Then the Prince was very much pleased and set out to find the fakir. He found him sitting under a tree on the edge of the jungle, his bed on one side of him and the bag and bowl on the other side.

The fakir sat very still for a long time when he heard what the Prince wanted, and then he asked, "Why do you seek the Princess Lalun?"

"Because I want to marry her," replied the Prince very earnestly.

"Look into my eyes while I hold your hands," said the fakir, and as the Prince did so, he saw that he was one who could be trusted.

Then the fakir agreed to lend him the things and to take care of his horse until the Prince came back.

"Now lie down on the bed and wish yourself in the Princess Lalun's country," said the fakir, and, taking the bag and the stone bowl in his hands, the Prince stretched himself on the bed.

Then the Prince said, "Take me to Princess Lalun's country," and no sooner had he spoken, than off he went, over the seven jungles and over the three ranges of hills, and in less than a minute he was set down within the borders of the kingdom where the Princess Lalun lived.

The name of the Princess's father was Afzal, and he was the king or Rajah of that country. So many princes had sought his daughter in marriage that he was tired of saying "No" to them. Then he tried the plan of giving them impossible tasks to do and so getting rid of them in that way, but still they kept coming, and at last Rajah Afzal concluded to keep foreigners out of his kingdom altogether. So he issued an verdict that no one was to give a night's lodging to a stranger.

So when the Prince came to an old woman's cottage and asked if he might spend the night there, she told him that the Rajah would not allow it.

"Cannot I bring my bed into your garden and sleep there?" he asked. "And cannot I have supper with you?"

"I have nothing for supper but rice," said the old woman, shaking her head. But the Prince pleaded so hard to let him come in that she consented, and he put his bag on her table.

Then he spoke to the bag. "Bag, I want something to eat!" and all at once the bag opened and there was a fine supper for two people. So the old woman ate with, the Prince. The food was delicious and was served on gold plates with gold spoons.

When they were done eating, the old woman said she would go to the well for some water.

"You need not do that," said the Prince, and then he tapped the bowl with his finger. "Bowl!" he cried, "I want water!" At once the bowl filled with water and the old woman washed the gold plates and spoons.

"If you will let me stay with you a little while," said the Prince, "you may have the plates and spoons for your own." Then he ordered the bowl to fill with water again and washed his hands in it.

Then the Prince said, "My bowl gives me all the water I want, and my bag gives me everything else I ask for. They belong to a holy fakir, and he might be angry if you turned his things out of the house to-night."

The old woman sat very quiet for a long time and then she said, "The anger of a Rajah is something to be dreaded, but that of a fakir might be far worse."

"Did you count them?" asked the Prince. "There are twelve gold plates and twelve gold spoons." The old woman nodded, and put them away under her bed. "You may stay," she said, "but be careful that the Rajah's soldiers do not catch you."

By this time it was night and the Prince and the old woman sat in darkness, for there was no lamp in the house. "The Rajah does not allow lamps to be used," she said. "His daughter, the Princess Lalun, sits on the roof of her palace at night and shines so that she lights up the whole country."

Just then a beautiful silver radiance filled the room, and when the Prince stepped outside he saw that the Princess was sitting on the roof of her palace. Her saree or dress was of silver gauze, and her dark hair floated almost to her feet.

She wore a band of diamonds and pearls across her head, and the light that came from her was as beautiful as that of the sun and the moon and the stars together.

"The Ant-Rajah was right," said the Prince. "Her beauty turns darkness into light, and night into day. I should never be weary of the Princess Lalun."

At midnight the Princess came down from her roof and went to her room. Then the Prince sat down on his bed with his bag in his hand. "Bed," said he, "take me to the Princess's palace!" So the bed took him where she lay fast asleep. Then he shook the bag. "Bag," he said, "I want a lovely shawl, embroidered in red and blue and gold!" The bag gave it to him and he spread it gently over the Princess. Then the bed carried him back to the old woman's cottage.

The bag gave the Prince and the old woman breakfast and dinner and supper the next day, and when night came the Princess again sat on the roof. This time her saree was of white silk covered with diamond butterflies, and she shone more gloriously than before.

