Panchatantra is an extremely popular collection of short stories from the historical land of India. Written by a sage known as Vishnu Sharma around 200 B.C., Panchatantra comprises of five volumes.

They are,
The Loss of Friends
The Winning of Friends
Crows and Owls
Loss of Gains
Considered Action

The five volumes contain a number of stories that serve as a guidance regarding different facets of life and living. Vishnu Sharma created these stories while being asked by the King to impart important moral values to his three sons. Panchatantra is made of two words, Panch (five) and Tantra (Principles). The important principles of life have been combined in form of interesting stories.

These stories are great source of education, values and lessons for children. The actual texts were in Sanskrit but to make them more readable to the common people different scholars have tried to represent these fables in simple forms. All the stories have been accompanied by some moral lessons.

The Gold Giving Serpent
Long time ago there was a Brahmin named Haridatta. He was a very hard working person yet very poor. One fine day, while resting in the shadow of the tree after the tiring working hours, he saw an anthill in his field that housed a big snake. Assuming that the serpent must be the guardian deity of the field and he had never paid respect to it, he brought some milk and offered it to the serpent. He also asked for forgiveness from the snake for not offering anything before prior to that day.

Next day, he found a gold coin in the milk bowl. Soon enough, this became a regular practice. Brahmin used to offer milk to the snake and found a gold coin every time in the bowl. During one of those days, Brahmin had to go to the town so he instructed his son to take care of the serpent by feeding him the milk. Next day, when son found the gold coin in the bowl he assumed this anthill must be full of gold coins. So why not kill the serpent and take out all the gold coins? His greed made him come up with a plan next day.

Next day, he came up with a stick along with milk. When the serpent came out for milk, Brahmin’s son attacked him with the stick. The snake managed to escape the blow and attacked boy who died instantly. Two days later when the Brahmin returned he came to know about his son’s death. He figured out the entire incident and yet tried serving the milk to the serpent.

The snake came out of the anthill and said, ‘Brahmin you have not come here for offering milk alone. You forgot your son’s grief and have come here for the fulfilment of your greed. This is the end of our friendship. Never come to me again.’

The moral of the story is that excess of the greed is always harmful.
The Musical Donkey
This one is another interesting story that tells moral lesson of ‘think before you act’. Once upon a time, there was a thin donkey by the name of Udhata who used to work with a washer man. Donkey used to carry loads of bundled clothes to the river bank every day. He was made to toil real hard. After such heavy work load, donkey needed to be fed well but he was not satisfied with the food offered by washer man. So, Udhata wandered around in the nearby fields and eat crops sneakily. During one of those nights, he met a jackal and both of them became friends.
Now, it became a routine affair for both friends to stealthily wander in nearby fields and eat cucumbers to their full. Soon, the donkey started to appear fat and healthy. One night, after eating cucumbers the donkey felt extremely happy and satisfied. He expressed a desire to his friend jackal about how he wanted to sing a song. The jackal, being the smarter one cautioned him against any such expression. He warned Udhata about guards sleeping in the fields. But donkey had none of jackal’s arguments.

Jackal tried real hard to persuade him about the consequences but donkey was in no mood to listen to him. Jackal knowing the dire consequences jumped over to the other side of the fence and decided to wait. Donkey started to sing or bray for that matter. On hearing his irritating voice, a guard woke up and came rushing to the donkey in sheer anger.

Guard beat the donkey black and blue and he was left on ground in poor condition. After some time, Udhata managed to drag himself out of the ground where he found jackal waiting for him. Jackal repeated his earlier statements about the lurking dangers and then donkey realised his mistake.

What is Panchatantra  ?

Long long time ago, far far away, there lived a beautiful maiden who was soft and loving, just the way her parents had raised her. When she would sit near the banks of the river, all the birds and the bees would hover around her, whispering sweet nothings. They just loved her like everyone in the village for being a princess she was humble and ever loving.

But tragedy struck and Cinderella lost her mother. This made Cinderella withdraw from the world and was completely reserved. Looking at the plight of his daughter, the father thought it best to get married again as a mother plays a vital role in every child’s development.

