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 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 Clever Wife And The Lazy Husband

Long ago, in a small village in India there lived a farmer and his wife. The farmer was very lazy and never wanted to work, and was always looking for an easy way to get food. One fine day, the farmer while crossing through a garden saw a mango tree full of juicy mangoes. The farmer climbed up on the compound wall of the garden to steal the mangoes.

It was the garden of a rich merchant. The garden also had a pond full of fish. As soon as the farmer noticed the fish, he jumped into the compound. He saw that no one was watching him so he plucked some juicy mangoes and also caught a few fishes from the pond. Stuffing both in his bag, he ran home. "Here, I have brought some good food today," he said to his wife, taking out the fish and some mangoes from his bag.

The farmers wife was excited to see such delicious food as they had not eaten mangoes and fish for a long time. But then she thought for a while," He never goes to work; how did he manage to bring home the mangoes and the fish?" She took the bag from her husband and asked," Where did you get these from, dear?" The husband said with pride," I stole them from the rich merchant's garden." The wife was shocked to hear this!" 

The farmer's wife thought to herself earlier my husband was lazy, but now he has become a thief too! How shameful! "So, the clever wife decided to teach her lazy husband a lesson. She pretended to be happy and said," Good that you stole from the merchant's compound; there are plenty of mangoes and fish there. I will prepare a delicious feast today. Go and take a bath in the meantime." With happy thoughts of the feast, the man went to take a bath while his wife went into the kitchen to cook the fish. As she prepared the meal, its mouth-watering aroma spread in the entire house. "I can't resist the temptation!" thought the lazy man, finishing his bath, quickly. His mouth began to water. "Come quickly, dear!" called out his wife. "The food is almost ready."

When the clever wife saw her husband coming, she quickly untied her hair, picked up the pan of fish in her hand and stood up. As soon as her husband entered the kitchen, he saw a horrid-looking figure staring at him. "How dare you steal from my garden?" yelled the wife. "W...What! Your garden!" asked the man, scared. "Yes, I am the ghost guarding the garden," replied the wife, angrily. "I saw you stealing from my mango tree and my pond! Now I have taken possession of your wife's body. And I am going to kill you!" Hearing this, the man fell to his knees and begged for mercy." Then go and throw this vessel of fish into the pond and swear by me that you won't be lazy anymore, and that you will work hard, and that you will never steal again," said the wife. "I promise, O Ghost!" said the man.

The farmer took the vessel of fish and threw it in the pond and vowed never to steal again. From that day on, he was a changed man and not lazy anymore. Thus, the clever wife had taught her Lazy husband a valuable lesson.

The Clever Old Granny

Long ago in ancient India there lived a old woman with her only son and her son's wife. The old woman was blind. They were very poor. The old woman used to pray to God every day. Every day God would appear before her and say, 'Old woman, I am moved by your devotion. I will grant you one desire. So ask me for something, tell me what you want.'

The old woman always replied politely, "I don't know what to ask for". There is nothing that I want. God would say, 'Then ask your son and your daughter-in-law for advice - they may be able to tell you what to ask for.' But the old woman wouldn't. This went on for a long time. One day the old woman gave in and agreed to do as God suggested and ask her son and her daughter-in-law for advice. When she asked her son, the son replied, 'Mother, ask for wealth.' When she asked her daughter-in-law, the daughter-in-law replied, 'Mother-in-law, ask for a grandson.'

The old woman considered their advice and said to herself, 'They have told me what they want, not what I want. So let me ask my neighbour. Let me see what she will say.' So the old woman went to her neighbour and said, 'God has told me to ask him for something. What do you think I should ask him for?'

The neighbour replied, 'Why should you ask for wealth or for a grandson? You still have a few more years to live. So ask for sight, so that you can see.' The old woman returned home and thought to herself, 'To keep my son and daughter-in-law happy, I should ask God for what they want. To make myself happy, I should ask him for what I want. So what should I ask for - wealth, a grandson, or my sight?'

The next day, God appeared again, and as usual, said, 'Ask me for something, old woman, tell me what you want.' The old woman had made up her mind. She knew exactly what she wanted. She replied, 'I want to see my grandson drinking milk from a golden bowl. Give me that.'

God laughed and replied, 'Old woman, you have tricked me! You have asked me for everything! But a promise is a promise and you shall have what you want.' God gave her what she wanted - and the desires of all three, the old woman, her son, and her daughter-in-law, were fulfilled.

