Jack and his Cat

Long ago there lived an old man with his wife and only son Jack in a small dirty cottage. Although the old man stayed in a dirty cottage he was a very rich man and he had great treasures with him. However the old man was a great miser and would not not even think of spending his money. He and his family would often go without having food for days than change his gold for money. The old man's only son and wife were quite irritated with the old man's miserly behavior but were left with no option than to obey him. After few years the old man became terribly ill but did not bother to call a physician for he feared, the physician may charge a huge sum of money for getting him cured. After a while the old man died because of his sickness.

After the old man died Jack and his mother mourned for many days. One night when Jack was sleeping he dreamed that an unknown man appeared to him and said: "My dear son your father was a very bad man and all the wealth he had earned is ill-gotten. Now you be a good man and donate half of your wealth to the poor and throw the other half into the sea. After throwing into the sea if anything sails, you catch that and keep it with you, even if it is nothing more than a bit of paper". The man vanished and Jack opened his eyes. He could not believe what he saw and heard in his dream. The remembrance of  his dream troubled him badly. Jack did not want to part with the wealth that his father had left for him. He wanted to spend some money on comfort and pleasure for all the years he never had a chance to do so because of his miserly father. Days passed and at last Jack decided that he would not use to money to pleasure himself rather he would distribute half of the money to the poor and the other half he would throw it inside the sea.

Jack found out the details of all the poor people living in the village and donated them half his wealth. He then tied the other half of wealth in a cloth and threw it inside the sea. After few seconds he saw a tiny scrap of paper cover floating on the sea. He carefully managed to get the cover and opened it, and found ten coins inside. Now he had nothing but ten coins left with him. He went home and was surprised to find his mother dead. With a heavy heart he laid her in her grave. Jack then decided to travel to the nearest town in search of fortune and so he started his journey. After travelling for the whole day during night he came across a cottage. He knocked the door and an old lady came from inside. Jack asked if he could get some shelter for free that night and the old woman who was a kind lady agreed and said that she won't take money from him. The old lady showed him the room where he had to stay that night and then told him to come down for supper. Jack went down for supper and while having his supper he noticed a strange animal sitting by the fire and singing a song in an unusual manner unlike any animal. He asked the old lady "What's the name of this strange creature?". The old lady replied "We call it a cat".

Jack said that he would like to buy the cat for it would give him a company on his journey. The old lady agreed but said that if he can pay ten coins in return she would give the cat to him. The next day Jack gave the ten coins to the old lady, took the cat and started his journey. After travelling for the whole day Jack came across a small hut. He knocked the door and an old man opened the door. Jack asked the old man if he could stay there that night for free. The old man agreed and then he led Jack inside the house and showed him his room. The old man asked Jack to come down for supper and left. After a while Jack came down and he saw that two women were sitting around the dinner table. One of the women was the old man's wife and the other was his daughter. Jack took his seat and then placed his cat on the mantle shelf. All of them crowded round the cat for the cat started singing in an unusual tone. Everyone was delighted to see and hear the cat singing. 

The old man asked Jack about his whereabouts and Jack told him his story. After hearing his story the old man felt pity on Jack and said "There is a palace nearby and the King is very kind to everyone, go and ask him for some help and work and he would certainly help you". Early next morning Jack set out for the royal palace. He reached there and asked the king's guardsmen to take him to the king. The king was at dinner with his court when Jack went inside. Jack bowed low when he saw the king. The King signed him to come near. Jack was surprised to see a crowd of little black creatures running around the floor. The creatures were bold enough to snatch pieces of food from the king's plate and if the king drove them away the little creatures would bite the king's hands and so the king and his courtiers were unable to eat their food.

Jack asked one of the courtier who was sitting next to him "What sort of animals are these?". The courtier replied "They are called rats and from many years we have been trying to put them away but it has become quite impossible". At this moment something was seen flying through the air. The cat was on the table, and with two or three shakes a number of rats were lying dead round him. Then a great scuffling of feet was heard and within few minutes the hall was clear.

The King and his courtiers were surprised to see this and looked at each other in astonishment. They asked Jack "What kind of animal is this?". Jack replied "This animal is called cat and he had bought that for ten coins. The king was happy to learn this and said "Young man because of the luck you have brought me in freeing my palace from this dirty little creatures who troubled us for so many years, I would like to give you the choice of two things. Either you shall become my Prime Minister, or you shall marry my daughter and rule the kingdom after me". Jack was clever enough to ask for the princess hand in marriage. So clever Jack married the princess and lived happily forever.

The Snake Princesses And The Shepherd

Long ago in a small town in Netherlands there lived a rich farmer. The farmer's farm was filled with flock of sheep's and cattle. The farmer had a shepherd who used to take care of these animals and the farmer liked the shepherd as he was his faithful and honest servant. One fine morning the shepherd took the sheep's in the nearby mountains to feed them. While the sheep's were busy grazing grass the shepherd thought of taking rest under a tree. When the shepherd came near the tree he heard some strange sounds coming from the bushes nearby and so he went in the direction to discover the cause. 

