Panchatantra Stories : 1.2. The Jackal And The Drum

2. The Jackal And The Drum A hungry jackal set out in search of food and ended up at an abandoned battlefield whence he heard loud and strange sounds. Scared, he thought, “I must disappear from here before the man who is making these sounds gets me.” After a while he told himself, “I must not run away like that. Let me find out what really the sounds are and who is making them because whether it is fear or happiness one must know its cause. Such a person will never regret his actions. So, let me first look for the source of these noises.” Warily,...

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Panchatantra Stories : 1.1. The Monkey And The Wedge

1.1. The Monkey And The Wedge A merchant once started building a temple in the middle of his garden. Many masons and carpenters were working for the merchant. They took time off every day to go to the town for their lunch. One day, when the workers left for lunch a batch of monkeys landed at the temple site and began playing with whatever caught their fancy. One of the monkeys saw a partly sawed log of wood and a wedge fixed in it so that it does not close up. Curious to know what it is, the monkey began furiously tugging at the wedge. At last...

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1. The Loss of Friends

1. The Loss of Friends Once upon a time, Amarasakti ruled the city-state of Mahilaropyam in the south of India. He had three witless sons who became a matter of endless worry for him. Realizing that his sons had no interest in learning, the king summoned his ministers and said: “You know I am not happy with my sons. According to men of learning an unborn son and a stillborn son are better than a son who is a dimwit. What good is a barren cow? A son who is stupid will bring dishonour to his father. How can I make them fit to be my successors?...

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Panchatantra Tales

The Great Panchatantra Tales A king, worried that his three sons are without the wisdom to live in a world of wile and guile, asks a learned man called Vishnu Sharman to teach them the ways of the world. Since his wards are dimwits, Vishnu Sharman decides to pass on wisdom to them in the form of stories. In these stories, he makes animals speak like human beings. Panchatantra is a collection of attractively told stories about the five ways that help the human being succeed in life. Pancha means five and tantra means ways or strategies or principles....

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The Ant And The Grasshopper

The Ant And The Grasshopper One cold, frosty day in the middle of winter a colony of ants was busy drying out some, grains of corn, which had grown damp during the wet autumn weather. A grasshopper half dead with cold and hunger, came up to one of the ants. “Please give me a grail or two from your store of corn to save my life,” he said faintly. “We...

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A Merchant And His Donkey

A Merchant And His Donkey One beautiful spring morning, a merchant loaded his donkey with bags of salt to go to the market in order to sell them. The merchant and his donkey were walking along together. They had not walked far when they reached a river on the road. Unfortunately, the donkey slipped and fell into the river and noticed that...

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The Clever Boy

The Clever Boy A man with his donkey carrying two sacks of wheat was on his way to the market. After a little while he was tired and they rested under a tree. When he woke up from his nap he could not see the donkey and started searching for the donkey everywhere. On the way he met a boy, he asked the boy, “Have you seen my donkey?” The...

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The Three Wise Men

The Three Wise Men One day some wise men, who were going about the country trying to find answers to some of the great questions of their time, came to Nasreddin’s district and asked to see the wisest man in the place. Nasreddin was brought forward, and a big crowd gathered to listen. The first wise man began by asking, “Where is the exact center...

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The Cage Bird's Escape

The Cage Bird's Escape Once upon a time, there was a bird in a cage who sang for her merchant owner. He took delight in her song day and night, and was so fond of her that he served her water in a golden dish. Before he left for a business trip, he asked the bird if she had a wish: “I will go through the forest where you were born, past the birds...

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The One-Eyed Doe

The One-Eyed DoeA Doe had the misfortune to lose one of her eyes, and could not see any one approaching her on that side. So to avoid any danger she always used to feed on a high cliff near the sea, with her sound eye looking towards the land. By this means she could see whenever the hunters approached her on land, and often escaped by this means....

