Short story: The Fox and The Stork

The Fox and The Stork

Long time ago, there was a selfish fox. He invited a stork for dinner. The stork was very happy with the invitation. She went to fox’s home and knocked at the door with her long beak. The fox took her to the dinner table and served some soup in shallow bowls for both of them. Since the bowl was too shallow for the stork, she couldn’t eat the soup at all. But, the fox licked up his soup in no time.

The stork was angry because she could not eat from the bowl. But she behaved politely. She thought to teach a lesson to the fox. So, one day the stork invited the fox for dinner. She too served soup, but this time the soup was served in two tall narrow vases. The stork devoured the soup from her vase, but the fox couldn’t drink any of it because of his narrow neck. The fox realised his mistake and went home hungry.

Moral: Do not play tricks on your neighbors unless you can stand the same treatment yourself.

The Foolish Donkey

 

The Foolish Donkey

Long ago, there was a salt seller. He used to carry the salt bag on a donkey to the market every day.

They had to cross a stream on their way. One day, the donkey suddenly tumbled down the stream and the salt bag also fell into the water. The salt dissolved in the stream and hence the bag became very light to carry. The donkey felt relieved.

Then the donkey realized that he could do this every day.

His master understood the trick. One day, he decided to teach a lesson to the donkey because he was losing salt every day. So he planned to load a cotton bag on the donkey instead of salt.

The donkey played the same trick but little did he know what his master held under his sleeve.

As soon as the donkey tumbled in the water, the cotton absorbed lots of water and the bag became heavier than before. The donkey learnt a lesson and stopped playing the trick anymore after that day.

Moral of the story: Luck won’t favor always.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once upon a time, there lived a carefree boy in a village. His father told him that he was grown up and now he should watch over the sheep while they graze in the fields. Every day, he would take the sheep to the fields and watch them. But he was not happy. He wanted to go and play.😏

One day, he decided to have some fun. 😛 He cried, “Wolf! Wolf!” the entire village rushed to his rescue with stones and sticks to chase away the wolf. When the villagers arrived, they saw that there was no wolf. They said that the boy had wasted their time. The next day, the boy cried once more, “Wolf! Wolf!” and, again, the villagers rushed there to chase the wolf away but in vain.😡

The boy laughed at the situation he had caused. 😂😁😁😁😁 This time, the villagers got angry. The third day, as the boy went up a small hill, suddenly he saw a real wolf killing his sheep. He cried as loud as he could, “Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!”, but not a single villager came to help him. They thought that the boy was trying to make them fool again. The little boy lost many sheep that day. 😩

Moral of the story:
If you keep lying, no one will believe you even if you are speaking the truth. Always speak the truth.

The Goose That Laid The Golden Eggs

The Goose That Laid The Golden Eggs

Long time ago, there lived a farmer with his wife in a village. He had a goose that laid one golden egg every day. The eggs provided enough money for the farmer and his wife for their basic needs. The income was sufficient and both the farmer and his wife were happy with their income. But since greed is a human instinct, one day, the farmer thought, “I think I can take all the eggs from this goose in one go.”😈

His ignorant wife denied initially but then together they decided to cut the goose in order to take all the eggs at one time. As soon as they cut the bird open, they found nothing inside the guts. And the bird was dead. Both the farmer and his wife realised their msitake and cried. Because they had lost their single source of income.😥

Moral of the story: One who desires more, loses all. 

The English idiom “kill not the goose that lays the golden egg” was also derived from this classic story.