The Donkey and The Dog

A washer man had a donkey and a dog. Both the donkey and the dog helped his master in many ways. One night, few thieves broke in the house of that washer man. The dog heard them and started barking. The washer man got up and so did the neighbors. “What is that? A dog, “Let us run,” said the thieves. They feared some dangerous consequences. By that time many people gathered in the street. They tried to run away but they were caught by the people.

The washer man said, “I am glad I had this dog in my house. I am sure the thieves would have looted me if my dog had not barked.” The washer man was highly proud of the dog. Every one too praised the dog.

From that day, the donkey started thinking, “The master thinks that the dog is a more useful animal than me.” The donkey decided he will show his master, the washer man, that he too could be useful just like the dog. Few days passed. One night, it so happened, two thieves again entered the washer man’s house. The thieves became aware of the animals, present in that house. “We should be careful, friend! I have heard that a dog guards this house,” one thief said to the other.

As the thieves peeped in, they saw the dog sitting just outside the main door. “It seems the dog is quite alert,” said one thief.

“It is better to leave this house alone. We had better go at once,” the other thief said and the two thieves fled. But unknown to the thieves, the donkey was watching all this. He thought, “It is a good opportunity for me to show my master that I too can be useful to him. The thieves have run away. If I start shouting, the master will think that I have driven the thieves away and out of this house.” And the foolish donkey started braying loudly.

When the washer man heard the donkey bray at this odd hour, he got angry. He came out with a stick and thrashed the donkey. “This will teach him not to bray at night,” he screamed. The donkey got all the thrashes in silence. It did not know what was taking place.

Just then the dog came to the donkey and said, “It is better to do your duties than try to be like me.” The donkey knew that the dog was right. There after both the donkey and the dog remained peaceful.

The Value of Positive Thoughts!

Positive Thoughts and Life's Memories

There was once an earnest gardener who loved his work and his produce. One day he was walking through his delightful garden and happened to notice a weed. The gardener was particularly tired so he decided to leave it.

The next day he had to leave to visit his relatives in another country for two weeks. When he came back, the back yard was covered in weeds and all his produce was dead.

The moral of this story is "life's memories".

If we allow just one bad thought in our head and fail to remove it, it will sprout and instead of having to pick one weed, you will have too much to control. If we destroy our negative thoughts, by allowing positive ones to grow, they will display in our personality like a beautiful garden.

Birbal Stories - Four Fools

Once Akbar asked Birbal to bring four fools of the first order to him. He said - "It is not difficult because this world is full of fools. Birbal said - "OK" and asked some time to find them, which Akbar readily gave to him.

Now Birbal started looking for fools. He was going somewhere that he saw a man carrying a large plate on which were kept some clothes, betel leaves and sweets. He looked like a fool to Birbal, so he asked him - "Where are you going to? And to whom you are carrying this?" The man replied - "My wife has remarried. Now they have a child so I am taking this gift for them." Birbal got convinced that he was a fool, so he considered him a candidate to take to the king.

At another time he saw a man riding a buffalo carrying a bundle of grass on his head. Birbal thought he was also a fool, so he asked him - "Why are you carrying this bundle on your head?" The man replied - "In fact my buffalo is pregnant, so I thought that she should not carry too much load, that is why I have put this bundle on my own head instead of putting it on it." Birbal considered him also a candidate to take to the king.

So next morning he took those people to Akbar's court and presented them to him as the biggest fools.  "But these are only two fools; where are the other two? I asked you to bring four fools." King asked. Birbal folded his hands and bending a little said - "Jehaanpanaah, The third fool is you who asked me to bring the fools; and the fourth fool is me who has brought these fools for you."

When the king heard about them, he laughed a lot on their foolishness.

Birbal Stories - Red Hot Test

One day, one man wanted to punish a man named Hasan. He accused him of stealing his necklace, and reported this theft in the police. The case was brought in the Judge's court. Judge knew Hasan very well, and he also knew that he was not a thief.

So he asked the man, "Why do you think that Hasan has stolen your necklace?" The man replied, "Your Honor, I have seen him stealing the necklace." Hasan said, "I am innocent, Your Honor. I do not know anything about his necklace."

The man then said, "All right, if he is innocent, let him prove his innocence. let me bring the hot iron, and if he can hold it in his bare hands, then I will agree that he has not stolen my necklace, and he is speaking truth."

The man said, "It means that if I am speaking the truth, then I will not burn my hands with that red hot iron?"  "Yes, you are right. God will protect you."

Now Hasan could not do anything but to hold red hot iron in his hands to prove his innocence, and that he was speaking the truth. He asked judge to give him one day to look for that necklace again. The judge gave him permission. He went home.

He took advice from Birbal. He returned next day he came back and said, "I am ready for that, Sir, if you think so. But the same thing should apply to him too. If he is speaking the truth, then the red hot iron should not burn his hands also. So let him bring that red hot iron holding in his both hands, then I will hold that iron in my bare hands."

Now the man was speechless. He told the Judge that he would go and search his necklace again in his house, maybe it was misplaced somewhere there, bowed hastily and went away.

Birbal Stories - The Donkey's Relatives

One day Hodjaa loaded some vegetables on his donkey and set to market. After a distance the donkey stopped going further and stayed where it was. Now Hodjaa was in a hurry, first he coxed the donkey to get moving but when it refused to walk further, he started beating it.

Seeing this people gathered around them. One man asked Hodjaa "Why are you beating this poor creature?"  Another man said, "You are a merciless man who is beating a speechless animal."  The third man said, "Do not beat it, it will go its own."

Hodjaa was still in anger, he said to the donkey, "If I knew that you had so many relatives around, I would never have beaten you. I can see that you have a large family here."

Hearing this the people left and went away their way leaving Hodjaa with his donkey.

Birbal Stories - Half Sun, Half Shade

One day Birbal happened to pass a harmless comment on Akbar's sense of humor. But Akbar was no fool. He got very angry and ordered him to not only leave the court, but also the city of Agra, his capital. Birbal was terribly hurt but could not do anything about it. So Birbal left. But now Akbar was missing him. He wanted him back in the Court. He could not do anything without him. he wanted to call him but he didn't know his whereabouts. Nobody else also knew where he was.

One day an intelligent Saadhu (saint) came to his court and told him the way to search for him. Now Akbar did as the Saadhu said to him. He announced that he would give one thousand gold coins whosoever will come to his Court in half sun and in half shade.

Next day a villager came carrying a string cot over his head and claimed the money. He said, "I am in half sun and in half shade."  Akbar understood that this man cannot do it himself. On interrogation he confessed that Birbal suggested him this plan. Akbar was very happy to hear this. Immediately he called Birbal and they had a happy reunion.

