Think before you speak

Once upon a time in a forest, a hare called Pinky was resting under a banyan tree. He thought to himself, "What would happen if the earth started to break up?" Suddenly, there was a loud creaking sound. He jumped up and said, "The earth is really breaking up".

He ran through the forest and met another hare, Rosie. Rosie asked Pinky, "Where are you going in such a hurry?" The earth is splitting into pieces. You better start running too". Pinky replied. Soon, the other hares joined them in running.

Seeing so many hares running through the forest, the other animals got frightened. The news of the earth splitting into pieces spread like wild fire and soon all the animals got to know about it. It wasn't too long before all the animals joined the hares in running wildly. All creatures, whether reptiles or birds,insects or four-footed animals, everyone was trying to escape and their cries of fear filled the air.

The king of forest, Zara the lion, was standing on the top of a hill. He saw the animals running. "What is the matter?" He thought himself. He ran down the hill and positioned himself in front of the crowd. He shouted, "Stop! Stop!" The animals stopped as the lion was their king. A parrot yelled, "The earth is breaking into pieces". Zara asked, "Who told you so?" The parrot replied, "The monkey told me so".

Zara asked the monkey about it. They replied that they heard it from the tigers. The tigers in turn said that the elephants had told them. The elephant cited buffaloes as their source. At last, the hares were rounded up and they all pointed to pinky.

Zara asked Pinky, "What made you think that the earth is breaking into pieces?" The small hare replied fearfully," Your Majesty, I heard the cracking sound with my own ears". Zara investigated the matter and explored the sound that Pinky had heard. Ultimately, he came to know that the sound had been lying down.

Zara told all the animals, "Go back to your homes. The earth is absolutely safe. Next time you hear a rumour, check before you run". He told Pinky, "Look at the panic that wrong information can create. Next time, think before you speak".

The animals felt foolish and at the same time relieved as the earth was safe. They went back to their homes.

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His First Flight

Once a young seagull was standing alone on a rock in the sea, he was afraid of flying. His parents taught his sister and two brothers how to fly and dive for fish into the sea. They strove their level best to teach the young seagull to fly but in vain.

One day his parents thought a plan to teach him flying. All the members of his family flew away to another rock and left him alone. They did not give him anything to eat. Twenty-four hours passed. The young seagull walked to the edge of the rock. He stood there on one leg and closed his eyes. Now he was very hungry. He saw his mother tearing a piece of fish. He begged his mother to give him food.

The mother of the seagull knew that it was the time to hit upon the nail. She decided to exploit the hunger of the young seagull for his betterment. She took a piece of fish in her beak and came flying over him. When she reached over him, she become motionless in the air. She did not get down on the rock. She wanted to give the young seagull an incentive to fly.

The young seagull bent forward and jumped at the fish. But his mother flew upward. So he lost his balance and flew down from the rock into the space. He becomes much frightened. But to save his life he began to flap his wings. As soon as he flapped his wings, he started to fly. In this way, he learnt how to fly.

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The Two Kids

It was another escapade of Gopi and Gargi into the forest. The two were playing in the courtyard of the ruined castle when they heard strange sounds, as if someone ringing tiny bells in a temple. But there was none in the sort had happened during any of their early visits. Was the castle haunted? Were there any ghosts?

Suddenly, this thought had a vice like grip on their minds. Naturally enough, both were terrified but neither wanted to admit it. Presently the sounds become louder and louder and the duo would have fled had Gargi's sharp eyes not caught a glimpse of a herd of goats grazing behind the thickest nearby. 'So, those are ghosts!' said Gargi and the both burst into laughter. They rushed to the spot to have a closer look and found that there were thirteen goats in all and each had a tiny brass bell dangling from its neck. Four goats were black and the rest were brown.

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Naughty Robi

Robi was a naughty monkey who lived in a forest near the sea.

One day, Robi went to the sea shore. There he saw a fishing rod left behind by someone. 'Catching a fish is very interesting,' Robi thought as he took the fishing rod.

"Monkey, you do not eat fish. Then why should you catch my friends in the sea?" Crooky Crab asked.

"Monkeys do not eat fish. But it is interesting, and such fun to catch fish! Wait here, and I will show you what an expert fisherman I am!" Robi replied proudly.

He cast the fishing line into the water, and waited there for some time. Then, the fishing line began to move. "Wow! I caught a big fish. It's very heavy," Robi said happily. He began to pull in the line. He pulled and pulled. Finally, a shark popped out of the sea.

"You foolish monkey! I will catch you, and eat you up," the shark said, opening his mouth wide.

Frightened Robi quickly ran back into the forest, as Crooky Crab laughed loudly.

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A Good Boy

I woke before the morning, I was happy all the day,

I never said an ugly word, but smiled and stuck to play.

