Get ready for a wild ride through the jungle, where animals aren’t just animals! They’re clever, funny, and sometimes a little bit tricky. These stories are called Panchatantra, and they’re packed with lessons that will make you smarter and kinder.
Imagine a monkey who outsmarts a crocodile, a jackal who tricks a lion, and a tortoise who wins a race! These stories are full of surprises and teach us important things like friendship, honesty, and hard work. So, let’s dive into this exciting adventure and learn from these amazing animal tales!
The Fisherman & the Little Fish
A poor Fisherman, who lived on the fish he caught, had bad luck one day and caught nothing but a very small fry. The Fisherman was about to put it in his basket when the little Fish said:
“Please spare me, Mr. Fisherman! I am so small it is not worth while to carry me home. When I am bigger, I shall make you a much better meal.”
But the Fisherman quickly put the fish into his basket.
“How foolish I should be,” he said, “to throw you back. However small you may be, you are better than nothing at all.”
Moral : A small gain is worth more than a large promise.
The Frogs Who Wished for a King
The Frogs were tired of governing themselves. They had so much freedom that it had spoiled them, and they did nothing but sit around croaking in a bored manner and wishing for a government that could entertain them with the pomp and display of royalty, and rule them in a way to make them know they were being ruled. No milk and water government for them, they declared. So they sent a petition to Jupiter asking for a king.
Jupiter saw what simple and foolish creatures they were, but to keep them quiet and make them think they had a king he threw down a huge log, which fell into the water with a great splash. The Frogs hid themselves among the reeds and grasses, thinking the new king to be some fearful giant. But they soon discovered how tame and peaceable King Log was. In a short time the younger Frogs were using him for a diving platform, while the older Frogs made him a meeting place, where they complained loudly to Jupiter about the government.
To teach the Frogs a lesson the ruler of the gods now sent a Crane to be king of Frogland. The Crane proved to be a very different sort of king from the old King Log. He gobbled up the poor Frogs right and left and they soon saw what fools they had been. In mournful croaks they begged Jupiter to take away the cruel tyrant before they should all be destroyed.
“How now!” cried Jupiter “Are you not yet content? You have what you asked for and so you have only yourselves to blame for your misfortunes.”
Moral : Be sure you can better your condition before you seek to change.
How the Crow Got Black Colour
A boy named Aarav got a doubt of “How the Crow Got Black Colour” so Aarav ran to his mother with a picture and asked “Mummy, why are crows black?” Mummy Laughed and said, “Well, there was a time when crows were actually white.”
And she started telling a story, “A long time ago, the sun asked a crow to deliver a ruby which he had put into a silken bag for his beloved, who was a princess on earth. While passing over a village, the crow felt hungry and decided to stop for a while.
He hung the bag on a small branch of a tree and flew off in search of some food. Meanwhile a merchant noticed the bag and pocketed the ruby. Instead, he put some rubbish in the bag. When the crow took the bag to the princess, she saw the rubbish in the bag and became very angry.
Later, when the sun came to know what had happened, he was so furious that under his burning glare all the feathers of the crow got burned and turned black.
The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
A certain Wolf could not get enough to eat because of the watchfulness of the Shepherds. But one night he found a sheep skin that had been cast aside and forgotten. The next day, dressed in the skin, the Wolf strolled into the pasture with the Sheep. Soon a little Lamb was following him about and was quickly led away to slaughter.
That evening the Wolf entered the fold with the flock. But it happened that the Shepherd took a fancy for mutton broth that very evening, and, picking up a knife, went to the fold. There the first he laid hands on and killed was the Wolf.
Moral : The evil doer often comes to harm through his own deceit.
Crow and the snake moral story
Once upon a time a family of crows lived in a huge banyan tree. There was a Father Crow, a Mother Crow, and many baby crows. One day a huge snake came to live in the hole at the bottom of the tree. The crows were unhappy about this, but could do nothing. Soon Mother Crow hatched a few more eggs and some more baby crows were born. When the crows flew out in search of food, the snake ate up the babies. When the crows returned, they could not find their babies. They hunted high and low, but to no avail.
After a few months, Mother Crow gave birth to some more baby crows. This time Mother Crow stayed home when Father Crow went out in search of food. Ignoring the fact that Mother Crow was keeping a watchful eye on her babies, the snake still slithered up the tree and attacked the babies. Mother Crow tried to fight the snake off, but she was not strong enough. Other crows came to her aid, but the snake had already eaten the little ones and crawled back into its hole.
When Father Crow returned, he found all the crows weeping. He consoled his wife who wanted to leave the tree house immediately. Father Crow said that this tree had been their home for many years and they must live here. He thought of asking a wise old fox for help in order to get rid of the snake.
The old fox came up with a brilliant plan. He told them to go to the river bank the next morning where the ladies of the royal family would be bathing. Their clothes and valuables would be kept on the river bank while the servants would be watching over them from a distance.
The fox asked the crows to pick up a necklace and while away making a raucous noise. This would make the servants chase them to the tree where the crows would drop the necklace into the snake’s hole.
So the next morning when the crows flew to the river bank, Mother Crow picked up a pearl necklace and flew off as Father Crow cawed loudly to attract the servants’ attention. The servants ran after Mother Crow and reached the banyan tree where they saw her drop the necklace into the snake hole. As the servants were trying to take the necklace out with the help of a long stick, the snake came out of the hole and hissed at them menacingly. The servants beat the snake to death. And so Mother and Father Crow lived happily ever after in the banyan tree.
