Multicultural children’s literature from across the world – stories, poems, folktales and books in English for kids, and stories in Hindi and poems in Hindi too. Original literature in English for kids from around the globe and book reviews and recommended reading lists for children.
432 items in this section. Displaying page 11 of 44
The Bed Bug and the Mosquito
A long, long time ago there lived a bed bug. He had a huge family. There were children, grandchildren, and great grand children. They all lived together on a beautiful bed. They lived in the corners and crevices of the bed. And the huge, beautiful bed belonged to the king of the country. When the king slept, the bug and his entire family used to crawl out of their home. They would wait for the king to drift off to deep sleep and then feast on the king’s blood....
Lonely Kalu
Kalu was the only son of a farmer and his wife. “I wish I had a brother or a sister, to play with,” he told his parents one day. “Everyone has a brother or a sister. I don’t like it when the children who come to play with me, on our farm, go back to their homes at night.” “Don’t be silly,” said his father. “Their parents love them and want them back.” But his words had some effect, because within a year, the farmer and his wife were blessed with twin girls....
The Doctor who did not Cure
An old woman had lost her eyesight completely. So she went to a doctor to help her see again and made a bargain with him in the presence of a few witnesses. The bargain was that: if he could cure her, he would be paid handsomely. But if he couldn’t, she would not be obliged to pay him anything. The doctor had a special ointment. When it was applied in the eyes for a certain period of time, it restored the eyesight of anyone who was sightless....
A Verbal Trade
One evening, an old man was passing through a village. From the interior of a small house, he heard a sweet, melodious voice singing. He stood outside on the road till the song ended. Then he went near the house and looked inside. The singer was a small girl. He patted her affectionately and gave her a gold mohur. The girl’s father, Mohan, who was standing nearby, was delighted at the unexpected present. He snatched the gold mohur from his daughter’s hand....
Chakram
Chakram was a happy-go-lucky donkey who lived in the Rumpum Jungle. In the brains department he was sadly lacking, even as donkeys go. But on the scale of contentment he rated very high. He was a happy, carefree sort of fellow who wanted nothing but tender grass to chew on and the shade of a leafy tree under which to laze. And since Rumpum had plenty of both, Chakram was as close to nirvana or salvation as any donkey can get....
The Dog and the Pig
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. A man kept two animals — a dog and a pig. He kept them in the hope that they would help him in his work. But he was sorely disappointed. All they did was eat and eat and eat....
The Jungle
Far away in the jungles where the green grass grows, lived families of mynas their nest in rows. They were friends and foes who played and fought for fun. But when it came to the enemy they stood together as one. One morning they were surprised a strange creature there to find. Loud, noisy with strange scary ways a being like that…seemed a ferocious kind. The Jungle [Illustration by Anup Singh] Eager to befriend the new...
Nine of Ten
Once, in a dry desert, a man was urging ten camels forward to a water pool. After walking a few miles, he mounted one of the camels and counted the rest. He counted nine of them, then immediately dismounted and walked back in search of the lost one. Seeing no sign of any camel, he thought he had lost it. He discontinued the search and hurried back to the camels, grieved and dismayed. There, to his great joy, he found all ten of them....
Modesty Pays
There once lived a proud driver in Qi, a state in China. He was the driver of the Prime Minister of the state. One day the Prime Minister happened to drive through the street where the driver lived with his wife. Some neighbour’s saw him drive the Prime Minister and were excited. One of the neighbours ran to the driver’s home and said to driver’s wife-“Quick! See who is driving the Prime Minister? Your husband.”...
The Golden Fish
There are many islands in the Bay of Bengal and not all of them are inhabited. But on one island, at one time, there was a small hut which belonged to an old man and his wife. They were very poor. The husband used to make nets and fish in the sea, for that was the only food they could get. One day he went fishing as usual. He cast his net and waited. Suddenly there was a pull....