And now at last the sun is going down behind the wood,

And I am very happy, for I know that I've been good.

My bed is waiting cool and fresh, with linen smooth and fair,

And I must be off to sleep, and not forget my prayer.

I know that, till tomorrow I shall see the sun rise,

No ugly dream shall fright my mind, no ugly sight my eyes.

But slumber hold me tightly till I waken in the dawn,

And hear the thrushes singing in the illacs round the lawn.

[ A poem by Robert Louis Stevenson ]

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Birbal, The Wise

Birbal was a very wise man.He was in the court of the great ruler, Akbar. He was know for his wisdom. People came from near and far off places to seek his advise. There are many stories about Birbal's wisdom.

Once two brothers,Raju and Ravi came to him. They both claimed to own the same mango tree and asked Birbal to settle down the quarell between them.

Birbal thought for a while. Then he said, "Pluck all the fruits from the tree and divide them equally between the two of you".

"What about the tree, sir?" asked Raju.

"Cut the tree down and divide the wood that you get from it", replied Birbal.

Raju thought it was a very fair judgement.He said, "Sir,you are very wise. We will follow your advice".

Ravi was shocked at Birbal's words. "How can you ask us to cut that beautiful tree ? " he said. "I have looked after that mango tree for seven years".

"Then how do we solve the problem ? " asked Birbal.

"It is better to give the tree to Raju than to cut it down" Ravi said.

Birbal smiled. "Only the owner of the tree will show such love.Ravi is the true owner of the mango tree. Raju will not get even a mango from that tree".

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The Sun And The Wind

Read the funny conversation between the Sun and the Wind

WIND: I am stronger than you, Sun.

SUN: I don't think so, Wind. I am the strongest one.

Wind: You are wrong. I am the strongest

SUN: Let us have a contest.

WIND: How can we do that?

SUN: Look at the man walking on the road. Let us see who can make him remove his coat?

WIND: I can do that in no time at all.

SUN: Ok. Your chance is first.

The wind blows very hard against the man who is walking on the road. The man feels cold and grabs the coat tightly to his body. The wind huffs and puffs for some time.

WIND: I give up. I cannot make him open his coat. It is your turn now, Sun.

The Sun shines very brightly on the man. He starts feeling very hot. Soon he removes his coat.

SUN: Look! The man has removed his coat. So, who is stronger among us?

WIND: I admit my defeat. You are stronger than me.

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Grasshopper And Ant

On a grassy meadow lived an ant and a grasshopper. In summer, the ant worked all day collecting grains of food from the fields. She carried the grains home one by one and stored them carefully.

The grasshopper looked at her working all day and laughed. He asked the ant, "Why do you work so hard, dear ant, come and listen to my song". The ant replied, "Thank you. I would love to listen to your song. But, I have work. I need to work hard to store food for difficult times. Why don't you also work and store some food for the troubled times? Remember, there are difficult times ahead".

The grasshopper laughed at her, "The days are long and bright. Don't you want to enjoy the sun"?.

"I will enjoy the sun when my work is done", said the ant and went away. The grasshopper continued to sing and dance.

Soon, the summer faded into autumn and autumn turned to winter. The sun could hardly be seen. The days became very short and grey. It was very cold and snow began to fall.

The grasshopper did not feel like singing anymore. He was very cold and hungry. He did not have any shelter or food. Even the meadow was covered with snow and there was no food at all. He did not know what to do.

Suddenly, he remembered the tiny little ant. He went to the ant's house and knocked at the door. "Hello ant!" He said hopefully. "Get some food while i sing for you".

The ant replied, " All summer you sang and danced while I worked hard to collect food for the winter. There is no food for you here. Go and sing somewhere else".

The grasshopper went away hungry and cold.

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The Foolish Cats

There were two cats in a house: Ding and Dong. They were friends. They liked each other. They went hunting mice at night.

One night Dong got a whole burger. Ding said, "We shall share it. We shall cut it into two and take a piece each".

"Oh, no!" Said Dong, stll holding the burger between his teeth. Ding jumped at the burger and got it. "I will eat it by myself, " he said.

Then they quarelled. They started running around with the burger. They were shouting and hitting each other.

There was a monkey called Lanky sitting on a tree. He was cunning. He came down from the tree and said, "Hey Ding and Dong, I will cut it into two for you". Ding said, "Ok, Lanky dear. Cut it for us. Cut it into two equal parts". "Let me try", said Lanky. And he broke the burger into two piece. He took a bite from one piece. Then , one piece was big and other was small.

"I will make it equal," saif Lanky. And he ate some part of the larger piece.

The cat jumped at the burger. Lanky jumped on the tree with the burger. "Now, I will make them equal," said Lanky. And he ate some from the other piece. Then it became small. Then Lanky ate the larger piece. Ding and Dong sat with their heads down. Lanky ate the whole burger and said, "see my dear Ding and Dong, you should never quarrel".