The second marriage took place, but the step-mother never replaced the real mother, in fact it only got worse. After the two step-sisters entered the scene, Cinderella was reduced to a slave – and was made to do all the washing, cleaning and cooking. Her days never ended and the wicked siblings only made it worse. They gave her their old torn clothes to wear and never allowed her out of the house. Poor Cinderella would cry every day to herself. Nevertheless, the days passed into months and months into years and Cinderella blossomed into a beautiful girl. This made her step-sisters very jealous.

One day the king of the land had a ball for his son to find the love of his life. And so the soldiers came to every home that had spinster girls and read out the invitation. The step-sisters rejoiced and got to thinking about the ball and what would they wear to appease the prince. At the back was Cinderella who heard the invitation and yearned to be at the party. But how?

On the day of the ball, the sisters looked their prime and the mother tucked her waist to where she could not breathe and left her slave daughter to do the cleaning. As Cinderella sat in the kitchen crying there was a burst of light and in it appeared a lady dressed in white. Who are you, she cried. Your fairy godmother said the lady. And why are you here. To dress you up for the ball. But how, said Cinderella I have only old rags to dress in. Well that’s why I’m here said the godmother and with a swish of her wand she dressed Cinderella and made her hair.

Wow, said Cinderella but how am I to go to ball. And with another swish the melon in the garden turned into a carriage and the white mouse that ran around in to two mighty horses. Cinderella hurriedly climbed into the carriage but before she could go the Godmother said, you have time till the clock strikes 12 and with that she vanished.

The prince stood amazed when he saw Cinderella entering the ball. He was stunned by her beauty, making every lady turn green. He asked for her hand and danced away. Even the step-sisters failed to recognize her as she had groomed herself like they had never seen before. But the clock struck 12 and before Cinderella could say a word she ran away from the prince and immediately turned into her old ragged self.

The prince was devastated and ran behind her, only to find her glass slipper and nothing else. The very next day he made his soldiers take the slipper and go around the kingdom to find the foot that fits in it. And they searched in vain until they fell upon the step sister’s house. The girls tried to force their leg in but it did not fit. As they were about to go one of them spotted Cinderella and asked her to try.

The sisters said it was no use as it would never have been her. But the soldiers insisted and so Cinderella stepped forward and it was a perfect fit. The prince had found the love of his life and they lived happily ever after..

Once upon a time, these four fours immediately transport us into a land where candy grows on trees and the air is fresh, where trees talk and tales have morals. One such tale is as follows.

Alongside the woods there lived a tired woodcutter with a nagging wife and two children. The step mother disliked the kids and would always find ways to get them out of the house. She would nag her husband till sundown and he would listen compelled as he had no way out.

As times got harder, the woodcutter found it difficult to bring bread home daily and feed everyone. Chancing on the opportunity the wife said that it was not possible to feed all mouths and so the husband would have to abandon his children in the forest, and she assured him that there would be someone who would take them home. Gretel heard this and told her brother while she wept. Hansel though scared told his sister not to worry and that he would bring them home safely.

Early at dawn the father took both the kids and went deep into the woods. As they walked Hansel slipped out small white pebbles every metre. When the sun shone, the father knew that they had walked a long way and the children would find it hard to come back and so he mumbled some excuse that he would come back and scurried away. The moon came but not the father and so Gretel began to wail. As the moonlight filled the forest and the white stones began to glitter in the dark, Hansel told his sister that he knew the way home and by dawn they were back, standing in front of their father.

Seeing them the distressed step-mother locked them with no food with only a sip of water. The next day the father took them deeper into the forest and when Hansel set to find their way, he realized that they were truly lost. They frayed into the woods in hope to find the way back but in vain. When night fell they stumbled near a house that looked tasty. So Gretel plucked a small chip of the wall and found it tasty. Soon the two were gloating on every corner of the house. Hansel found a huge doughnut while Gretel ate candy and since they had never tasted such heavenly delights in their life, they feasted.