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Akbar Birbal Stories : The Mango Tree

The Mango Tree One day, two men appeared in the court of Akbar. They were neighbors. They had a dispute over a mango tree. The mango tree had just borne fruits. Both Raghav and Keshav were laying their claim over the tree. King Akbar asked the servant who was hired as a guard for the tree. He said, “Sir, they both are my masters. They together...

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Akbar Birbal Stories : The Stolen Swan

The Stolen Swan One day, a rich merchant appeared in the court of Akbar. After some formal greetings, he told him the reason for his arrival. He said, “Your Majesty, a couple of months back, I bought a swan. It was very beautiful. It had golden feathers. I used to keep it in a large cage that I got exclusively built for it. One fateful morning,...

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Birbal Betrays Himself

Birbal Betrays Himself Birbal was missing. He and the emperor had a quarrel and Birbal had stormed out of the palace vowing never to return. Now Akbar missed him and wanted him back but no one knew where he was.Then the emperor had a brainwave. He offered a reward of 1000 gold coins to any man who could come to the palace observing the following condition....

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Who Are Donkeys

Who Are Donkeys One day, when Akbar and Birbal were in discussions, Birbal happened to pass a harmless comment about Akbar's sense of humor.  But Emperor Akbar was in a foul mood and took great offense to this remark. He asked Birbal, his court-jester, friend and confidant, to not only leave the palace but also to leave the walls of the city...

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Blend of Light and Shadow

Blend of Light and Shadow: One day, Akbar was sitting along in his royal chamber. He was in a bad temper. That very moment Birbal arrived there. Being a humorous person, he cracked some joke which Akbar did not like. He bluntly said to his brightest gem, “Birbal! Don’t you have any other work besides cracking these stupid jokes?” Birbal was...

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Akbar Birbal Stories : The Golden Sword

The Golden Sword King Akbar was a very kind-hearted man. Every morning, he took Birbal, his favourite courtier, in the villages and cities where he heard the grievances of the people. One day, in the market they found an old woman carrying a sword in her hands. Akbar stopped beside her and asked “What are you doing with this sword?” “Your Majesty,”...

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Akbar Birbal Stories : The Box of Jewels

The Box of Jewels Long long ago there lived an old main in Delhi. He was very rich and a miser too. He spent only that much as was necessary. He had an old, large box in which he kept his jewels. Once his hut caught fire. The man somehow managed to escape the fire. But as soon as he remembered his jewels, he started crying. Soon a large crowd surrounded...

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Breaking the Bonds

Breaking the Bonds Prince Salim was around eighteen or nineteen years old when he made friends with Haricharan, the son of a rich merchant. They got so much engrossed in their friendship that they forgot their other responsibilities. They just talked and unnecessarily wasted their time without doing anything worthwhile. One day the merchant approached...

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Akbar Birbal Stories : A Trip to Paradise

A Trip to Paradise Birbal, being a favourite of King Akbar, had a few enemies who envied him. Once, they made a plan to get rid of Birbal. The royal barber was also one of the conspirators. One day, acting according to the plan, he said to the king, “Your Majesty, sometimes I feel that you don’t care about your dead ancestors.” “That’s not...

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Akbar Birbal Stories : A Pitcher of Wisdom

A Pitcher of Wisdom Once, an ambassador of a neighbouring country visited the court of Akbar and said, “Sir, we have heard that there are too many wise and witty people in your court. So our King has sent me to fetch a pitcher full of wisdom from here. I expect you to fulfill our king’s wish soon.” Akbar was puzzled to hear this. He thought what...

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Count of all the Crows in the Kingdom

Count of all the Crows in the Kingdom King Akbar was a kind-hearted man. On one evening, when Akbar and Birbal were on their daily walks in the palace gardens, they noticed the lurching of a host of crows on the garden trees. Suddenly Akbar got a thought:"How many crows are there in my kingdom?" He asked Birbal, “Birbal, What do you think? How...