At midnight the Princess went to her room again, and then the Prince told his bed to take him again to the palace. He said to his bag, "Bag, I want a very beautiful ring!" The bag gave him a ring set with rubies, which he slipped on the Princess's hand as she lay asleep, and then when she woke the Prince told her who he was.

When the Princess saw what a noble, handsome young man he was, and heard that he was the son of a great Rajah, and that he was the one who had brought her the magnificent shawl the night before, she fell in love with him and said she would tell her father and mother that she wanted him for her husband. Then the Prince went back to the old woman's cottage.

The Rajah Afzal, Princess Lalun's father, sent for the Prince the next day, and told him he might marry the Princess because she wished it.

"But first," said he, "you must do this for me. Here are eighty pounds of mustard-seed, and you must crush the oil out of them in one day."

"It is impossible," said the Prince as he went away from the palace. "How can I do it?" And when the old woman heard of it she said, "It is quite impossible. Only an army of ants could do it."

Then the Prince thought of the Ant-Rajah, and at the very minute he thought of him, the Ant-Rajah and all his ants crept under the door and into the room.

"If I do not crush all the oil out of this mustard-seed before to-morrow morning, I cannot marry the Princess Lalun," the Prince said, showing the bag to the Ant-Rajah.

"We will attend to it for you," replied the Ant-Rajah. "Go to sleep and leave it to us." When the Prince awoke in the-morning there was not a drop of oil left in the mustard-seed, and with a light heart he took it to the King.

"That is very good, indeed," said Rajah Afzal, "but I have something else for you to do. One day when I was out in the hills I caught two demons, and I have them here shut up in a cage. I want them killed, because they may break out some day and harm my people. You may marry the Princess Lalun if you can kill them."

"How can I fight two demons?" the Prince asked the old woman when he was back in her cottage.

"Only a couple of tigers could do it," replied the old woman; and as soon as the Prince remembered his tigers they came in at the door.

"Take us to the King," said the tiger.

When the Prince asked the Rajah if the tigers might fight the two demons, he said they might do so, for he was very anxious to get rid of the demons. So all the court went to see the fight, and the tigers killed the demons.

But when the Prince said, "Now you will give me your daughter," Rajah Afzal replied, "There is only one thing more. If you can beat my kettle-drum you shall marry the Princess Lalun."

"Where is your drum?" asked the Prince.

"Up there in the sky," replied the Rajah.

"I don't know how I can get up into the sky," sighed the Prince. "This is the hardest task of all." So he went back to the cottage and said to the old woman, "My ants crushed his oil, my tigers killed his demons, but who is to get up into the sky and beat his kettle-drum?"

"You are rather stupid," said the old woman. "If your bed carried you across seven jungles and over three ranges of hills, don't you think it can take you up into the sky?"

"It is very singular I never thought of that," cried the Prince, and then he sat down upon his little bed. Up into the sky it flew, where he beat the kettle-drum so loudly with the handle of his hunting-knife that the King heard him.

"The wedding shall take place as soon as you like," said the Rajah when the Prince came down again; and so the Prince sent the bed and the bowl and the bag back to the fakir.

Then invitations to the wedding were sent to all the kings and queens of the neighboring countries; and after they were married the Prince took the Princess Lalun home to his own country.

The Lost Camel

There was a city called Mysore, in India. The City was famous for all the riches that sea and land can yield, and inhabited by people speaking different languages. In that city ruled a king name Vikram, who was a great ruler with all excellent qualities. He was so just a king that during his reign the cow and the tiger peacefully quenched their thirst side by side in the same pond, the cats and the rats sported in one and the same spot, and the kite and the parrot laid their eggs in the same nest, as though they were “birds of a feather.”The women never deviated from the path of virtue, and regarded their husbands as gods. Timely rain refreshed the soil, and all Vikram’s subjects lived in plenty and happiness. In short, king Vikram was the body, and his subjects the soul of that body, for he was upright in all things.

Now there in Mysore lived a rich merchant who lost his camel one day. He searched for it without success in all directions, and at last reached a road which he was informed led to another city, called Madras, the king of which was named Chandra. King Chandra under him had four wise ministers. These four ministers, for some reason, were unhappy with the king, decided to leave the kingdom, and set out for another country. As they journeyed along they observed the track of a camel, and each made a remark on the peculiar condition of the animal, judging from the footsteps and other indications on the road.