Birbal Stories - The loyal Gardener

One day Akbar was stumbled on a rock in his garden while taking a stroll. He was not in a good mood already, and then this fall. He got very angry and ordered for the gardener's arrest and execution.

The next day, at the time of execution, the gardener was asked what his last wish was. He requested for an audience with the Emperor. His wish was granted and he was brought in the Court. When he came near the throne, he loudly cleared the throat and spat at the feet of the Emperor. The Emperor demanded to know why did he do such a thing. The gardener did this on Birbal's advice, so Birbal stepped forward in the gardener's defense.

He said, "There could be no person more loyal than this unfortunate gardener. Fearing that you ordered him for hanging for a small reason, he went out of his way to give you a genuine reason for ordering him to be hanged."

The Emperor realized his mistake and set him free.

Birbal Stories - Milk for the Mulla

One day the Mullaa Nasruddin was going somewhere. He met a man carrying a milk can. The man said to Mullaa, "Mullaa Jee, I have some problem, I want your advice." "Why not, what is that problem?" said the Mullaa eyeing on his milk can.

The man said, "Whenever I get up in the morning, I feel intoxicated. I don't know what to do, and I don't understand what may be the problem." Mullaa asked, "What do you take in the last before you sleep?" The man said, "Normally I drink milk."

The Mullaa said, "Now I understood, this is your problem." "What is that?" asked the man perplexedly. The Mullaa said to him, "Because milk causes the intoxication." "How?" asked the man innocently. Mullaa explained to him, "You drink milk before sleeping. In sleep, you toss around. So milk gets churned. It turns into butter, butter gets churned, it turns into fat. Fat gets churned, it turns into sugar. Then sugar gets churned, and it turns into alcohol. So when you wake up in the morning you wake up with alcohol in your stomach, that is why you feel intoxicated."

"So what do I do?" asked the man in simplicity. Mullaa said, "It is so simple. Don't drink milk. Here, give it to me." Mullaa virtually snatched the milk can from the man and went on his way. The poor man stood there bewildered. He went to Birbal and got his milk back somehow.

Birbal Stories - Fast Horse

One day, when Akbar saw Hodja coming on foot, he promised him to give a horse. Accordingly, he instructed his stable man to give a horse to Hodja. Now, it so happened that the stable man selected a very weak and sick horse from the stable and sent it to Hodja's house. The horse was so weak and sick that it died on the same night it was delivered.

When next day Akbar saw Hodja coming on foot again, he asked in surprise, "What happened to your horse, I arranged yesterday?" Hodja said, "Jahaanpanaah, the horse had a fleet of feet that it crossed the distance from earth to Heaven in one night."

Akbar was very sorry to know this, and this time he arranged a very good horse for him.

Birbal Stories - The noblest begger

One day the Emperor asked Birbal, "Birbal, is it possible to be the both "noblest" and the "lowest" together?" Birbal said, "Yes, Jahaanpanaah"  "Then bring me such a person."

Birbal went and returned next day with a beggar and presenting him to Akbar said, "This is the lowest among all of your subjects, Jehanpanah" Akbar asked, "Good, that may be true, but I don't see that how he can be the noblest?"

"He has been given the honor of having an audience with the Emperor, that makes him the noblest among the beggars, Jahaapanaah."

Birbal Stories - Mullaa uses his head

One time it happened so that the Mullaa Nasruddin displeasured the Sultan, so the Sultan asked one of his men to slay him and bring him his head.

The Mullaa was very upset with this. He went to Birbal and asked him how to save himself. Birbal said, "It is a difficult situation but let me try. Rest is your luck." And he told him how to act.

The Mullaa, however, could persuade the man to take him alive to the court. Sultan was very furious seeing Mullaa alive in his court. He asked the soldier, "Didn't I tell you to bring Mullaa's head to the Court, not the Mullaa himself?"   The Mullaa Nasruddin said politely, "It is not his fault, Huzoor. I asked him to do so. You know whenever you want anything done; I don't trust anybody else lest it is badly done. So I thought let me do it myself. So I decided to bring my head myself on my shoulder. My head is here, Huzoor."

Akbar was very pleased with this defense that he allowed Mullaa to keep his head on his shoulder.

Birbal Stories- Mullaa's Flattening Answer

One day, the Mullaa Nasruddin was going back after having an audience with the Emperor, that his one coin fell down from his pocket. It was the only money he had at that time so he started immediately looking for it. Muraad, who was his one of his bitterest enemies at the court, said, "See Your Majesty, how miser he is? You have bestowed so much money on him, still he is after a copper coin."

Mullaa said quickly, "It is not because of the value of the coin, Your Majesty, that I am looking for it. I am looking for it because one side of that coin bears your resemblance, and I don't want people trampling on it."

Akbar was so pleased to hear this reply that he pulled off his diamond ring from his finger and gave it to the Mullaa.

Birbal Stories - Birbal's Beautiful Explanation

One day the Emperor Akbar saw a woman hugging and kissing a very dark, ugly and unattractive child. He was very surprised to see that. He thought and thought but could not think why? He asked Birbal that why she was doing that to such an unattractive child. Birbal replied innocently, "Huzoor, he must have been her own child. For every mother her own child is the most beautiful child in the world."

The Emperor did not seem to be convinced with this explanation, and Birbal had guessed this from the Emperor's face. Next day, in the presence of the Emperor, Birbal ordered a Guard to present the most beautiful child in the world in the court. Next day, the Guard brought a more unattractive and ugly child with buck teeth and his hair stood like a porcupine and presented to the Emperor. "This is the most beautiful child in the world, Your majesty." the Guard stammered.

The Emperor asked, "How do you know that he is the most beautiful child in the world?" "Your Majesty, I went home and posed my problem to my wife. She told me to bring our child to the court." the Guard replied meekly.

Birbal Stories - A little lesser and a little more

One day Birbal's five-year old daughter accompanied him to the Royal Court. When Akbar saw her, it just came to his mind that he should test her wits whether she had the same type of wits as her father had.

He started talking to her. "Do you know Persian, O little girl?" "A little lesser and a little more, Sir" The girl replied. Birbal smiled on her reply, but Akbar could not understand it, so he asked Birbal to explain this.

Birbal said, "She knows Persian a little more than those who do not know Persian, and knows a little lesser than those who know Persian well."

Akbar understood that she had the same wits as her father.