Listening to the noise outside, the door opened and a witch stood there. Oohh, she said, what lovely children, why are you outside. Come in and stay here for the night. With nowhere else to go both the children walked in and feasted even more with the delights the witch dished before them
When dawn broke, the witch pulled Hansel from his sleep and locked him in a cage and covered him so that even if he screamed, nobody could hear him. She pushed Gretel till she woke and told her to get food done so that they could feed Hansel till he was fat enough to be eaten. Hearing this Gretel broke down and found herself, helplessly making food to fatten her brother.

As days passed by the witch would go to Hansel and ask him to put his hands out so that he could see how fat he had become. But Hansel always put out a bone he found in the cage and as the witch was almost blind as a bat thought him to be really thin. As the bone was always the same, the witch was frustrated after a week and thought of killing the boy the next day as she wanted to eat him.

The very next day, she made Gretel fetch water and do all the chores. She made her fill the pot with water to boil the boy in. But first she thought she would bake him. So she told Gretel to get the oven ready. After sometime she asked her to check if the oven was hot enough to be cooked in. How do I do that asked Gretel, I have never done anything like that before? So the witch thumped to the oven and opened the lid. Gretel looking at the chance kicked her hard and closed the lid immediately.

Then she ran and freed her brother and they ran back into the woods. As time passed, they found to recognize the woods and soon they came to their cottage. Their father’s eyes were filled on seeing them and proclaimed that their mother was dead, leaving them to live a happy life ever after.

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True love, the moment you hear these magical words, some sweetest imaginations start conjuring up in your mind. Love must have been the first word that was felt, understood and expressed by humans. And why only humans? Even animals give us some wonderful glimpses of love and care. Though in this article, we will stick to some of the eternal human love stories that have stayed through the course of human civilization.

Every true lover must have read such wonderful love stories and would have felt an invisible but strong connection. But not every love story has a happy ending and if we look back at famous love stories, most of them had a tragic end. So what is so fascinating about sad love stories? Is it some sort of emotional and spiritual connection that every true lover feels or goes through? Or a tragic end that makes the story immortal? May be or may not be, but by the time you ponder over this fact, let us go through some of the most famous love stories in history and literature.

Sad Love story collection:

Tristan and Isolde
The heart-rending tale of Tristan and Isolde has gone through its iota of story-telling sessions. The story takes place during medieval times during the reign of King Arthur. The immortality of this tale is quite evident from the way it has been told and retold through numerous stories and manuscripts. Isolde was name of the pretty daughter of the King of Ireland. Her father had chosen King Mark of Cornwall for Isolde and both got engaged. Tristan was nephew of King Mark who sent him to Ireland to escort Isolde back to Cornwall and that’s where the story took a different turn. Love knows no boundaries and never cares for any barriers.

Isolde and Tristan both sensed a strong sense of attachment and fulfilment in each other. The seeds of love were sown but destiny had something else in store. Isolde had to marry Mark of Cornwall but then heart was longing for Tristan. As a result of that, the love affair between the two continued even after her marriage.

They say, you cannot hide love and King Mark finally came to know about their affair. Tristan was banned from Cornwall but King forgave Isolde. Tristan was forced to move to Brittany where he encountered Iseult and the similarity of her name with Isolde made Tristan felt attracted towards her. He kept looking for signs of Isolde in Iseult and finally decided to marry her. But Tristan’s undying love for Isolde did not let him consummate his marriage with Iseult. His hopes started to fade away and soon grief-stricken Tristan fell severely ill.

In the deep recess of his heart, Tristan knew Isolde would be able to cure him. He sent for Isolde and if Isolde agreed to come, the sails of returning ship would be white. However, in case the sails are black, that would indicate Isolde has not decided to come. The call of love soon became evident as the sails were white but scorned love is extremely dangerous. Iseult could not accept the return of Isolde and subsequently lied to Tristan and told him that the sails were black. Tristan could not take it and died of grief even before Isolde could reach for her lover. The pain of Tristan’s death did not spare and Isolde either and she died soon after of a broken heart. Though, both of them died yet gave the world something to remember for eternity.
Pyramus and Thisbe
Famous sad love stories- the title itself is self-explanatory. It’s really hard to pinpoint the exact number of historians, philosophers, kings, psychologists and poets who have tried to explain love in a different way and yet the underlying emotion always remains the same. Love is a state of heart and no matter how many definitions you try; you will always feel exhilarated and blessed once you are in love. Even with closed eyes, you can feel its presence and your heart will keep dancing on the melody of its beats. The intensity experienced during love is truly unexplainable. Sharing love stories make us remember and feel the eternal love and it completely redefines the way one experiences love.