The Hungry Mouse
A mouse was having a very bad time. She could find no food at all. She looked here and there, but there was no food, and she grew very thin. At last the mouse found a basket, full of corn. There was a small hole in the basket, and she crept in. She could just get through the hole.
Then she began to eat the corn. Being very hungry, she ate a great deal, and went on eating and eating. She had grown very fat before she felt that she had had enough. When the mouse tried to climb out of the basket, she could not. She was too fat to pass through the hole.
” How shall I climb out?” said the mouse. “oh, how shall I climb out?” Just then a rat came along, and he heard the mouse.”Mouse,” said the rat, “if you want to climb out of the basket, you must wait till you have grown as thin as you were when you went in.”
The Plane Tree
Two Travellers, walking in the noonday sun, sought the shade of a widespreading tree to rest. As they lay looking up among the pleasant leaves, they saw that it was a Plane Tree.
“How useless is the Plane!” said one of them. “It bears no fruit whatever, and only serves to litter the ground with leaves.”
“Ungrateful creatures!” said a voice from the Plane Tree. “You lie here in my cooling shade, and yet you say I am useless! Thus ungratefully, O Jupiter, do men receive their blessings!”
Moral : Our best blessings are often the least appreciated.
The Oak & the Reeds
A Giant Oak stood near a brook in which grew some slender Reeds. When the wind blew, the great Oak stood proudly upright with its hundred arms uplifted to the sky. But the Reeds bowed low in the wind and sang a sad and mournful song.
“You have reason to complain,” said the Oak. “The slightest breeze that ruffles the surface of the water makes you bow your heads, while I, the mighty Oak, stand upright and firm before the howling tempest.”
“Do not worry about us,” replied the Reeds. “The winds do not harm us. We bow before them and so we do not break. You, in all your pride and strength, have so far resisted their blows. But the end is coming.”
As the Reeds spoke a great hurricane rushed out of the north. The Oak stood proudly and fought against the storm, while the yielding Reeds bowed low. The wind redoubled in fury, and all at once the great tree fell, torn up by the roots, and lay among the pitying Reeds.
Better to yield when it is folly to resist, than to resist stubbornly and be destroyed.
The Fox & the Leopard
A Fox and a Leopard, resting lazily after a generous dinner, amused themselves by disputing their good looks. The Leopard was very proud of his glossy, spotted coat and made disdainful remarks about the Fox, whose appearance he declared was quite ordinary.
The Fox prided himself on his fine bushy tail with its tip of white, but he was wise enough to see that he could not rival the Leopard in looks. Still he kept up a flow of sarcastic talk, just to exercise his wits and to have the fun of disputing. The Leopard was about to lose his temper when the Fox got up, yawning lazily.
“You may have a very smart coat,” he said, “but you would be a great deal better off if you had a little more smartness inside your head and less on your ribs, the way I am. That’s what I call real beauty.”
Moral : A fine coat is not always an indication of an attractive mind.
The Crane And The Crab
An old and cunning crab had difficulty catching fish. To avoid starvation, it came up with a plan to get food easily. It sat on the banks of the river with a sad face one day.
On being asked, the crane said that he foresaw that there would be a famine, and all the animals in the pond would die soon.
The naive fish believed the crane and sought its help. The crane happily agreed to carry the fish in its mouth and leave them in another lake near the mountains,
That way, the crane filled its stomach. One day it decided to eat a crab and carried it on its back. The crab saw a lot of fish skeletons on a barren land nearby and asked the crane about it.
The crane confessed proudly that it ate all the fish and now it would eat the crab.
The crab acted quickly on hearing this and used its claws to kill the crane and save its life.
Moral: Do not believe hearsay; check the authenticity of the information before acting.
The Boys And The Frogs
Some Boys were playing one day at the edge of a pond in which lived a family of Frogs. The Boys amused themselves by throwing stones into the pond so as to make them skip on top of the water.
The stones were flying thick and fast and the Boys were enjoying themselves very much; but the poor Frogs in the pond were trembling with fear.
At last one of the Frogs, the oldest and bravest, put his head out of the water, and said, “Oh, please, dear children, stop your cruel play! Though it may be fun for you, it means death to us!”
Moral : Always stop to think whether your fun may not be the cause of another’s unhappiness.
The Mother & the Wolf
Early one morning a hungry Wolf was prowling around a cottage at the edge of a village, when he heard a child crying in the house. Then he heard the Mother’s voice say:
“Hush, child, hush! Stop crying, or I will give you to the Wolf!”
Surprised but delighted at the prospect of such a delicious meal, the Wolf settled down under an open window, expecting every moment to have the child handed out to him. But though the little one continued to fret, the Wolf waited all day in vain. Then, toward nightfall, he heard the Mother’s voice again as she sat down near the window to sing and rock her baby to sleep.
“There, child, there! The Wolf shall not get you. No, no! Daddy is watching and Daddy will kill him if he should come near!”
Moral : Do not believe everything you hear.
For Readers
Well, that was quite a journey, wasn’t it? We met some incredible animals and learned some valuable lessons. Remember, just like the animals in these stories, we can choose to be kind, helpful, and wise.
So, the next time you feel lazy or tempted to cheat, think of the tortoise who won the race. And if you ever meet someone new, remember the importance of friendship, just like the monkey and the crocodile. Let’s carry these lessons with us and make the world a better place, one good deed at a time.