On the way they met the merchant who was searching for his camel, and, entering into conversation with him, one of the travellers inquired if the animal was not lame in one of its legs; another asked if it was not blind of the right eye; the third asked if its tail was not unusually short; and the fourth inquired if it was not suffering from any disease. They were all answered "Yes by the merchant" who was convinced that they must have seen the camel, and eagerly demanded where they had seen it. They replied that they had seen foot prints of the camel, but not the camel itself. The merchant accused them of having stolen the camel, and immediately applied to king Vikram for redress.

After hearing the merchant’s story, the king was equally impressed with the belief that the travellers would have stolen the camel, and sending for them threatened them with severe punishment if they did not confess the truth. How could you four know, the king demanded, If the camel was lame or blind, or whether the tail was long or short, or that it was suffering from any disease, unless you people have it in your possession? In reply, they each explained the reasons which had induced them to express their belief in these particulars. 

The first traveller said: “I noticed from the footmarks of the animal that one was missing, and I concluded accordingly that it was lame of one of its legs.”

The second traveller said: “I noticed that the leaves of the trees on the left side of the road had been snapped or torn off, while those on the right side remained untouched, hence I concluded that the animal was blind of his right eye.”

The third traveller said: “I saw some drops of blood on the road, which I noticed had flowed from the bites of flies, and so I concluded that the camel’s tail was shorter than usual, As a result of which he could not brush the insects away.”

The fourth traveller said: “I observed that while the front-feet of the animal were planted firmly on the ground the back ones appeared to have scarcely touched it, hence I guessed that they were contracted by pain in the belly of the animal.”

When the king heard their explanation he was much struck by the cleverness of the four travellers, and giving 500 gold coins to the merchant who had lost the camel; he made the four young men his principal ministers, and bestowed on each of them several villages as free gifts.

The Nightingales Predictions

Long ago in a town in holy Russia, there lived a rich merchant along with his wife and  only son. The son was a very clever, and brave boy called Ryan. One lovely day Ryan sat at the dinner table with his parents. Near the window in the same room hung a cage, and a nightingale, a sweet-voiced, gray bird, was imprisoned within. The sweet nightingale began to sing its wonderful song with trills and high silvery tones. 

The merchant listened and listened to the song and said: "How I wish I could understand the meaning of the different songs sung by these beautiful birds! I would give half my wealth to the man, who could explain to me all the different songs of the different birds."

Ryan took his fathers words seriously and no matter where he went, no matter where he was, no matter what he did, he always thought of how he could learn the language of the birds. Some time after this Ryan happened to be hunting in a forest. The winds rose, the sky became clouded, the lightning flashed, the thunder roared loudly, and the rain poured heavily. Ryan took shelter near a large tree and saw a big nest in the branches. Four small birds were in the nest; they were quite alone, and neither father nor mother was there to protect them from the rain. The good Ryan pitied them, climbed the tree and covered the little ones with his "shawl,". The thunderstorm cleared and the small birds mother came flying and sat down on a branch near the nest and spoke very kindly to Ryan. "Dear Ryan, I'm Indeed thankful to you; since you protected my little children from the cold and rain and so I want to do something for you in return. Tell me what is u'r wish." Ryan answered; "As of now I have nothing to ask; I have everything for my comfort. But can you teach me the birds' language." "Stay with me three days and you shall know all about it" said the mother bird.

Ryan remained in the forest for three days. The mother bird taught Ryan the birds language. He understood well the teaching of the big bird and returned home more clever than before. One beautiful day Ryan was sitting with his parents when the nightingale was singing in his cage. His song was very sad, so very sad, that the merchant and his wife also started crying, and their son, their good Ryan, who listened and understood the song, was even more affected, and the tears came running down his cheeks. "What is the matter?" asked his parents; "what are you weeping about, dear son?" "Dear parents," answered the son, "it is because I understand the meaning of the nightingale's song, and because this meaning is so sad for all of us." "What then is the meaning? Tell us the whole truth; do not hide it from us," said the father and mother.