The story of Pyramus and Thisbe is touching but tragic. The story has the power to move anyone who reads it. The fable has its origins in the Roman Mythology. The tale of Pyramus and Thisbe has enthralled many young lovers over the centuries and it has lost none of its charm even during the modern age. Pyramus was an extremely handsome man whereas Thisbe was the most beautiful girl in the Babylonia. They both were neighbours and had grown up together.

As they grew up, love blossomed but it was the forbidden fruit for the lovers. Their parents were totally against them marrying each other and that forced both of them to meet clandestinely if they could. However, their parents could not suppress the lights of love burning in the hearts of love birds. One fine day, they decided to run away from their homes and meet the next day under a mulberry tree near tomb of Ninus. Thisbe was the first one to reach on spot and was waiting for Pyramus.

That’s when the tragedy struck and story took a devastating turn. There was a fountain nearby where a lioness came to quench her thirst. The sight of lioness made Thisbe panic and she hurried to safety in some hollow rocks nearby. While she was running she left her veil behind. The lioness came near, sniffed the veil and tore it in his bloody jaws. At that very moment, Pyramus arrived near the mulberry tree and found the tattered blood stained veil.

He thought that his love was dead and was completely devastated. He blamed himself to be the cause of Tisbe’s death and in a moment of agony, pierced his chest with his own sword. Tisbe, who was still hiding in the rocks, came out of her hiding place and seeing the dead body of her lover, she was totally shattered and grief-stricken. She also took the sword and killed herself and thus one of the purest love stories ended in pain and death.

Pocahontas and John Smith
Though love stories from different places are told in contrasting styles and languages yet the charm of romance remains the same. Love is like a blissful flow of emotion. Love knows no barriers, caste, creed, discrimination and status. It dictates terms on its own and has a habit of standing against all odds. How many times, have we come across tales of love managing to survive despite the insurmountable odds? Many times perhaps and yet we are not tired of love tales that has a heart-breaking end. These tales belong to different centuries but still manage to enthral us. Painful romantic stories are timeless and have carved themselves in immortality. There are plenty of love stories to be shared like Helen of troy and Paris, Abelard and Heliose, Pygmalion and Galatea and Pocahontas and John Smith.

The story of Pocahontas and John Smith is a celebrated legend in the history of America. Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan. She was an Indian princess. Powhatan was the commanding chief of the Algonquian Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia. According to legend, the first meeting between Pocahontas and John Smith took place under unusual circumstances. John Smith was leading an expedition in December 1607 and because of certain misunderstanding Indians captivated him. Smith was taken to the residence of Powhatan where he was tortured. But he was saved by Pocahontas who helped him tremendously to get him out of his misery.

Pocahontas felt an instant liking for John Smith and found him immensely attractive and appealing. Soon enough Powhatan adopted Smith as his son and from there onwards, the friendship between Pocahontas and Smith started taking deep roots. They started to come closer to each other but destiny had some other plans. John Smith had to return back to England after getting badly injured due to gunpowder explosion. Pocahontas was constantly worried about him and decided to make a visit to the fort but unfortunately there she was informed that Smith was dead.

Things started to change rapidly and soon after, Pocahontas was taken prisoner by Sir Samuel Argall who had some devious plans of his own. He demanded return of English prisoners from Powhatan in return of Pocahontas. In the meantime, Pocahontas decided to become a Christian during her captivity. Just a year later, she married John Rolfe. She met John Smith after an eternal gap of eight years while visiting London. This was also their last meeting.

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Moral Stories are believed to be meant for children. The reason being cited is that a child’s soul is clear and pure and the lessons imparted by these stories stay with him for the rest of his life.

But at the same time, moral stories are equally relevant for adults also who need occasional reminder of some of the life’s important lessons. These tales reassure us of the goodness of the human beings and inspire us in every sphere of life.