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Birbal Caught the Thief

Birbal Caught the Thief Once a rich merchant’s house was robbed. The merchant suspected that the thief was one of his servants. So he went to Birbal and mentioned the incident. Birbal went to his house and assembled all of his servants and asked that who stole the merchant’s things. Everybody denied. Birbal thought for a moment, then gave a...

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The Mongoose and The Cobra | The Mongoose and the Brahmin’s Wife

The Mongoose and The Cobra | The Mongoose and the Brahmin’s Wife Once upon a time, there lived a Brahman by the name of Deva Sharma with his wife. His wife delivered a son and they were happy to have their first child. The Brahmin wanted to have a pet animal to protect the child which would also be a companion to the child. The Brahmin kept his proposal before the Brahmani. She found the proposal acceptable and the Brahmin went to bring a pet. Deva Sharma went round the village and after much toil, got a mongoose as an escort to his child....

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The Monkey and The Crocodile Moral Story

The Monkey and The Crocodile Moral Story Long ago, there lived a monkey named Raktamukha, on a Jamun (Black-berry) tree by the side of a river. The tree was always full of fruits, which were as sweet as nectar. The Monkey used to eat fruits from the tree. Raktamukha was happily passing his days jumping from one tree to another. Once, a crocodile named Karalamukha came out of the waters and took rest under the tree on which the monkey lived. Raktamukha, who was sitting high on a branch, saw the crocodile taking rest under the tree. The monkey...

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The Musical Donkey Story

The Musical Donkey-panchatantra Once upon a time, there lived a washer man in a village. He possessed a thin donkey by the name of Udhata. The donkey used to work for the washer man and carry loads of clothes to the river bank by the day. The donkey was not satisfied with the food that was provided by the washer man. In the nights, he usually wandered in the fields nearby and ate the crops stealthily.One night, he met a jackal and made friends with him. Both of them went out in search of food. They found a field full of cucumbers and had them...

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The Brahmin’s Dream

The Brahmin’s Dream Once upon a time, there lived a poor Brahmin by the name of Swabhavakripna in a village. Swabhavakripna was all alone and had no friends or relatives. He was known for his miserliness and used to beg for his living. Whatever food he got as alms, he kept in an earthen pot and hung it beside his bed. Whenever he felt hungry, he took out some food from the pot and ate it. One day, the Brahmin got a quantity of rice gruel, so much that even after eating to his full, a pot full was left. Brahmin was very happy to get such...

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The Sparrow and the Elephant

The Sparrow and the Elephant   Once upon a time, there lived a sparrow with her husband on a banyan tree. They built a nest and the sparrow laid her eggs in the nest. One afternoon, a wild elephant came under the tree unable to bear the heat of the sun. Suddenly in a fit of rage, the elephant broke a branch of the tree on which the nest was built. Unfortunately, all the eggs of the sparrow got crushed though the parents were saved. The she-sparrow was full of grief and began weeping for her eggs.A woodpecker, a close friend of the sparrow,...

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The Talkative Tortoise Moral Story

The Talkative Tortoise Moral Story This is one more interesting story from Panchatantra. Once upon a time, there was a tortoise by the name of Kambugriva and two geese by the name of Sankata and Vikata. The tortoise lived in a pond and he made friends with two geese who used to come and visit him at the pond. All of them were happy for the past many years. Once they faced a drought that lasted for several months. Due to this, all the rivers, lakes and ponds went dry. There was not a drop of water to drink for the birds and the animals. They...

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The Two Headed Weaver Panchatantra Story

The Two Headed Weaver Panchatantra Story Once upon a time, there was a weaver by the name Mantharaka. One day when he was weaving the cloth, the wooden frames of his loom broke. He took an axe and went to the forest to bring wood in order to make new frames. He went round the forest but didn’t find the adequate wood for the frames. From the forest, he drifted towards the seashore where he saw a huge tree. He thought that if he could cut wood from the tree, he would have enough wood for all frames and would stay throughout his life. As the...

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