Birbal Stories- Birbal identifies the Guest

Once Birbal was invited for dinner by a rich man. When Birbal reached there, he found himself in a large crowd. The host greeted him warmly and took him inside. Birbal said, "I did not know that there will be so many guests in this gathering." The host replied politely, "They are not guests, Sir. They are my employees except one who is the only other guest here besides you. Could you tell who is that other one guest here?"

"Maybe, I could. Tell them a joke, and I will observe them." The rich man told the joke and everybody laughed uproariously. Perhaps this was the worst joke Birbal had ever heard in his life. Now the rich man asked Birbal, "I have told the joke, now you tell me who is the other guest here?" Birbal pointed out towards a man and said, "He is that other guest."  The rich man was very surprised hearing this that how could he recognize the other guest. He said to him, "You are right Birbal, but how did you recognize him?"

Birbal said, "Because only employees can laugh on such a joke. He was the only person who did not even smile on your joke, so I immediately recognized him as the other guest."

Birbal Stories - Birbal's Sweet Reply

Akbar used to ask many odd questions from his courtiers and amused himself. One day he entered the Royal Court, settled in his Royal chair, and asked his courtiers:

"What punishment should be given to a person who pulls my mustache?"

One said, "He should be beheaded."

Another said, "He should be flogged."

Yet another said, "He should be hanged."

"What do you think, Birbal?" the Emperor asked Birbal. 

Birbal kept quiet for a moment, and then said, "Jahaanpanaah, he should be given sweets." 

"What, Birbal? Have you gone crazy? Do you know what are you saying?" 

Birbal replied politely, "I am not crazy, Jahaanpanaah. And I know what I am saying."  

"Then how can you talk like this?" the King asked in anger.  Birbal again replied politely, "Because, Jahaanpanaah, the only person who can dare to do this is your grandson."

So pleased was the King with this answer, that he gave his ring to Birbal as a reward.

Birbal Stories - Flowers for Akbar

 One day Akbar was taking a walk in his Royal gardens with several courtiers. Many flowers were flowering at that time of season. A poet pointed out towards a beautiful flower and said, "Look Jahaanpanaah, how beautiful flower that is? No man can produce such a beautiful thing as this." Birbal was also there. He said, "I don't agree with this, sometimes man can make more beautiful things than this." Akbar said, "Oh no Birbal, you are talking nonsense. This flower is really very beautiful."

After a few days, Birbal presented Akbar a very skilled craftsman from Agra. He presented a beautiful carved marble bouquet of flowers. The Emperor was very happy to see it, and gave him one thousand gold coins.

Just then a boy came and presented the Emperor a beautiful bouquet of real flowers. The Emperor was very happy to see it too, so he gave a silver coin to the boy. Birbal said, "So the carving was more beautiful than the real thing."

Akbar understood that he had fallen in the hands of his witty minister once again.

Birbal Stories - Akbar's Advisor

Several courtiers were vying to be the Royal Advisor of Emperor Akbar. So one day, when they came to the court, they said to the Emperor, "We want to be your Royal Advisor." Akbar said, "No problem, but you will have to pass the test before you could be my Royal Advisor. And whoever would pass the test will be appointed my Advisor." They agreed.

The King unfastened his waist cloth and lay down on the floor, and asked the candidates to cover him with that cloth from head to toe. Now everybody tried to cover him, but in vain. If one wanted to cover the head, then feet remained uncovered, or if the feet were covered, then his head remained open.

Just then Birbal entered the court, the king asked Birbal also, if he could cover him with that cloth from head to toe. Birbal paused a moment, then asked the Emperor politely, "Huzoor, Could you pull up your knees a little bit?" The King did so, and Birbal could cover him from head to toe with that cloth.

Realizing that they failed the test, the courtiers left the court quietly and then they never thought about being the King's Advisor.

Birbal Stories - How many crows in the kingdom?

 One day Akbar was strolling in his palace gardens with his dear minister Birbal. Many crows were flying around. The King enjoyed their flying. Just then he thought, that how many crows could be in his kingdom and immediately posed this question to Birbal.

Birbal thought a moment, then said, "They are ninety-five thousand, four hundred and sixty three (95, 463) crows in your kingdom, Huzoor." "How do you know that for sure?" the King asked. "You can get them counted, Huzoor." Birbal said.

The king again said, "If there will be less than that, then?" Birbal replied immediately, "That means that the rest of them have gone on vacation to some neighboring kingdoms." "Or if there were more than that, then?" "Then it means that other crows are visiting your kingdom, Huzoor."

Akbar was very pleased with this answer of his question.

Birbal Stories - I am your servant, Huzoor

Once Akbar and Birbal passed through some farms while riding on their horses. They happened to pass through a cabbage patch. Looking at the patch, Akbar said to Birbal, "What a delightful vegetable the cabbage is. I like it very much." Birbal said, "Huzoor, cabbage is the king of the vegetables." Akbar did not reply to this, and they went on.

Another day, they were riding past the same cabbage patches again. This time Akbar made a face, and said, "This cabbage is such a tasteless vegetable. How people tolerate it." Birbal replied, "Yes Huzoor, really it is difficult to even look at such a tasteless vegetable." Akbar again listened to this and they went on.

After a while the king remembered something. He said to Birbal, "Birbal, I don't understand you. Last time when we passed through this patch, you told that the cabbage was the king of vegetable, and today you said that "It is even difficult to look at such a tasteless vegetable. What do you mean by that?"

Birbal said bowing, "Huzoor, I am your servant, not of cabbage."

Birbal Stories - Birbal caught the Thief

It so happened that 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 stick of equal length to all the servants of the merchant and said to them that the stick of the real thief will be longer by two inches tomorrow. All the servants should be present here again tomorrow with heir sticks.

All the servants went to their homes and gathered again at the same place the next day. Birbal asked them to show him their sticks. One of the servants had his stick shorter by two inches. Birbal said, "This is your thief, merchant."

Later the merchant asked Birbal, "How did you catch him?" Birbal said, "The thief had already cut his stick short by two inches in the night fearing that his stick will be longer by two inches by morning."

Birbal Stories - Birbal visit to Heaven

Because Birbal was very wise and witty, the Emperor's courtiers and other people used to be jealous with him and used to find some way to degrade him.

One day the court barber, who was very jealous with Birbal, plotted a plan against him. So when the King called him again to trim his beard, he went and started trimming his beard. He said, "Sir, last night I dreamed about your father." The King got interested, so he asked, "What did he say to you?"

"Sir, he said to me, that everything is good in paradise, but he feels a great absence of a good humorous man who can amuse him." The King thought and thought, but nobody else he could think of except Birbal who could perform this kind of duty very well. And, naturally, the only way to go to heaven was through death. For a moment, Akbar was very sad to lose such a good man, but thinking of his father, he made up his mind.