Moral stories are great source of inspiration and motivation. Sometimes, moral fables make us go back to our roots and help us in discovering some of the missing elements of life.

Moral ideas present the greatness of the humanity and are passed from generation to generation. By reading more of moral stories, one can drastically improve his life and learn more about moral values.

Top moral stories for kids

1. Never Give Up

This story is about a farmer and his mule. The effectiveness of the story lies in the way it focuses upon adversity and how attitude determines the course of seemingly lost cause. There was this farmer in a tiny village.

He owned an old mule that used to carry grains and other farming related stuff for the farmer. During one of those days, the mule fell into a well. The well ran deep and despite trying hard many a times, mule couldn’t get himself out the well. He started to lose hope. His consistent shrieks drew attention of the farmer who came rushing to the well.

Farmer looked around and tried to come up with a rescue plan but eventually, he also lost the hope. He decided that the old mule was not worth the trouble of saving. So, he called his neighbours and asked for their help in hauling dirt to bury the old mule.

The mule got hysterical. Soon enough, the farmer and the neighbours started to shovel and fill well with the dirt. When the first bout of dirt hit mule’s back, suddenly his fast losing spirit came up with an idea. He thought every time a shovel load of dirt will land on his back, he will just shake it off and step up a bit higher. The idea filled him with a new lease of life and hope.

Old mule kept doing the same blow after blow. He would just shake the dirt off and step up a notch higher. He kept reminding himself of possibility of a brand new life. He controlled his nerves and kept stepping up. After some time, the exhausted mule managed to step over the wall of that well. He was completely tired and fatigued yet his spirit triumphed. The dirt that was meant to bury him actually helped him in remaining alive.

The story is a clear example of how our attitude towards seemingly impossible adversities determines the final outcome. Life is like this only. If we respond positively to the stream of problems faced by us and refuse to surrender, we are likely to emerge victorious.

2. Important things of Life

There was this philosophy professor in a prestigious university who loved to teach students about important theories of the subject. Once, while his lecture was about to begin, he just closed the book and instead stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him.  Students were curious but the professor without looking at them silently picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar. Thereafter, he started to fill it with small rocks. Once the jar appeared full, professor proceeded to ask his students ‘whether the jar was full?’

Entire class unanimously agreed that jar was indeed full. Next, the professor picked up some pebbles and began pouring them into the jar. The moment pouring was complete, he shook the jar lightly. As a result of that, all the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks and settled comfortably.

Professor again asked the students if the jar is full. Same response from the class like before and they all agreed that the jar was full. Professor smiled a bit and this time he picked up a box of sand. He poured the box into the jar and sand filled the entire remaining spaces. Professor repeated his question to the class, if the jar was full? Yes again, was the unanimous response of the students.

Professor now turned towards the class and said, this jar represents your life. The entire things I poured into the jar symbolise some important lessons. The rocks are the most important things, i.e., family, your partner, health and your children. Even if everything else in your life goes away but the rocks remains there, your life would still be full because the most important things are still present in your life.

Pebbles represent other significant things like car, house and job etc. And the sand is the small stuff or everything else.

So the lesson to be learnt here is, you all have to be very selective about what to fill in the jar first and in what order. If your time and energy is spent on small stuff then there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks or in other words, most important things of your life. Always pay attention to things that are most important to you and never take things for granted.

So take care of rocks first and rest everything will fall into place.

3. Paid in full with one glass of milk

There was a poor boy named Howard Kelly who was going through some real bad times. He wanted to study but had no monetary support so to make the ends meet he started to sell goods from door to door. This way he could pay his school fee. But selling is a hard job. One fine day, he found he had just one thin dime left and he was hungry as well.

He wondered for a while and then decided to ask for the meal at the next house. When he knocked at the door, a pretty lady came out and Kelly felt nervous. Instead of asking for the food he just asked for a drink of water.

Lady could feel pangs of hunger on boy’s face so she brought him a large glass of milk. Boy was astonished and yet he could not resist his hunger. He drank the milk slowly and asked lady, ‘how much do I owe you?‘ Lady replied, ‘You don’t owe me anything. I have been taught never to accept pay for an act of kindness’. Boy was extremely touched and thanked her from the bottom of his heart. This incident left a profound effect on boy’s psyche. His faith in God and man further increased.