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The Lost Son

Once upon a time, there lived a rich man who had two sons; joe and jim. He loved his sons very much. Joe was obedient and polite. Jim was rude and greedy. When they grew up, Joe helped his father in his work. Jim lazed around all day doing nothing.

One day Jim came to his father and said, "Father, I want to go away, please give me my share of wealth". The father was very sad but he loved his son. So he could not refuse. He gave his son his share of wealth and wished him well.

Jim went away to a nearby town. He made many friends who loved him because of his money. Soon all his money was spent. His friends left him as he was no longer rich.

Jim took a job in farm. He took care of the cows and pigs. He ate whatever the farmer gave him. Soon a famine broke out and the animals on the farm died. The farmers told Jim to leave.

Jim was very lonely and sad. He became thin as he had nothing to eat. His clothes were all torn. He decided to return home and ask for his father's forgiveness.

His father saw him coming across the field. Immediately, his father ran towards him and hugged him. "My lost son has been found", he said. He asked the servants to bring food and clothes for him. He thanked God for bringing back his son.

Jim asked his father and brother to forgive him. He helped his father and joe in their work. They all lived happily again.

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Boy And Wolf

Once there was a boy who had many sheep. He used to take them to the fields that were not far from the village. When he become bored he called out "WOLF! WOLF," although there was no wolf around. The village people left all their work and came running to help the boy. But when they came, the boy simply laughed. He played the same joke over and over again. Soon the village people stopped coming.

One day, a wolf did come for real. The boy got very frightened. He cried and cried,"WOLF! WOLF," on that day no one came to help him. The village people thought that he was lying as usual.

The wolf killed four of his sheep.

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Unity Is Strength

Once upon a time there lived a farmer and his wife in a village in a country side. They had a big farm and a large field.

They had many animals in the farm. They had cows,goats,pigs and hens. In the field they grew paddy and wheat crops. They even had orchards where they grew fruits like mangoes,apples and guavas.

A flock of birds lived on the trees close to the farmers's field. The birds came to the farmer's field and pecked at the corns and the grains. Tey ate until they were full. They even took away grains to feed their chicks.

The farmer and his wife were not happy about this. They tried to shoo away the birds but the birds came back every day. The farmer's wife had a plan. She told the farmer, "Spread a net in the paddy field, we can catch the bird in it".

The next morning, the farmer laid a net in the paddy field to catch the birds. He then went to work on his farm. The birds came to eat the grains as usual. They did not notice the net. Soon many birds were caught in the net. They started chirping for help, "We are stuck, please save us."

They tried to free their friends but could not. Among them there was a wise old bird. She said, "Fly away with the net." The birds tried but failed. "Quick!" the wise bird said, " The farmer is coming."

The birds tried again. they all tried together. At last, they succeeded. When the farmer came to catch the birds, he saw the birds flying away with the net.

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The Circus

Jack and laura are very excited. They are going to the Royal Circus today. They reach the Circus Ground with their parents. Jack's dad buys popcorn for them. There are many performers in the circus. There are many animals too.

The performers show them many kinds of acts. Then the parrots come riding on bicycle. Jack and Laura jump with joy. There is also a clown called Bozo. He makes them laugh a lot. He can even stand on his head! Bozo keeps losing his hat.

Jumpo, the elephant makes a grand entry. He has a long trunk. He dances with the music. Thrre are some beautiful horses in the circus too. Jack and Laura enjoy the circus a lot. They make friends with Bozo.

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The Donkey

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The Blind Boy

O say, what is that thing called light,
Which I can ne'er enjoy?
What is the blessing of the sight?
O tell your poor blind boy!

You talk of wondrous things you see,
You say the sun shines bright;
I feel him warm, but now can he
Then make it day or night?

My day or night myself I make
Whenever I sleep or play;
And could I ever keep awake
With me it were always day.

With heavy sighs I often hear
You mourn my hapless woe;
But sure with patience I may bear
A loss I never know.

Then let not what I cannot have
My cheer of mind destroy;
Whilst thus I sing, I am a king,
Although a poor blind boy.

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The Trees

If walnuts come from walnut trees,

And almonds come from almond trees,

Then how come acorns come from oaks?

Can anyone explain this, please?

A redwood tree's not really red,

And a red pine trees are green,(not red).

So, why's are the white birch aptly named?

And why's the white pine green instead?

Now, ash trees don't grow ashes. Right?

And beech trees aren't beaches. Right?

And fir trees don't have a furry trunks;

Although, that WOULD be quite a sight!

These tree! These trees! I wish it would

Be less confusing in thw wood!

If trees had better-chosen names,

They might be better understood.

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