The Wolf and the Crane

A feeding wolf got a small bone stuck in his throat and, in terrible pain, begged the other animals for help, promising a reward.

At last the Crane agreed to try and, putting its long bill down the Wolf’s throat, loosened the bone and took it out.

But when the Crane asked for his reward, the Wolf replied, “You have put your head inside a wolf’s mouth and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward enough for you.”

Lesson: “You can’t make a good deal with a bad person.”

The Lion, the Panther and the Fox Who Went Hunting

One day the lion, the panther and the fox went hunting together, and it was agreed that whatever they caught would be shared between them. After lulling a large stag, they decided to have a hearty meal. The lion asked the panther to divide the spoils, and after the panther made 3 equal parts, he told his friends to take their pick, whereupon the lion, in great indignation seized the panther and tore him to pieces. He then told the fox to divide the spoils, and the fox gathered everything into one great pile except for a tiny portion that he reserved for himself.

“Ah, friend,” asked the lion, “Who taught you to divide things so equally?”

“I needed no other lesson,” replied the fox, “than the panther’s fate.”

Lesson – Better to learn from the mistakes of others than commit your own
Mental Model – Vicarious Learning

Tale of Karim’s Caps & Monkeys

Once upon a time there was a nice young man called Karim. He used to sell caps for a living, and roam around several villages. One day he would be in Mughalsarai, the other day people would find him in Faizabad.

It was an afternoon in summer and he was traversing the vast plains when he felt tired and wanted to have a nap. He found a nice mango tree with lots of branches and cool shade, placed his bag of caps beside himand went to sleep. Tired as he was, he was quickly fast asleep. When he woke up after a refreshing little nap, he found that there weren’t any caps in his bag!

“Oh, Allah!”, he said to himself, “Did the thieves have to find me of all people?” But then he noticed that the mango tree was full of cute monkeys wearing colourful caps!

He yelled at the monkeys and they screamed back.
He made faces at them and found the monkeys to be experts at that.
He threw a stone at them and they showered him with raw mangoes.

“Ya Allah, how do I get my caps back,” he said.

Frustrated, he took off his own cap and slammed it on the ground. And Lo, the stupid monkeys threw their caps too! Smart Karim didn’t waste a second, collected the caps and was on his way.

50 YEARS LATER….

Young Abdul, grandson of famous topiwala Karim who was also working hard at making $$$ doing his family business, was going through the same jungle.

After a long walk he was very tired and found a nice mango tree with lots of branches and cool shade. Abdul decided to rest a while and very soon was fast asleep. A few hours later, when Abdul woke up, he realised that all the caps from his bag were gone! Abdul started searching for the same and to his surprise found some monkeys sitting on mango tree wearing his caps.

Abdul was frustrated and didn’t know what to do. And then he remembered a story his grandfathers proudly used to let him.

“Yes!!!! I can fool these monkeys!!!”, said Abdul. “I’ll make them imitate me and very soon I’ll get all my caps back!”

Abdul waved at the monkeys — the Monkeys waved at Abdul
Abdul blew his nose — the Monkeys blew their noses
Abdul started dancing — the Monkeys were also dancing
Abdul pulled his ears — the Monkeys pulled their ears
Abdul raised his hands — the Monkeys raised their hands

Abdul threw his cap on the ground ……………. one of the monkeys jumped down from the tree, grab Abdul’s cap, walked upto Abdul; slapped him and said

“Do you think ONLY YOU HAD A GRANDFATHER?????”

By : Ajit Sahu, for http://www.whereincity.com

The Tiger and The Greedy Man

An old tiger lived in a forest. He was not strong. He could not hunt the animals. He starved for many days. One day he thought of a plan. He said, “I shall go to the river and take a bath. Then I shall sit on the bank. In one paw I shall hold some sacred kusa grass. In the other paw, I shall hold a gold bangle.”

He carried out his plan. Every day he sat on the bank of the river with the kusa grass in one hand and the gold bangle in the other. For some days no one came that way. The tiger was sad and hungry.

After a week a Brahmin passed that way. He was a poor and greedy man.

The tiger saw him and said, “Come here, good sir, I will give you a gold bangle. You can give it to your wife or daughter or you can sell it for a lot of money.”

The Brahmin saw the gold bangle. He thought, “The tiger has spoken kind words to me. He is very old too. He will not do me any harm.”

Then the Brahmin asked the tiger, “You are sitting on the opposite bank of the river. Is the river very deep? Can I cross it safely? How can I trust you?”

The tiger replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. I am very old. I have lost all my teeth. I bathe in the river every day and give presents to the poor. The river is not very deep. You can easily come to me and take the bangle from my hand.”

The greedy Brahmin trusted the words of the tiger. He got into the water and walked a few steps. The river was not very deep. In a few minutes he was very near the opposite bank. But suddenly his feet sank into mud. The tiger said to him, “Do not be afraid, O Brahmin. I will come and pull you out.”

Then the tiger walked slowly to him, pulled him out and ate him.

MORAL:
Greedy Is Bad.

The Brahmin and the Crab

Brahmadatta was a Brahmin boy living in a city with his old mother. One day, when he was planning to travel to another village, his mother told him not to travel alone but take someone with him. The boy said that the way to the village was safe and that he was leaving on an urgent business. He asked her not to be afraid.

Knowing that he was determined to go, the mother went to the well in the backyard and took out a crab and asked his son to keep the crab with him during his travel. The boy then put the crab in a camphor box and put that box in a vessel and set out on his journey. That being summer, the day was very hot and the Brahmin halted and took rest under a big tree.

From the hollow of the tree, a snake emerged and, attracted by the fragrance of camphor, swallowed the box containing the crab. The crab came out of the box and sliced the head of the snake and killed him. The Brahmin boy woke and found the dead snake and the camphor box. When he saw the crab coming out of the box alive, he at once realized what had happened.

He then remembered the words of his mother and thought he did well by heeding her advice that saved him from death.

Moral:
Those who feed on the rich, do not help them in distress. When their wealth is in tact, everyone hovers around the rich.
(This Panchatantra story is from Imprudence)

The Bird with Two Heads

A great bird named Bharunda lived on the banks of a lake. He had two heads but a single body. One day, as the bird was wandering on the bank of the lake, he found a fruit, which was as delicious as ambrosia. One of his heads mumbled, “Oh what a fruit. I am sure the heavens have sent it for me. I am so lucky.”

Hearing this, the second head said, “O brother, let me also taste the fruit you are praising so much.”

The first head laughed and said, “Both of us have the same stomach. It makes no difference whether I eat it or you eat it. I shall give it to our beloved. She will be very happy.” Bharunda thus gave the fruit to his wife. The second head was disappointed at this action of the first head.

One day, the second head found a poisonous fruit and told the first head, “You treacherous fellow. For what you have done to me, I will eat this poisonous fruit and avenge your insult.”

The second head said, “You fool, if you eat that, both of us will die because we have the same body.”

Ignoring his warning, the second head ate the poisonous fruit and both of them died.

Moral:
Those who are not united will perish.
(This Panchatantra story is from Imprudence)