Many years passed after that small incident. The young lady became critically ill and local doctors were clueless about her illness. She was sent to the big city where specialists were called upon to diagnose and treat her problem. The mystery surrounding the illness forced doctors to call Dr. Howard Kelly. When Mr. Kelly first heard about the town she came from, he instantly remember the entire incident and rushed his way to check the patient.

Howard Kelly immediately recognised her and started doing everything in her capacity to save young woman’s life. After giving special attention to the case for quite some time, the lady started getting better. When it came to the matter of bill payment, Dr. Kelly requested hospital authorities to pass the final bill to him.

After carefully examining the bill details, he scribbled something on the edge of the paper and passed the bill to patient’s room. She was scared to have a look at the bill knowing it would take her rest of the life to pay for the expensive treatment. But when she finally opened the bill, she saw something written on the side of the bill,

‘Paid in full with one glass of milk’
Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly.

Somewhere hidden in the childhood of every person are fairy tales. Every girl dreams of being Cinderella or Snow White and every boy wants to be Alladin or the handsome prince riding on white unicorn. Fairytales take us to a different land where the water is blue as can be, where birds sing and animals talk. Thanks to fairytales for they give every child to imagine and enter a kingdom that is far from reality.

Fairytales take us to a land we can only imagine. With fresh colors and beautiful landscapes, this figment of our imagination gives us a different perspective to life.

The morale of every story tells us that we should rethink the way we deal with people and situations.
A fairytale cherished all over the world and close to our hearts is the one of Cinderella.

Fairy tales fascinate not only children but adults also. Fairy tales are basically fictional stories and have always been considered as traditional stories for children. Going back to the history sheets, fairy tale was not just about children’s story. It had brutal and dark references to wicked parents and harsh punishments. However, children’s fairy tales acquired a new meaning altogether with elements of magic and fantasy. Such stories often have fascinating creatures, mysterious places and other wonderful things. In real sense of the word, fairy tale and fantasy are two different words yet there is not much to distinguish between the two.

Children’s fairy tales are very popular all across the globe and at the same time have different versions in different places. Looking at them closely, these fantasy stories are quite different from stories of past. The best part about fairytale is essential ingredient of moral values. For example, many stories suggest kids not to wander too far or not to talk to strangers. Because of the happy ending of fairy tales, message of good triumphing over evil becomes even more prominent. Wicked creatures have to pay for their misdeeds and that is definitely a great teaching source for children. Kindness is always rewarded and bad spirits are always beaten.

There are number of famous fairy tale stories. Most people are at best, aware of only Disney’s versions of fairy tales but there are other versions too. These stories are centuries old and have been passed from one generation to another through word of mouth. During the process, a number of fairy tales have been altered and are completely different from the original stories but the essence remains the same.

Talking about famous fairy stories, Grimms fairy tales are very much popular in different parts of the world. Actually, Jakob and Wilhem Grimm were two German academics who are also credited with preserving numerous centuries old fairy tales. Their passion for fairy tales was reflected through publication of ages old fairy tales in their own versions. These stories were published in the 1880s and most of the fairy stories known by us are Grimm versions only.
There are several amazing Classic fairy tales. Popular among kids as well as adults, these tales have retained their essence, charm and appeal over the years.
Some of the famous ones are,
Rumpelstiltskin
The Princess and the Pea
The Little Match-Seller
Hansel and Gretel
The Little Mermaid
The Emperor’s New Suit
Little Red Riding Hood
The Ugly Duckling
Rapunzel
Thumbelina
The Frog Prince
The Red Shoes
These are just few of classic fairy tales but the number is endless. diverse countries have different set of stories and unique interpretations as well.
But popularity of some of the fairy tales goes beyond boundaries and nationalities. Some of the fairy tales that can be included in all time popular fairy tales list are,
Jack and the Bean-stalk
Cinderella
Beauty and the Beast
Sleeping beauty
Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves
The emperor’s new clothes
Snow White
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
Mother Goose
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Allerleirauh
Brother and Sister
Almondseed and Almondella
The Clever Little Tailor
Alphege, or the Green Monkey
The Crystal Ball
Ancilotto, King of Provino
The Devil With The Three golden Hairs
The Dragon and His Grandmother
The Angel
If truth be told, all the popular fairy tales cannot be listed here. That shows how these stories have maintained their presence through the course of human history and how integral are they to our own culture and upbringing. Fairy tales are wonderful means of imparting education and messages of ethical and moral values among the children.