He summoned Birbal and said, "I think Birbal you love me very much and you can sacrifice anything for me." Birbal tried to understand his point but couldn't guess. He said, "You know Majesty, I do." "Then Birbal, please go to heaven to give company to my dear father." Birbal understood that this was a wicked plan of somebody to kill him. He said to Emperor politely, "I will do so, but I need a few days to prepare myself to go to heaven." The King said, "Certainly. You are giving me such a great favor, I allow you one week to prepare yourself."

Now Birbal was worried. He thought, somebody has planned very well and he could not escape from this plan. He thought and thought. And then he found a way. He dug a ditch near his house which would serve as his grave, and dug a tunnel too which would open in a room of his house. After doing this, he returned to the Imperial Court. He said, " I am ready, His Majesty, but there two conditions." Akbar was so happy to hear this that he forgot that Birbal could put some odd conditions to him. He asked, "What are those conditions? Tell me soon. I will try to fulfill them so that you can go to heaven to be with my dear father."

Birbal said, "His majesty, I wish to be buried near my house. And I want to be buried alive so that I can reach heaven alive to amuse your dear father." The King found this logical and agreed up on them immediately.

So Birbal was buried alive near his house. Of course he made his way to his house where he lived in confinement for six months. After six months, he came out of hiding with grown beard and shabby hair and asked the permission to appear in the Royal Court.

Looking at him Akbar cried, "Where have you been Birbal?" Birbal said, "Your Majesty, I was in Heaven with your dear father. I had a very good time there with your father. He was so happy with my services that he gave me special permission to return to Earth." Akbar was very anxious to know about his father, he asked, "Did he send any message for me?" Birbal said, "Yes Your Majesty, he said that very few barber can make it to go to Heaven, you can make out this from my grown beard and shabby hair, so he has asked to send your own barber to him immediately.

Akbar understood everything. He gave Birbal a big prize, and his barber the life sentence.

Birbal Stories - Why is the Camel's neck crooked?

Akbar was very impressed with Birbal's wit and wisdom. So one day Akbar promised him for many gifts. But it so happened that several days passed, but there was no sign of gift. Birbal was very disappointed. He didn't know what to do? One day when Akbar was taking a stroll at the bank of Yamuna with his dear minister Birbal, he happened to notice a camel. He asked Birbal, "Tell me Birbal, why the camel's neck is crooked."

Birbal thought this is good time, so he thought for a moment and spoke, "Your Majesty, it might be possible that the camel has forgotten to honor his promise made to somebody that is why his neck is crooked. Scriptures mention that whoever will forget their promises will have crooked neck. So this might seem the reason of his crooked neck."

Akbar soon realized that he promised to give some gifts to Birbal, but has not yet done so. As soon as they arrived at the palace, the King gave him his reward.

So Birbal was so wise that he got what he wanted without asking for it.

Birbal Stories - Who is the Donkey?

Once Akbar went to the river with his two sons and wise Minister Birbal. On the bank of the river, Akbar and his two sons took off their clothes and asked Birbal to take care of them while they took bath in the river.

Birbal was waiting for them to come out of the river. All the clothes were on his shoulder. Looking at Birbal standing like this, Akbar felt like teasing him, so he said to him, "Birbal, you look like as if you are carrying a washerman's donkey load."

Birbal quickly retorted, "Sir, Washerman's donkey carries only one donkey's load, I am carrying three donkey's load." Akbar was speechless.

Birbal Stories - Question for a Question

One day Akbar asked Birbal, "Birbal, can you tell me how many bangles are on your wife's hand?"  Birbal said, "No, Huzoor, I cannot."  "You cannot? Although everyday you see her hand, still you cannot tell how many bangles are on her hand? How is that?" said Akbar.

Birbal said, "Let's go to the garden, Your Majesty. And I will tell you "How is that"." And they both went to the garden. They both went down a small staircase which led to the garden. After reaching in the garden Birbal asked, "You daily climb up and down this small staircase, could you tell how many steps it has?"

Akbar smiled and then changed the subject.

Birbal Stories - Birbal's meeting with Akbar

There was a boy named Mahesh Das. When he grew up as a fine young man, he took all his savings, along with the Ring of Seal of the Emperor Akbar, which he received from the Emperor himself some time ago, bade his mother farewell, and set out to the new capital of India - Fatehpur Sikri.

He was very much enchanted with the pomp and show of the new capital. He escaped the crowd and headed towards the red walls of the palace. The palace gate was very richly ornamented - a very beautiful gate as he had never seen before. Mahesh wanted to enter the gate, but the guard slashed the air with his spear and stopped him from entering the gate.

"Where do you think, you are going?" asked the guard. Said Maesh politely, "Sir, I have come to see the King." "Oh! yeah, the King must be waiting for you, as when you would come?" the guard said circastically. Mahesh smiled at this comment and spoke "Yes, Sir, and now I am here." Mahesh told further, "I am sure you must have fought wonderfully well on the Emperor's frontiers, but do not risk your life by stopping me from entering the palace."

The guard kept quiet for a moment, and then said courageously, "Why do you think so? I will chop off your head, if you do not stop talking nonsense." Mahesh was not going to accept his defeat. He showed Akbar's Ring of Seal to the guard.

Now who was the person who did not recognize Akbar's Ring of Seal. Having seen the seal, the guard couldn't say a word. He had to admit him, although he was not willing to do it. So the guard thought and thought, then he said to Mahesh, "You can go in on one condition." "What?" Mahesh asked. The guard said, "Whatever you will get from the Emperor, you will share with me half of that. "Agreed," Mahesh smiled and the guard let him go inside.

He went on and on, finally he could see the golden throne on which a man of simple elegance was sitting. He quickly recognized him as the Emperor Akbar. Pushing everyone aside, Mahesh went further and prostrated himself before the Emperor Akbar, and said, "May your shadow always grow, O Full Moon."

Akbar smiled and asked him, "What do you want. O young man?" Mahesh rose to his feet and spoke, "Sir, I have come here at your command." And he handed over the Ring of Seal, which was given to him by the King so many years before. 

"That's a good boy, now what do you want? What is your heart's desire? Tell me, I will try my best to fulfill it." Mahesh remebered his promise with the guard, so he asked the Emperor to punish him with one hundred slashes. The King was surprised to hear that, "But how can I do this to you, you have done nothing wrong." Mahesh said politely, "Sir, please do not go back from your promise of fufilling my heart's desire."

