The Golden Egg

Once upon a time, a farmer had a goose that laid

a golden egg every day. The egg provided enough
money for the farmer and his wife for their day-to-
day needs.
The farmer and his wife were happy for a long
time. But one day, the farmer got an idea and
thought, “Why should I take just one egg a day?
Why can’t I take all of them at once and make a lot
of money?”
The foolish farmer’s wife also agreed and
decided to cut the goose’s stomach for the eggs.
As soon as they killed the bird and opened the
goose’s stomach, to find nothing but guts and
blood. The farmer, realizing his foolish mistake,
cries over the lost resource!
Moral of the story is, Think before you act.
 The Tortoise And The Bird

A tortoise was resting under a tree, on which a bird

had built its nest. The tortoise spoke to the bird
mockingly, “What a shabby home you have! It is
made of broken twigs, it has no roof, and looks
crude. What’s worse is that you had to build it
yourself. I think my house, which is my shell, is
much better than your pathetic nest”.
“Yes, it is made of broken sticks, looks shabby
and is open to the elements of nature. It is crude,
but I built it, and I like it.”
“I guess it’s just like any other nest, but not better
than mine”, said the tortoise. “You must be jealous
of my shell, though.”
“On the contrary”, the bird replied. “My home
has space for my family and friends; your shell
cannot accommodate anyone other than you.
Maybe you have a better house. But I have a
better home”, said the bird happily.
Moral of the story is , Better a crowded hut
than a lonely mansion.
 The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Once upon a time, there lived a shepherd boy who
was bored watching his flock of sheep on the hill.
To amuse himself, he shouted, “Wolf! Wolf! The
sheep are being chased by the wolf!” The villagers
came running to help the boy and save the sheep.
They found nothing and the boy just laughed
looking at their angry faces.
“Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when there’s no wolf boy!”,
they said angrily and left. The boy just laughed at
them.
After a while, he got bored and cried ‘wolf!’ again,
fooling the villagers a second time. The angry
villagers warned the boy a second time and left.
The boy continued watching the flock. After a
while, he saw a real wolf and cried loudly, “Wolf!
Please help! The wolf is chasing the sheep. Help!”
But this time, no one turned up to help. By
evening, when the boy didn’t return home, the
villagers wondered what happened to him and
went up the hill. The boy sat on the hill weeping.
“Why didn’t you come when I called out that there
was a wolf?” he asked angrily. “The flock is
scattered now”, he said.
An old villager approached him and said,
“People won’t believe liars even when they tell the
truth. We’ll look for your sheep tomorrow morning.
Let’s go home now”.
 Moral of the story is , Lying breaks trust.
Nobody trusts a liar, even when he is telling the
truth.

Good Company, Bad Company

Two parrots built a nest in a banyan tree. They lived with

their two young ones, which they took good care of. The
mother and the father parrot went out to gather food in
the morning and came back home by evening. One day,
when their parents were away, the young parrots were
taken by a cruel hunter.
One of the birds managed to escape and flew away
from the hunter. He ended up at a hermitage and grew
up listening to kind words and compassion. The hunter
put the other parrot in a cage, and soon it learned a few
words and phrases. The hunter and his family were
crude and didn’t care much about kind words.
One day, a passerby was resting outside the
hunter’s hut. Sensing someone outside, the parrot said,
“Fool, why are you here? Fool! Leave! I’ll cut your
throat”. Scared, the traveler went away, and on his
journey, he reached the hermitage where the other
parrot was. The parrot at the hermitage spoke,
“Welcome traveler. You are free to stay here as long as
you want”.
Surprised, the traveler told the parrot that he
encountered a similar parrot elsewhere and it was very
cruel. How is that you are so kind?” The parrot replied,
“That must be my brother. I live with the sages, and my
brother lives with hunters. I learned the sage’s language,
and my brother learned the hunter’s language. The
company we keep decides who we will be”.
 Moral of the story is, Keep good company if you
want to be a good person.

The Other Side Of The Wall

A young woman inherited a beautiful garden from

her grandmother. She loved gardening too and
was very proud of her garden. One day, she saw a
very beautiful plant in a catalog and wanted that
for her garden. She ordered it and planted it at the
base of the stonewall in her backyard. She took
great care of the plant, which grew quickly and had
beautiful green leaves on it.
Months passed, but not a single flower
bloomed on the tree. Vexed, she almost wanted to
cut the tree down. At such a time, her invalid
called and said, “Thank you so much for the
beautiful flowers. You have no idea how much I
enjoy looking at the blooms of the vine you have
planted”.
Hearing this, the young girl rushes to the
neighbor’s side of the wall and sees the most
beautiful flower in bloom. All the care she took had
paid off. Only the vine crept through the crevices
because of which it did not flower on her side of
the wall but did generously on the other side.
Moral of the story is,Just because you cannot see
the good results of your efforts does not mean that it
bore no fruit.
 Elephant And Friends

A lone elephant wandered the forest looking for friends.

She came across a monkey and asked, “Will you be my
friend, monkey?” “You are too big and cannot swing on
trees as I do. So I cannot be your friend”, said the
monkey.
The elephant them came across a rabbit and asked
him if she could be his friend. “You are too big to fit
inside my burrow. You cannot be my friend”, replied the
rabbit.
Then the elephant met a frog and asked if she could
be her friend. The frog said “You are too big and heavy.
You cannot jump like me. I am sorry, but you cannot be
my friend”.
The elephant asked a fox, and he got the same
reply, that he was too big. The next day, all the animals
in the forest were running in fear. The elephant stopped
a bear and asked what was happening and was told that
a tiger has been attacking all the animals.
The elephant wanted to save the other weak
animals and went to the tiger and said “Please sir, leave
my friends alone. Do not eat them”. The tiger didn’t
listen and asked the elephant to mind her own business.
Seeing no other way to solve the problem, the elephant
kicked the tiger and scared it away.
She then went back to the others and told them
what happened. On hearing how the elephant saved
their lives, the animals agreed in unison, “You are just
the right size to be our friend”.
Moral of the story is , Friends come in all shapes
and sizes!