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Cinderella

Hansel and Gretel

Aladdin and the magic lamp

Long long time ago there lived an impoverished boy named Aladdin. He found it difficult to meet ends as he lived it utter poverty. Until one day an old man walked up to him and said he was his uncle. As Aladdin had lost his father and did really have an uncle he had never seen, his mother welcomed this old man home. The next day, the uncle gave Aladdin good clothes to wear and a tour of the city gardens. Impressed with the makeover of her son, the mother readily agreed to Aladdin working for the uncle.

But this old man was no uncle, infact he was a wicked magician who wanted to use the services of the boy. So he took him along with him though cities and gardens, until they reached a mountain. The magician lit a fire and mumbled some words which Aladdin did not understand and with a swish of the powder the ground beneath them opened. 

Aladdin was afraid with the happenings but the magician assured him that nothing would happen to him but he would have to listen to every word he said. The magician told Aladdin to alight through the tunnel, he would then come to a forked path with three ways, and he should take the right and lead on until he came to fresh gardens. Right in the centre of it would be a lamp that is glowing. Put off the light, remove the oil from it and bring the lamp back. But do not touch anything else said the magician and led the boy down.

Oblivious of the essence of the lamp, Aladdin scampered through the way and found the lamp. On his way back, he pocketed some fruits that were shiny like he had never seen before. When he reached the opening, the magician was glad and reached out his hand to take the lamp. Pull me out first, said Aladdin but the magician refused. So Aladdin too refused to give the lamp before being out in the open. So the angry old man closed the ground above him.

Sobbing away, Aladdin’s hand rubbed the lamp by mistake and out came a genie. You are my master and I will do anything you command, it said. Take me home said Aladdin and before he knew it, he was with his mother. Instantaneously he related the entire story to look at his mother’s widened pupils. She summoned the genie to bring forth those shiny fruits and food. And the two feasted for the first time in their life. Life went well for a few years as their every wish came true.

Then one day he saw Jasmine, the daughter of the king and fell in love with her. His mother made proud presentations to the king with rich gifts and fanfare. Looking at the magnanimous gifts the king readied to give his daughter in marriage. Aladdin wished for a palace and the same was granted for the newly married couple. 

The news of the grand palace spread far & wide and soon the evil magician got to know of it. So one day he went with a cart full of new lamps shouting new for old. As Jasmine did not know the value of the old lamp she exchanged it for a new one. And soon the magician transposed the palace and the princess to Africa. Hearing this Aladdin set out to rescue his love. With the help of the flying carpet and his beloved monkey pet he found the lamp and summoned the genie to redo the act.

He then punished the magician by adding poison to his drink that led to the death of the old wicked man. Thereafter Aladdin his mother and Jasmine lived happily ever after.

Bed time is a perfect time to bond with the child. As the body needs rest, their mind needs to be relaxed. This is the best time to get imaginative and narrate stories and also indirectly teach them a few notes on discipline and good behavior. Teaching through stories is a soothing time for children. Reading becomes a habit and they also would love to point out the characters in the book. Use this time to explain about God, friends and other things about school.

The fox cubs and the lion cub
One chilly evening, the lion returned to his den with a baby fox cub in his hand. Mamma lion was waiting for dinner to be served. She was quite disheartened to see the tiny fox and said, “I don’t have the heart to eat him. He is so much like my kids.” The lion agreed and from then on they raised him with their other two cubs. The fox child learnt to romp, play and eat like the lions.