So with great reluctance and perplexed mind, Akbar ordered one hundred lashes on Mahesh's back. To the surprise of all, Mahesh endured every stroke without uttering a word.

After the fiftieth whip, he suddenly shouted, "Stop now." Akbar asked, "Why? What happened?" Mahesh said, "Sir when I was coming here, your guard did not allow me to come inside the palace, unless I promised him to give half of my share of whatever I will get from you. I have taken half of my share, now it is your guard's turn to take his share of half." Everybody bursted into the laughter.

The guard was hauled to receive his humiliating bribe. The King said, "You are as brave as you were when you were a child. You have grown into a cleverer young man. I was trying to weed out the corrupted people from my court, but your little trick has done what I wouldn't have done even after passing several laws. From now on, on the basis of your wisdom, you shall be called "Birbal" and you will stay by my side as my advisor."

That is how Birbal was born.

Birbal Stories - Akbar's Meeting with Birbal

Akbar loved hunting and used to escape to go for hunting even from his studies. Well, later he became a better rider and hunter than any one of his courtiers. One day when Akbar went for hunting, he and his some of the courtiers went so fast that they left the others behind. As the evening fell, everybody got very hungry and thirsty, they found that they had lost their way and now did not know where to go.

At last they came to a junction of three roads. King was very happy to see the roads that now he could go reach his capital through one of these roads, but which road was to go to his capital - Agra. They were all thinking about it and could not decide it. In the mean time they saw a young boy coming along one road. The boy was summoned and Akbar asked him, "Hey young boy! Which road goes to Agra?" The boy smiled and spoke, "Huzoor! Everybody knows that road cannot move so how these roads can go to Agra or anywhere else?" and laughed at his own joke.

Everybody was silent, didn't say a word. The boy said again, "People travel, not the roads. Do they?"  Emperor laughed at this and said, "No, you are right."  The Emperor asked again, "What is your name, young boy?" "Mahesh Das" The boy replied and asked the Emperor, "And who are you Huzoor? What is your name?" The Emperor took out his Ring and gave it to the boy. "You are talking to Emperor Akbar - the King of Hindustan (India). We need fearless people like you. You come to the court with this Ring I will recognize you immediately. Now tell me the way to get to Agra. We have to reach there soon?"

Mahesh Das bowing lowly pointed towards the road going to Agra, and the King headed on that road.

That is how the Emperor Akbar met the future Birbal.

Panchatantra Story -The Brahmin's Gift

Once there lived a pious brahmin in a village. He used to perform religious rituals. On one occasion he was rewarded with a cow by a rich man for his service. The brahmin started to bring the cow to his home. On the way, three rogues saw the brahmin bringing the cow. They were lazy and wanted to cheat the brahmin so that they could take away the cow. They hatched a plan.

The first person approached the brahmin and said, "Are you a washerman that you're pulling a donkey." The brahmin was annoyed at being mistaken for a washerman. He went on. A little later he was met by the second of the three. The second person asked him why being a brahmin he needed to pull a pig. Now the brahmin was confused but he went on. Some distance later he was met by the third person who asked him why he was pulling along a wild animal. Now the brahmin was totally confused and also afraid. He thought that it was a devil animal which took different forms. He ran away leaving the cow behind. The three tricksters laughed at the brahmin at having obtained the cow from the brahmin.

Panchatantra Story -The Fox feared by the Lion

Once upon a time there was a lion and a lioness in a dense forest. The couple gave birth to two cubs in due course of time. The lion asked the lioness to stay at home and take care of the cubs. One day the lion could not hunt any animal but found a little fox on the way home. He took it home as a gift for the lioness. The lioness brought the fox kid with the same love as her own cubs. The three young animals grew and played together. One day the children saw an elephant. The lion cubs wanted to fight the elephant. But the fox kid was frightened and asked them to run away. So they ran away and went to the mother lioness.

The lion cubs told the story to her. She laughed at the fox kid. At this the fox kid was offended and in a rage challenged the lioness as to why she called it a coward. The lioness replied, "What's wrong with eating an elephant? You feel like that only because you're not a lion kid. You are the child of a fox. Your breed never eats elephants. If you cannot be bold please leave us and go live with your tribe." The fox kid did not want to live there any longer and left for the forest.

Panchatantra Story -The Moon Lake

Once there was a large herd of elephants lived in a jungle. Their king was a huge, majestic tusker. He looked after them with love and care. A severe drought hit the area. As there was no rain for a few years, all the rivers and tanks had dried up. Birds and animals died of thirst. The wild elephants suffered for want of water. Their king knew that if they did not get water soon, many of them would die of thirst. He had to find water as quickly as possible.

He asked the elephants to go in different directions to look for water. One of them found a large lake full of water in another jungle far away. The king was happy. He ordered all the elephants to make their way to the lake. It was a beautiful lake. Close to it was a colony of rabbits. The elephants had to pass through this colony. Thousands of rabbits were trampled to death and thousands more were injured. The rabbits were in a panic. Their king called a meeting.

"A herd of wild elephants is passing through our colony," he said. "They have already killed or injured thousands of us. We have to take urgent steps to prevent more deaths. I want all of you to think of a way to save our race." The rabbits thought and thought. How could they stop the elephants? One little rabbit stood up.

"Your Majesty," he said, "If you will send me as your messenger to the king of the elephants, I may be able to find a solution." "By all means, go as my messenger and see what you can do." The little rabbit hurried out.

He saw a group of elephants returning from the lake. Right in the middle was the king. To get near him was impossible. "I will be crushed to death,' thought the rabbit. So he climbed up a huge rock.

"O, king of the elephants," he shouted, "hear me, please." The king heard his voice and turned towards him.

"Well, who are you?" he asked. "I am a messenger," replied the rabbit. "A messenger?” “From whom?" "I am a messenger from the mighty Moon." "What is your business? Is there a message for me from the Moon?" "Yes, yes, Your Majesty. But you must not be angry with me. Please remember that a messenger is never punished for what he has to say. He is only doing his duty." "Very well.” Say what you have been sent to say. I shall not harm you." "Sir," said the little rabbit, "the Moon has this to say"

"You, the king of the elephants, have brought your herd to my holy lake and soiled its waters. You have killed thousands of rabbits on your way to the lake. You know that rabbits are under my special protection. Everyone knows that the king of the rabbits lives with me. I ask you not to kill any more rabbits. Otherwise something terrible will happen to you and your herd."

The king of the elephants was shocked. He looked at the little rabbit. "You are right," he said. "We may have killed many rabbits on our way to the lake. I shall see that you do not suffer anymore. I shall request the Moon to forgive me for my sins. Please tell me what I should do." "Come with me alone," replied the rabbit. "Come, I shall take you to the Moon." The little rabbit took the huge elephant to the lake. There they saw the Moon reflected in the still waters. "There, your Majesty, meet the Moon," said the little rabbit.