The Intelligent Woman And The Bell

Once upon a time in India there was a village named Malgudi. One day, a robber entered the village he stole a temple bell and ran towards the forest. A Tiger heard the jingle of the bell and became curious to locate the sound. As soon as, he saw the robber, he jumped upon him and killed him at once. The bell fell on the ground. After a few days, a group of monkeys came through that way. They spotted the bell and carried it to their home.

They found the jingle of the bell very interesting. Subsequently every one of them became very fond of the bell and started playing with it. After every tiring day, in the night monkeys would sit on the top of the hill in the forest and enjoy the melodious sound of the bell. The people of the village were afraid of the noise. Soon afterwards, the people from the village found the body of the robber and proclaimed, “Certainly there is an evil spirit around here that kills human beings and then rings the bell to celebrate”.

When the people heard this, they thought that some demon was haunting their village. Without giving any second thought, People started leaving the city in terror. There was an intelligent and bold woman in that village. She thought to herself, “I don’t believe that some demon is haunting this village. I will find out that who is ringing the bell”. At late night, she went into the forest bravely and found that a group of monkeys were playing about and ringing the bell.

Now as the woman knew the secret about the bell, she went to the King and said, “Your Majesty! I'm sure this evil spirit can be conquered by worshipping the Gods. But this will cost money. If you can grant me some money, I will kill the demon and bring happiness to the village”. The King, who was too afraid to get rid of the demon, granted the request of the woman.

On receiving the money, the woman bought some peas, groundnuts and fruits. She arranged a worship of the Gods. She made a circle on the ground, placed all the eatables and started worshipping the Gods. After the ritual, she picked up all the eatables and went into the forest. She placed the fruits and other things under a tree near the hill. She kept a watch of the monkeys from a distance.

As and when the monkeys saw the eatables, they dropped the bell just as the old woman had expected out of them. They ran to pick the eatables. The woman picked up the bell quickly and rushed towards the village. She gave the bell in the court of the King. The King was happy with the brave woman and everyone in the village admired her bravery. The pleased King rewarded the woman for her bravery. Since that day, there was no noise and people lived happily ever after.

The Old Woman And The Sky

Long ago, people used to say that the Sky was quite low and almost near to the ground. So near that if one stand's on a stool stretching their hands up as high as they would go, they could touch the Sky. At that time, far on the Horizon, where the Sky was always especially low, there was a village. In that village, in a little mud hut thatched with straw, there lived a bent Old Woman.

This bent Old Woman was the oldest woman in that village, possibly the oldest woman in the world. She was so old she no longer remembered any other way of being. She lived all alone in her little mud hut, for she had neither friend nor family left in this world. She had nowhere to go and no one to talk to. So all day long, she would potter round her hut, first cleaning this corner, now dusting that, now scrubbing this bit of floor, now sweeping that. The bent Old Woman thought of nothing else any more, except more and more ways of sweeping and scrubbing her little mud hut. One hot summer, the land was dry with thirst. There was dust everywhere - on the trees, on the roofs of huts and houses, in people's throats and eyes, even in the air. All over the village people were coughing and sneezing and choking with the dust. Even the poor old Sky was not spared - it was so close to the ground that the slightest bit of wind would set it coughing with the dust that rose from the parched land.

The bent Old Woman's hut too was covered with dust. The old woman swept and swept and swept the little hut with her broom. She swept the inside of her hut, she swept the outside of her hut, she swept the front step and she swept the front yard. But the dust rose all around her in great brown clouds - the more she swept and plied her broom, the more the dust that rose from the earth. The poor Sky began to choke with all the dust that the bent Old Woman was raising with her broom. The dust got into its throat and tickled its nose and made it sneeze - a great big sneeze that shook the world with its thunder. People covered their heads and ran indoors in fright. But the bent Old Woman barely noticed - she kept on sweeping with her broom. The Sky sneezed again - the dust was becoming unbearable. It got into its eyes and made them water - so that great heavy drops of rain began falling into the dry dust below. The bent Old Woman barely noticed - till finally a big raindrop fell right on to the patch she had just swept.

The bent Old Woman glared at the Sky and scrubbed the big raindrop away. But then another raindrop fell, and another, till her swept and scrubbed front step was blotchy with raindrops. This was more than the bent Old Woman could bear. She stood up as straight as she could with her bent old back and shook her fist at the Sky yelling at it to stop raining on her nice clean front step. She cursed the Sky and threatened it, but the poor old Sky couldn't stop raining - its eyes were still so full of dust with all her sweeping.