As they grew, they started wandering on their own. It was fun to just be together. One day the elephant came along. Elephants are very much an enemy of the lion. The cubs were scared and they whimpered back to the den. But the fox stayed back growling at them. On reaching home, the fox was laughing and chiding the lion cubs for their coward ness. Mamma lioness watched all this with concern.

Late in the night, as the children slept peacefully she told the Lion, “I don’t think our fox child should stay with us. Today he was teasing them but as they are children they will forget and play. As they grow, the lions will eat up the fox.” The Lion nodded in agreement. Early in the morning Mamma lion told the fox, “Though you are my child you are not a lion. For your happiness you must go to your fox family. Be happy and live with them.”
The fox was sad to leave but understood the matter. He suddenly noticed some fox cubs in the bushes and quickly raced with them. At night, the fox howls and Mamma Lion knows that he is safe somewhere in the forest. And everyone sleeps peacefully.

Jacky- The shy Hippo
Jacky Hippo was too lazy to run and play. He was happy to be sitting all day in water and day dreaming. All he did was eat some grass and sit in water. All the animals we were worried about him. Chikki would peck on him to keep him clean and push away the annoying bees. But all Jacky would do was smile at her.

The annual festive season was nearing and all the animals geared for the fancy dress competition. The theme was about games and champions in sports. There was a nice party and dance after the competition. When Jacky heard the same, he was not even excited. He showed no interest to participate or talk about ideas he had.

Jacky’s mother was upset and told Chikki to do something about the same. Chikky told him, “Jack, Would you like to be a part of the fancy dress theme?” and all Jack said was a “No.” Chikki told him, “You know Shera is going to judge on us and there is a prize for the runner up too. But Jacky just moved to another spot and continued munching the grass.

The rehearsal was on and the animals decided to practice in front of Jacky. On seeing so much excitement, colors and props, Jacky’s eyes showed a glint of happiness. He came out of water and almost smiled. Jacky’s mom gave him a costume of a goal keeper of a football team. All the animals cheered him to wear the gear. Jacky was shy and put his head down. Chikki clapped and tweeted and all the animals joined in.

Jacky changed into his costume and emerged from the bush. All the animals clapped and Partha the fox taught him a few tricks on how to behave like a goal keeper. Jacky felt confident and practiced each day. He spent less time munching or being idle. Chikki was happy for him. On the day of the event, Jacky was shy to go on stage but all the animals cheered him. He gave a good performance and also won the prize.

Jacky was happy and showed the prize to his mother. He was no more shy or idle. He played and chased butterflies. He exercises and remains fit. Jacky is now happy as he is selected for the football team which has regular matches each year.

Sun and Moon
One day God was giving jobs to all animals, humans, trees and planets. He saw the nine planets and wondered. The Earth is the most beautiful planet and it has so much responsibility as many people live here. Let me allot the Sun and the Moon to help Dear Earth. The Sun was told to shine on earth for the entire day and then the moon was to come to keep her company during the dark.

The Sun God and Moon God met in Heaven and greeted each other. They were excited but the moon said, ‘Let us play the hide and seek game from now on.’ This is what happens as when the moon goes the sun comes bright and shining to help the human beings begin the day. We go to school, elders go to office and the day is a busy time. While it gets to be dark, the sun hides and up comes the moon and with it comes the stars.

The moon is the satellite of the earth and is very close to where the earth is. When the moon comes up, we begin to rest as rest is important for our body. One day there was confusion and the Moon and Sun accidentally met and then there was Eclipse. Everyone said it is when the sun, moon and earth talk to each other there is eclipse. Though this is rare, the scientists are finding out new ways to know more about the eclipse.

The Sun was proud of his job as he was the life giver to many living things. The plants needed him, kids loved him and many humans worshipped him. The moon was sad and yet did his job dutifully. As the routine was set, one hot day, the Sun was tired and was waiting for the day to get over. The Moon decided to play truant and did not want to come. The Sun pleaded, “C’mon Moon, You know I have had a tiring day so why don’t you help me’.

The fairy for the twilight came and pleaded to the moon, ‘Oh Moon. Please come over. All of us need you equally.’ The Moon came smiling. The Sun was relieved. He apologized to the moon and from then on God sent Evening so that the Sun and Moon can work happily during the day and night.