"Let me worship the divine Moon," said the elephant, and dipped his trunk into the water. At once the water was disturbed. The Moon seemed to move to and fro. The rabbit said, "Now the Moon is angrier than ever." "Why?” asked the king. "What have I done?" "You have touched the holy waters of the lake," replied the rabbit. The elephant bowed his head. "Please ask the Moon to forgive me. Never again will we touch the holy waters of this lake. Never again will we harm the rabbits that the Moon loves so much." And the king and his herd went away. Soon there was rain and the elephants lived happily. It did not occur to them ever that a little rabbit had fooled them. 

Panchatantra Story -The Sage's daughter

Once upon a time there lived a sage on the banks of a river. He and his wife did not have any children. One day when the sage was praying in the middle of the river, an eagle happened to pass by and the eagle dropped a female mouse in the hands of the sage. The sage found the mouse in his hands on opening his eyes, and took it home to his wife.

On reaching home, he talked to his wife about the mouse and they decided to convert the mouse into a young baby girl. The sage and his wife began to take care of the girl child and brought her up as their daughter. The child grew day by day to a beautiful maiden by the age of sixteen. At this age, the sage decided to find a match for the girl. He and his wife decided that the Sun God would be an ideal match for their girl.

So the sage prayed for the Sun God to appear, and once the sun god appeared asked him to marry his daughter. But his daughter said, "Sorry! I cannot marry the sun god because he is very intense and I will be reduced to ashes in his heat and light." The sage was displeased and asked the sun god to suggest a possible groom. The sun god suggested the name of the Lord of the clouds. For, the cloud can easily stop the rays of the sun.

The sage then prayed for the lord of the clouds and once he appeared him took him to his daughter. The daughter once again decided not to accept him as his groom. She said, " I do not want to marry a person as dark as him. Moreover, I am afraid of the thunder he produces". The sage was dejected once again and asked the lord of clouds for a suitable groom. The lord of clouds suggested, "Why don't you try the lord of wind, for he can easily blow me away".

The sage then prayed for the lord of the wind. On the appearance of the wind-god, he took him to his daughter. His daughter rejected the groom saying that she cannot marry such a feeble person like the wind god who is always on the move. Dejected once again the sage asked the wind-god for a suggestion. The wind-god suggested the lord of the mountain which was rock solid and stopped the wind easily. So the sage then went to the mountain lord and requested him to marry his daughter. But the daughter once again rejected the mountain lord saying that he was too cold-hearted for her to marry and requested the sage to find somebody softer. The mountain god then suggested a mouse to him, because the mouse is soft and yet can easily make holes in the mountain.

This time the daughter was happy and agreed to marry a he-mouse. So the sage said, "Look at what the destiny had to offer you. You started as a mouse, and were destined to marry a mouse in the end. So be it". He then converted her back to a she-mouse and got her married to a he-mouse.

Panchatantra Story -The mongoose and the farmer's wife

Once upon a time there lived a farmer and his wife. They had a new born son. The farmer's wife wanted to have a pet animal to protect the child which would also be a companion to the child. They debated and decided upon a mongoose. So they brought a mongoose and started rearing it.

A couple of months later, one day the farmer and his wife wanted to go out of the house leaving the child at home. The farmer thought that the mongoose would take care of the child while they were away. So they left the mongoose and the child at home and went out.

The farmer's wife returned earlier and on returning home found that the mouth of the mongoose was stained with blood and she immediately inferred that the mongoose had killed the child. In anger she threw a box on the mongoose and the mongoose was hurt badly. She then rushed inside to see what happened to the child. She was surprised to find a dead snake lying in the room. She could infer that that the mongoose had saved the child's life by killing the snake. Realising the mistake she went out of the room only to find the mongoose dead on the floor. She cried out load at her hasty action.

Panchatantra Story-The day dreaming priest

Once upon a time there lived a priest who was extremely lazy and poor at the same time. He did not want to do any hard work but used to dream of being rich one day. He got his food by begging for alms. One morning he got a pot of milk as part of the alms. He was extremely delighted and went home with the pot of milk. He boiled the milk, drank some of it and put the remaining milk in a pot. He added slight curds in the pot for converting the milk to curd. He then lay down to rest.

He was extremely delighted at the pot of milk he found and started dreaming about the pot of curd while he lay asleep. He dreamt that if he could become rich somehow all his miseries would be gone. His thoughts turned to the pot of milk he had set to form curd. He dreamt on: "By morning the pot of milk would set, it would be converted to curd. I would churn the curd and make butter from it. I would heat the butter and make ghee out of it. I will go to that market and sell that ghee, and make some money. With that money I will buy a hen. The hen will lay many eggs which will hatch and there will be many more hens and cocks. These cocks and hen will in turn lay hundreds of eggs and I will soon have a poultry farm of my own." He kept on imagining.

"I will sell all the hens of my poultry and buy some cows, and open a milk dairy. All the town people will buy milk from me. I will be very rich and soon I shall buy jewellery. The king will buy all the jewellery from me. I will be so rich that I will be able to marry an exceptionally beautiful girl from a rich family. Soon I will have a handsome son. If he does any mischief I will be very angry and to teach him a lesson, I will hit him with a big stick." During this dream, he involuntarily picked up the stick next to his bed and thinking that he was beating his son, raised the stick and hit the pot. The pot of milk broke and he awoke from his sleep. Only then did he realise he was daydreaming.

Panchatantra Story -The gold giving serpent

Once upon a time there lived a poor brahman. He used to work hard on the fields but all his efforts did not bear fruit. He one day found an anthill on his field and found a serpent there. Thinking that he had not paid respect to the guardian deity of his field, he procured milk and started feeding the anthill with milk from that day. One day he found a gold coin in the plate. So he used to get a gold coin everyday he fed the serpent with milk.

Then one day he had to go to the town and asked his son to look after the serpent by feeding him the milk. The son was greedy and he thought, "This anthill must be full of gold coins". And he stuck the serpent. Unluckily the serpent did not die and it attacked the boy and he died.

Panchatantra Story -The cat, partridge and the hare

Once upon a time there lived a partridge under a tree. The partridge one day decided to go to the fields and indulge itself in the food there. But it did not return for many days as it found the fields a good source of food.

In the meantime a hare came along one day and occupied the same dwelling which the partridge used to live in. The partridge however returned from the fields having grown plump from the food. It wanted to claim the dwelling for itself. A fight ensued and the hare was saying that the dwelling belonged to whoever occupied it.