"Oh, father i cannot speak to you about the truth!" replied the son. "How much better would it be never to have been born!" "Do not frighten us," said the parents, alarmed. "If you really understand the meaning of the song, tell us at once." The nightingale says: 'The time will come when Ryan, the merchant's son, shall become Ryan, the king's son, and his own father shall serve him as a simple servant.'"

The merchant and his wife felt deeply troubled and began to ignore their son, their good Ryan. One night they gave him a drowsy drink, and when he had fallen asleep they took him to a boat on the wide sea, spread the white sails, and pushed the boat from the shore. For a long time the boat danced on the waves and finally it came near a large merchant vessel, which struck against it with such a shock that Ryan awoke. The crew on the large vessel saw Ryan and pitied him. So they decided to take him along with them and did so. High, very high, above in the sky they saw cranes. 

Ryan said to the sailors: "Be careful; I hear the birds predicting a storm. Let us enter a harbor or we shall suffer great danger and damage. All the sails will be torn and all the masts will be broken." But no one paid any attention and they went farther on. In a short time the storm arose, the wind tore the vessel almost to pieces, and they had a very hard time to repair all the damage. When they were through with their work they heard many wild swans flying above them and talking very loud among themselves. "What are they talking about?" inquired the men, this time with interest.

"Be careful," advised Ryan. "I hear the birds saying that the pirates, the terrible sea robbers, are near. If we do not enter a harbor at once they will imprison and kill us." The crew quickly obeyed this advice and as soon as the vessel entered the harbor the pirate boats crossed by and the merchants saw them capture several unprepared vessels. When the danger was over, the sailors with Ryan went ahead. Finally the vessel anchored near a town, large and unknown to the merchants. 

A king ruled in that town who was very much unhappy by three black crows. These three crows were all the time shouting and perching near the window of the king's chamber. No one knew how to get rid of them and no one could kill them. The king ordered notices to be placed at all crossings and on all prominent buildings, saying that whoever was able to relieve the king from the noisy birds would be rewarded by obtaining the youngest Anna, the king's daughter, for a wife; but the one who should have the daring to undertake but not succeed in delivering the palace from the crows would have his head cut off. Ryan attentively read the announcement, once, twice, and once more. 

One fine day Ryan went to the palace. He said to the servants: "Open the window and let me listen to what the birds are saying." The servants obeyed and Ryan listened to them for a while. Then he said: "Take me to your king." When he reached the room where the king sat on a high, rich chair, he bowed and said: "There are three crows, a father crow, a mother crow, and a son crow. The trouble is that they desire to obtain your royal decision as to whether the son crow must follow his father crow or his mother crow."

The king answered: "The son crow must follow the father crow." As soon as the king announced his royal decision the crow father with the crow son went one way and the crow mother disappeared the other way, and no one has heard the noisy birds since. The king gave one-half of his kingdom and his youngest daughter Anna to Ryan, and a happy life began for him.

In the meantime his father, the rich merchant, lost his wife and his fortune also. There was no one left to take care of him, so the old man went begging for his living. He went from one door to another, from one village to another, from one town to another, and one fine day he came to the palace where Ryan lived, begging humbly for charity. Ryan saw him and recognized him, ordered him to come inside, and gave him food to eat and also supplied him with good clothes, asking questions: "Dear old man, what can I do for you?" he said. "If you are so very good," answered the poor father, without knowing that he was speaking to his own son, "let me remain here and serve you as one of your faithful servants."

"Dear, dear father!" recognize me cried Ryan. I'm your son "Remember you doubted the true song of the nightingale, and now see that our fate was to meet according to the predictions of long ago." The old man was frightened and knelt before his son, but Ryan remained the same good son as before, took his father lovingly into his arms, and together they wept over their sorrow.

Several days crossed by and the old father felt courage to ask his son, the :"Tell me, my son, how was it that thou didst not perish in the boat?" Ryan laughed and said "I presume," he answered, "that it was not my fate to die at the bottom of the wide sea, but my fate was to marry the Anna, my beautiful wife, and to serve my beloved old father."