The shepherd was surprised to see a tree surrounded by flames and a snake was coiled in the tree trying to escape. The shepherd though frightened stood there wondering how he could save the snake from the fire. The snake noticed the shepherd and cried "Please help me!". The shepherd took his large stick which he always carried to control the sheep's and pointed it towards the snake and directed the snake to climb on it and escape. The snake took advantage of the opportunity and did as directed by the shepherd and was able to escape from the fire. The snake approached towards the shepherd and now the shepherd trembled with fear as he thought the snake was approaching to bite him. The snake said "Have no fear for I shall do you no harm, only carry me to home to my father who is the King of Snakes". The shepherd was surprised to hear that but he said I cannot do that as I have to look after my flock. "Don't be afraid for no evil shall befall them, but take me to my father" said the snake.

So the shepherd took the snake and walked on his way to the snake kingdom. On the way the snake told the shepherd "My father the Snake King may gift you with valuable treasures but please don't accept them, ask rather to understand the language of beasts". This is will be useful to you in the future than any of the treasures and the shepherd agreed to do so. After travelling for a while he stopped in-front of a huge Castle which was guarded by large poisonous snakes. The guardian snakes saw the shepherd carrying their princess so they did not harm him and instead opened the gates for the shepherd to come inside. They took him to the King of Snakes who was overjoyed to see his daughter and burst into tears as he had given her up for dead.

"Where have you been my sweet little princesses asked the King, I was so worried for you !". The princesses narrated the whole incident to her father and explained how the shepherd had rescued her from the fire. The King of the Snakes was pleased to hear about the shepherd's courage and asked him "What reward will you choose for saving my child?". The shepherd asked the king" Make me understand the language of beasts for I want to". After some argument the King agreed to grant his wish. He ordered the shepherd to open his mouth and on doing so the King spat onto it, and ordered the shepherd to do the same. The shepherd did as he was told and after spatting into each other's mouth for three times the King said "From now on you can understand the language of beasts, go in peace; but beware that if anyone comes to know that you can understand the language of beasts you will die immediately".

So the shepherd started his journey towards the mountains to fetch his sheep's. On the way through the woods he was able to understand all that was said by the birds and other creatures. When he got back to his sheep flock he saw that the sheep's were grazing peacefully and so the shepherd thought of taking some rest under the tree. After some time he woke up hearing the perching sound of two sparrows on the tree. The first sparrow told the second " Poor shepherd is working so hard if only he could knew the fact that there is a vault full of gold coins beneath where that lamb is lying". After hearing the two sparrow's conversation the shepherd left for home. That night during supper he told his master that he feels that there is something lying in the vault and they need to open it. The master opened the door of the vault and was surprised to see the treasure. He gave the whole treasure to the shepherd saying "Take it as it is your's and God has given this to you for your honesty and hard work".

So the shepherd took the gold and built a beautiful house with the money. He then got married and lived happily with his wife. Now he was a rich man as he had flocks of sheep's and cattle and dogs to take care of the cattle. He had many servants who worked for him. The shepherd was always kind towards his servants and treated them well. One night while the shepherd was at his farm he saw few wolves wandering near his farm. The wolves spoke with the dogs there saying " We shall come tomorrow night to eat some of your sheep's and you too shall eat flesh for we will share it with you". The dogs agreed but there was one old dog who was very loyal to his master and he said "I will let no harm to be done to the cattle as long as a I am alive". The shepherd heard and understood everything and the next day morning he ordered his servants to kill all the dogs except the old dog. Thus by understanding the language of beasts the merchant was able to protect his cattle. The shepherd always remained grateful to the snake princesses.

The Tailor And The Giant

Once upon a time in France there lived a poor tailor named Aron. Aron was a honest man and struggled hard to earn his living as he had no work. Aron had a friend name Mark who worked as a cook in the royal kitchen. One day Mark heard the Queen saying that she would offer a huge amount of money and costly gifts to any tailor who can stitch her a beautiful gown within one night in the old ruined church. The old ruined church was haunted, and villagers say that fearsome things were to be seen there by night.

Mark went to his friend Aron and told him about the queen's proposal. Aron was quite excited and wanted to take up the challenge as he needed money badly, however he was afraid to stay for the whole night in the ruined church but was left with no option. Aron convinced Mark to take him to the queen and Mark agreed. The next day the two friends went and met the queen and Aron agreed to stitch a beautiful gown for the queen within a night in the ruined church and the queen promised Aron that she will gift him with precious jewel's and money if he succeeded in doing so. 

So when night came Aron came to the old church. He went inside the church, lighted a candle and put on his thimble, and set to work plying his needle nimbly. For some time Aron felt quite comfortable, until he felt the floor all of a tremble under his feet. Aron tried to ignore what he felt and went on with his work. Suddenly he felt someone was approaching towards him and to his surprise he saw a headless Giant standing in front of him. The giant held his head in his hands. The giant asked Aron to stitch his head and Aron agreed to do so but on the condition that the giant should wait until Aron finished with his work of stitching the queen's gown. The giant agreed to Aron's condition but informed Aron that before the dawn breaks he should stitch his head or else he would kill Aron. Aron started working as speed as he could and finished the queen's gown before dawn and started stitching the giant's head. The giant was pleased with Aron's sincerity and awarded him with a bagful of gold coins.

Aron took the money and left for the castle as the queen was waiting for him. When the queen saw the dress she was not much impressed by the design of the gown however she was pleased with Aron for being brave by staying the whole night in the church and finishing the task on given time. She awarded Aron with a bagful of silver coins. Aron was pleased by the gift and went home happily with two bags of gold and silver coins. Aron lived happily forever.