Then they both decided to contact a supposedly learned cat, on the shores of the Ganges who was supposed to be wise and old. So one day they both approached the cat with their problem. The cat, which was actually a hypocrite who earned his livelihood by posing as a priest, decided to take advantage of the occasion. On hearing the partridge and the hare from a distance, it said, "Sorry! I can't hear you from that far a distance because of old age. Don’t worry I mean no harm to you. Come closer and both of you relate your stories."

They were fooled into coming near and as soon as he could lay his hands on both of them he killed them both and had a meal.

Panchatantra Stories -The mice and the elephants

Once upon a time there lived a group of mice under a tree peacefully. But once a group of elephants came that way and destroyed the homes of all the rats as a result of which many of them were crushed to death. Then the king of rats decided to approach the elephant chief and request him to guide his herd through another route.

The elephant king agreed to this and took another route to the water. And so the lives of the rats were saved. One day a group of elephant-hunters came and trapped the group of elephants in huge nets. Then the elephant king suddenly remembered the king of the rats.

He summoned one of the elephants of his herd which had not been trapped, to go and contact the king of rats.

On listening to the elephant, the rat king took his entire group of mice and they cut open the nets which trapped the elephant herd. So the elephant herd was totally set free.

Panchatantra -The Heron, Serpent and the Mongoose

Once upon a time there lived a group of herons on a banyan tree. In the hollow trunk of the tree dwelt a black serpent which ate the young herons before they grew. Out of sorrow the heron, approached the crab.

The crab heard of the serpent and then thought to itself, "The heron is also the natural enemy of our race. So I need a scheme to get rid of all of them". So he advised the heron to throw fish bits all the way from the house of the mongoose to the tree where it lived.

The heron did as told and the mongoose following the trail of the fish came and ate the serpent and at the same time crept up the tree and ate all the herons too.

Panchatantra -The Jackal and the Drum

Once upon a time there lived a jackal in a forest. One day it was very hungry and it reached the king's battleground. It heard a loud noise suddenly and was frightened upon hearing the noise. He was frightened that something dangerous was happening to him. He reached a war-drum nearby and struck it with grass and it made noise.

He mistook it be a huge animal with lots of food on the inside of it. With great difficulty it pierced the drum and reached inside. On reaching inside then it was disappointed to find it to be only wood and leather.

With great difficulty it came out of the hole and backed off and crept away to safety laughing at her judgement.

Panchatantra Story - The bird with two necks

 
Once upon a time there lived a special kind of bird which had two necks and shared a common stomach.

One day, one of the heads found a jar of nectar and on seeing this, the other head also wanted to taste the nectar but the first neck refused to let it have it. Enraged, the other neck soon found a jar of poison and it consumed it. The poison reached the common stomach and both the necks perished.

Panchatantra Story - The geese and the tortoise

Once upon a time there lived a pair of geese and a tortoise all three of whom were great friends. One day they faced a huge drought and the lake in which they lived was drying up. They decided to leave the lake and look for a new lake. But the tortoise could not fly. So the geese thought of a plan, where by the tortoise would have to hold a piece of stick by its mouth which would be carried by the two geese. The only condition was that the tortoise should not speak or it will fall from the stick to death. The tortoise agreed to be silent.

But on seeing this strange arrangement, people on the way started laughing at the tortoise. Unable to control his anxiety, he spoke out "What are they laughing about?", and so fell to his death. If he had kept quiet he could have saved his own life.

Panchatantra Story - The Swan and the Owl

Once upon a time there lived a swan which used to spend time in various playful activities on a lake. Once an owl visited him in the forest and requested him to be friends, after praising the swan a lot. The swan agreed to be friends with him and they used to spend time near the lake a lot of days.

But the owl soon got bored of the place and told the swan, "I am going back to my home in the Lotus wood, and if you ever want to visit me you can visit me there." The swan, after many days once decided to pay a visit to the owl in the Lotus wood. On reaching Lotus wood, it could not find the owl, which was hiding in the dark hole. The owl asked the swan to take rest till daylight was over and told him that he could come out only at night. The swan decided to take rest.

It so happened that a group of merchants were passing by the next day early morning. The merchants chanted some hymns, and to that the owl replied with a hoot. Thinking that this was a bad omen, the merchants then decided to shoot the owl down. But in the meantime the owl had fled and taken refuge in a nearby hole near the shore of the lake. But the swan did not move. The arrow from the merchants came and hit the swan and it was killed.

Panchatantra Story - The crows and the serpent

Once upon a time there lived a crow couple, who had built a nest on the top of a tree. But unfortunately the tree was inhabited by a serpent at its bottom. So the serpent used to crawl up the tree and eat all the eggs that the lady crow used to lay. The crow couple was deeply grieved and when this happened time after time, then they decided that the serpent was to be get rid of by a plan.

So the crow then approached his friend the jackal and asked for a plan. The jackal then told him to go and fetch a costly thing from the palace of the king and throw the thing in the burrow of the snake. The crow went to palace, and stole a necklace of the queen while she was bathing. The guards of the palace ran after it. The crow then dropped the necklace in the burrow of the snake beneath the tree.

The guards on reaching the bottom of the tree, found the necklace guarded by the serpent. Then they lynched the serpent and recovered the necklace. So the crow family was now happy that their eggs were safe now.

Panchatantra Story - The heron and the crab

Once upon a time there lived a heron by the side of a pond. It was a lazy creature and once devised a plan to get a supply of fish without doing much work. So one day, he went to the side of the pond and put on a gloomy face without attempting to catch any fish. The pond was also inhabited by a crab, which was wise and often helped the fish in the pond. On seeing the gloomy heron, the crab asked her what the matter was.

The heron said, "Alas! I am worried that the pond is going to be soon devoid of any fish, which are in turn my source of food. I overheard a group of fishermen talking about catching all the fish in this pond. But I know of a pond somewhat far away, where all the fish shall be safe. If the fish are interested, I can carry a few each day to the other pond where they will be safe."

All the fish were eager to make use of the heron in reaching a safer destination. Everyday some of them volunteered to go with the heron. The heron took some fish each day in the beak, and on reaching a large rock used to eat all the fish up and leave the bones of the fish at the rock. So she was able to get a continuous supply of fish at no effort at all. In the end, the curiosity got the better of the crab, and one day it volunteered to go with the fish. When it had gone closer to the rock, it realised the foul play the heron had been playing on the poor fish. Enraged, it tightened its claws around the neck of the heron and snapped the head of the heron off. The heron this died a selfish death. The crab crept back to the pond and told all the fish about the lies the heron had been telling.

