99 items in this section. Displaying page 5 of 10
Once they were Friends
There was a time when Madri, the cat, and Ketki, the mouse, were friends. They were such good friends that they lived in the same house. They played together, and went on hunts together too. Between the two, Ketki was the one with foresight. “Can you feel the chill in the air?” she asked her friend. “Winter is coming. And we haven’t saved any food! Let’s do it now or we will have to go hungry when winter sets in”....
The Frog King
In a large marshy swamp in South Africa lived a colony of frogs – happy frogs. The marsh was surrounded by tall weeds, dirt and muck, which attracted lots of flies. Every moment was mealtime for the frogs. It was a happy life, all fun and play. Leapfrog was their favourite game. The younger frogs were dared to jump over a line of frogs from one end to the other end. Each time a young one managed to clear the jump, she or he would be added to the line — until the jumper fell on the last one, when the game ended....
The Donkey monkeys Around
Gopu the donkey was happily going munch munch on an extremely green patch of grass right in the heart of the meadow. So intent was Gopu on eating, that he did not hear anyone approaching until he looked up and gave an involuntary shiver. For standing right in front of him, was Shikari, the wolf. Gopu began to limp and make a lot of ooh aah noises while doing so. Shikari watched him in silence for a while and then asked what was wrong....
The Crane's Walk
A family of crabs lived on the shores of a giant blue sea. They frolicked in the sands and ate mussels, clams and other small sea creatures. One day the mother crab saw a beautiful crane walking about in the sand, a straight graceful walk in its long reed-like legs. “How graceful that crane looks,” she thought to herself. Then she caught sight of her son waddling towards her and felt very irritated. “And how clumsy my son is....
Learning to Act
There once lived a brilliant student. He was on a quest to acquire more and more knowledge. Then he heard of a great Zen teacher to whom he travelled long to meet. On arriving at the teacher’s feet, he said, “Master teach me.” The Zen master received the student with a smile. He inquired about him. He asked in detail all that the student had learnt till then. Learning to Act [Illustration by Anup Singh] Later, he asked his assistant to get tea for the two of them....
When the Earth and Sky were Married
A Muria folk tale from Orissa retold from ‘When the World was Young’, by Verrier Elwin. The book is a fascinating collection of folktales from the tribal peoples of India. Elwin was a pioneering anthropologist; he spent his entire life getting to know the ways of life of the tribal peoples. People around the world have different ways of explaining how the earth came to be the way it is: the sky above, the earth below....
The 'Groom'ed Horse
Chetak was the most attractive horse in the neighbourhood. His proud owner, Ram Singh, never lost an opportunity to show him off to his friends and neighbours. “Here he is, my pride and joy,” he would exclaim in a dramatic way as he opened the door to the young stallion’s stable. And Chetak would come out galloping, his shiny brown coat and light brown mane glistening in the sun. Ram Singh would then ride him across the farm, for the benefit of the admiring crowd....
An Unpleasant Smell
A prosperous money-lender or seth bought a house located right next door to the house of a tanner. From morning till evening the tanner converted hide into leather by treating it with tannin. From day one the money-lender was put off by the unpleasant smells of the tannery. So, he visited the tanner’s house and offered to buy his house. “I would love to sell the house if you buy it seth,” said the tanner. He had no intention of doing any such thing but he liked to play pranks....
Tenali Rama and the Jinx
Clown, jester, poet…Tenali Rama, minister in the court of the ruler of Vijaynagar, Krishnadeva Rai (reign: 1509-30), was a lot of things. Stories, about Tenali Rama and his practical jokes on everyone around him including distinguished fellow poets and the emperor himself, abound in south India. His fame spread beyond Vijaynagar (present-day Andhra Pradesh), to areas that come in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka today. Tenali Rama was also a great scholar of several languages that included Marathi, Tamil and Kannada....
The Boy and the Magic Brush
A folktale from Myanmar, it will acquaint readers with a new word called ‘Nat’. Nats are spirits, good or bad, and they are believed to have supernatural powers. The Buddhists believe that everybody goes through the cycle of life, death and rebirth – all determined by the person’s ‘karma’ or deeds. Being a Nat is just one of the cycle of lives. Nats need salvation as much as humans and so they help humans by being their guardian spirits....