At last, the bent Old Woman was so angry, that she picked up her broom, and started hitting the Sky with it. The Sky gave another great sneeze and jumped out of her way. But the bent Old Woman kept hitting it with her broom, again and again and again. Finally the Sky could take it no more - the dust, the Old Woman's cursing, and especially her broom, hitting it again and again and again. Sneezing and coughing, thundering and raining, the Sky flew up, up and away - out of reach of the Old Woman's broom and swore never to come down again.

So that is why the Sky is so high. Even on the Horizon, where it seems to be touching the earth, it really isn't any more.

The Greedy Sister In Law

There lived two brothers in a village. They grew young and married according to their choices. The young brother's wife, was very rich whereas the elder brother's wife, was poor. Every day, the poor sister-in-law would go to the rich sister-in-law's house, and grind the flour for her. She would grind the flour and sieve it through a fine cloth. She would take the cloth home, and in the evening, she would shake the cloth out and use the flour caught in it to make her husband some porridge. 

The rich sister-in-law had a son but the poor sister-in-law had no children. One day, the rich sister-in-law's son saw his aunt preparing the porridge for her husband. The child ran home and told his mother what he had seen. 'Mother, Aunt takes home the cloth she uses to sieve our flour, and makes a porridge out of the flour for Uncle.'

The rich sister-in-law was very angry. The next day she told the poor sister-in-law, 'From now on, you will leave behind the cloth you use to sieve my flour. And wash your hands before you go - I don't want you to take a grain of my flour home with you! The poor sister-in-law did as she was told. That night, when her husband came home, he asked for his porridge as usual. But she had not been able to prepare the porridge that day. 'Sister-in-law did not let me bring the cloth home today,' she explained. Her husband was very angry, and stormed out of the house.

The poor sister-in-law shut herself in her room. She was a great devotee of God. Now, in her misery, she called his name and wept and wept. At last, sad and exhausted, and still calling "God God save me she fell asleep". God had heard her calling and came to find out what was wrong. 'Why are you Weeping?' he asked her.

'Everyday I bring back the cloth I use to sieve the flour I grind for my sister-in-law, and use the flour caught in it to make my husband a porridge every evening,' she replied. 'Today my sister-in-law did not let me bring the cloth home, so I couldn't make the porridge. Now my husband is very angry with me and has stormed out of the house.

God looked gratefully at her, and told her child everything will be all right. Please get up from your sleep. The poor sister-in-law woke up with a cry. And what did she see? On the floor, a heap of glittering diamonds. And wound about in her hair, even shinier jewels and gems.

The next morning, she was busy counting the jewels and putting them away. She forgot that she had to go to the rich sister-in-law's house to grind the flour. The rich sister-in-law called her son and said, 'Go to your aunt's house and see why she hasn't come today.' The child went to his aunt's house and saw her counting the glittering jewels. He ran back to his mother. 'Mother, Aunt has become very rich. She has a pile of jewels in her house,' he said. When the rich sister-in-law heard this, she went running to her sister-in-law's house. 'Where did you get these jewels from?' she asked.

The poor sister-in-law told her the whole story. The rich sister-in-law went running back home and told her husband what she had seen and heard. 'Tonight, I will give you no dinner, and you too must get angry with me and storm out of the house,' she said. That evening, her husband did as she asked, and stormed out of the house. The rich woman emptied her house of everything, and calling out to God again and again she fell asleep. God heard her calling and came to find out what the matter was. The rich sister-in-law told her story.

God looked gratefully at her, and told her child everything will be all right. Please get up from your sleep. The rich sister-in-law woke up, and what did she see? On the floor, not a heap of glittering diamonds, but a pile of elephant dung. "Oh God",she wailed, 'Why did you do this to me? You gave my sister-in-law diamonds, and you left me with...this!'

God appeared and said, 'Your sister-in-law is a good woman; she called me because she was in trouble. You are a greedy woman, you called me because you wanted even more wealth than you already have!"God, I am sorry,' wept the rich sister-in-law. 'Can you please, please now remove your blessings from my house? I'll never be greedy again.' 'First give half of your wealth to your sister-in-law and make sure you never treat her badly again,' said God. 'Only then will I clean up your house.' The rich sister-in-law called the poor sister-in-law and greeting her with great affection gave her half her money and jewels.

God, content, vanished, as did the mess in the rich sister-in-law's house.