Panchatantra Story - The greedy Jackal

Once upon a time there lived a lazy jackal. Also in the hills there lived a hill man and a wild boar. Once when the hill man went to hunt, he saw the wild boar. He took a sharp aim with his arrow and stuck the boar. But the boar was only injured and it attacked the hill man and he died on the spot. But the boar also collapsed due to the injury and died.

The jackal happened to pass the site of both the dead bodies, and the jackal decided to eat them slowly. But he was excessively greedy and first wanted to eat the bowstring, before the other bodies. As he tried to eat the bowstring which was tightly attached to the bow, it snapped and the end of the string pierced the roof of its mouth and it stuck a big injury to the jackal and the jackal died on the spot.

Panchatantra Story - The blue Jackal

The blue Jackal

Once upon a time there lived a jackal which strayed into a city in search of food. He was hungry and was being chased by a group of dogs. He accidentally entered the house of a dyer and fell into a vat of indigo (blue), and was stained blue from head to toe. When he escaped from the house back into the forest, all animals were surprised at his appearance and could not place its identity. Taking advantage of the situation, the jackal decided to play the situation to his advantage. He proclaimed that he was Fierce Owl, sent by the king of Gods, Indra, to earth to guard the forest.

The gullible animals believed the jackal. The jackal then appointed the Lion as his Prime minister, tiger as his guardian of the bed chamber and the elephant was made the door keeper. He then drove all the jackals out of sight from the forest for fear of being recognized. The animals would hunt food and bring it to the self proclaimed king and the king would distribute the food to all equally just as a king would do. So he was leading a life of luxury.

One day a herd of jackals were passing by howling to their glory. Unable to control his natural instinct, Fierce Owl showed his natural voice and howled at the top of his voice. Hearing this howl, the animals realised that they had been fooled by a jackal and killed the jackal instantly.

Panchatantra Story - Sparrow and the Elephant

Once upon a time there lived a sparrow with her husband on a tree. She had built a nice nest and laid her eggs in the nest. One morning, a wild elephant with spring fever feeling restive came to the tree in search of shade and in a rage broke the branch of the tree on which the nest was residing. Unluckily all the sparrow eggs were lost though both parents were saved. The she-sparrow was deep in lament.

Seeing her lament, the woodpecker bird, a friend of hers offered her consolation that she would think of a way of killing the elephant. Then she went to her friend the gnat, who in turn went to the counselor frog for advice. The frog then devised a scheme for killing the elephant. He asked the gnat to buzz in the ears of the elephant, so that the elephant would be thrilled to listen to the music of the gnat and close its eyes. Then she asked the woodpecker to pluck his eyes. She herself would be on the edge of a pit and would croak misleading the elephant to think that it is a pond.

The next day at noon the three carried out the plan and the elephant was killed when he fell flat into a pit after being blinded by the woodpecker when he closed his eyes in response to the gnat. So the revenge was taken with collective wit of all three animals.

Panchatantra Story - Monkey and the Crocodile

Once upon a time there lived a monkey named Red-face on a tree by the side of the sea. The tree was an apple tree and the fruits it bore were sweet as nectar. Once a crocodile named Ugly-Mug swam ashore and Red-face threw apples at him and asked him to taste them. Ugly-Mug started coming everyday ashore and eat the fruits thrown by Red-face and soon they became good friends. Ugly-Mug used to take some fruits to his home to his wife.

His wife was a greedy lady and asked him as to where he got the nectar filled apples. Ugly-Mug told about his friend the monkey. The lady was greedy and pleaded with her husband that she would like to eat the monkey's heart, as a person who gave such tasty fruits must have a heart filled with nectar. Ugly-Mug was angered and did not agree to deceive his friend. But she then insisted on not eating anything till he brought her his friend's heart. Out of desperation, Ugly-mug started making plans for killing his friend.

He came back to Red-face and entreated him with an invitation to his house for supper stating that his wife would be thrilled to have him home and also that she was very anxious to meet such a nice friend. Poor Red-face believed the story but was asking his friend as to how he could cross the sea to reach the house of the crocodile on the other side. Ugly-mug then offered to carry him on his back and the monkey agreed.

In the middle of the sea, Ugly-mug took the crocodile deep into the ocean to kill the monkey. The monkey was frightened and asked the crocodile why he was doing this. Ugly-mug told him that his wife wanted to eat the monkey's heart filled with nectar. Red-face immediately asked it to take him back to the tree as he told him that he had left his other heart which was full of nectar back at the tree. The foolish crocodile then swam back to the tree and the terrified monkey jumped up the tree never to return. Upon being asked as to why she was not returning, the monkey answered to the crocodile that he had only one heart and he had been fooled and scolded his friend for misusing his friendship.

The crocodile was ashamed at what happened and asked the monkey if he could make any amends. And he was also scared that his wife would not let him back in because he had returned without the monkey's heart. Just then he heard that a huge he-crocodile had occupied the house of his. The monkey advised him to fight the he-crocodile and drive him out of his home and gain his wife's confidence. His advice the crocodile followed and he was back happy with his wife. 

Panchatantra Story -The Foolish Lion and the Clever Rabbit

The Foolish Lion and the Clever Rabbit

Once upon a time there lived a ferocious lion in the forest. It was a greedy lion and started killing animals in the forest indiscriminately. Seeing this, the animals gathered and decided to approach the lion with the offer of one animal of each species volunteering itself to be eaten by the lion everyday. So every day it was the turn of one of the animals and in the end came the rabbits' turn. The rabbits chose an old rabbit among them. The rabbit was wise and old. It took its own sweet time to go to the Lion. The Lion was getting impatient on not seeing any animal come by and swore to kill all animals the next day.

The rabbit then strode along to the Lion by sunset. The Lion was angry at him. But the wise rabbit was calm and slowly told the Lion that it was not his fault. He told the Lion that a group of rabbits were coming to him for the day when on the way, an angry Lion attacked them all and ate all rabbits but himself. Somehow he escaped to reach safely, the rabbit said. He said that the other Lion was challenging the supremacy of his Lordship the Lion. The Lion was naturally very enraged and asked to be taken to the location of the other Lion.

The wise rabbit agreed and led the Lion towards a deep well filled with water. Then he showed the Lion his reflection in the water of the well. The Lion was furious and started growling and naturally its image in the water, the other Lion, was also equally angry. Then the Lion jumped into the water at the other Lion to attack it, and so lost its life in the well. Thus the wise rabbit saved the forest and its inhabitants from the proud Lion.