The Brave Little Parrot

Long ago, in an ancient bamboo forest, lived a tiny parrot. He spent his days alongside the other birds and animals of the forest.

One dry afternoon, a sharp bolt of lightning struck a dead tree trunk. The sparks caught fire, and soon it turned into a terrifying wildfire.

Seeing the danger, the little parrot escaped high into the clear sky, flying to the safety of the nearby river. But as he looked back from the river, he saw his home burning and heard the helpless cries of the animals trapped there.

Instead of escaping, the little parrot made a brave choice. The parrot plunged into the cool waters of the river and soaked his feathers until they were heavy with moisture. The parrot then flew back to the heavy smoke and fire and vigorously shook his wings, dropping tiny sprinkles of water into the flames.

High above, in the celestial realms, Sakka, the king of the Gods, looked down from his palace and saw the burning forest and the little parrot working tirelessly to put out the fire.

Wanting to test the bird's resolve, Sakka transformed himself into a majestic golden eagle and flew down towards the parrot. “What are you doing, you foolish little bird?” The Eagle told the parrot. “Your feathers are scorched and your eyes are burning. Your efforts are hopeless! A few drops of water cannot extinguish a raging forest fire. So save yourself before you burn.”

The parrot, however, did not stop. It turned to the eagle and replied. “Do not discourage me. I need help, not discouragement. The forest is burning and my friends are trapped. I am doing what I can to save them.”

Taken aback, Sakka was moved to tears. The divine tears of Sakka poured down from heaven as a torrential rain. The rain doused the flames and soon the forest fire was put out completely.

As the smoke cleared, the parrots' singed feathers transformed into a brilliant red, green, and blue, which was meant to be a permanent mark of honour for the little parrot’s extraordinary courage.

So do not measure your worth by your size or strength for even the smallest act of courage can ignite extraordinary change.

Adapted from the Jataka Tales

The Heron and the Crab

High in the branches of a grand banyan tree lived a flock of birds. Near the banyan tree was a sparkling lake. There, at the edge of the water lived an old white heron. As the years went by, the heron grew too slow to catch fish. He went hungry often and he wondered how he could get his next dinner if he could not swim fast enough. The heron came up with a clever plan. He went to the water’s edge and looked sad with a long face, and he let his tears fall into the lake.

A crab came out of the water and saw the crying bird. “Uncle Heron! Why are you so sad? What happened?” 

The heron wiped his tears and sighed. “I overheard some fishermen nearby. They said that they were coming tomorrow with huge nets to drain this lake and catch every single fish, frog and crab here.”

The crab quickly went into the water and told the fish all that he had heard. The panicked fish gathered around the heron and pleaded with the bird. “Please, Heron, you can save us because you can fly! You can take us out of this water.” 

The heron smiled inwardly, but he nodded sagely. “I know of a deep pool on the other side of the mountain. No fisherman can find you there. I will take you there one by one in my beak.”

So every day the heron picked up a fish, flew over the hill and ate the fish behind a large rock. 

Day after day the sneaky heron tricked the fish, and soon the heron grew fat and lazy.

Eventually, the crab turned to the heron. “Heron, you have saved so many fish. Please take me to the safe pool today.” 

The heron looked at the crab and thought that he was tired of eating fish every day and a crab would make a delicious change. So the heron agreed to help the crab and picked up the crab in his beak and soared into the sky.

As they flew over the mountain, the crab expected to see a beautiful new lake. Instead, he saw piles of fish bones scattered across the rocks. 

The crab instantly understood the truth - this was no safe pool. The heron had been tricking everyone all along, and now it was the crab's turn.

The crab panicked, but he knew that crying would not save him. He had to keep calm and act quickly. 

Before the heron could land, the crab used his strong sharp claws and pinched the heron's long neck with all his might.

“Help me! Help me!” squawked the heron, losing his balance mid-air.

The heron was forced to land safely on the ground to escape the crab's pinch.

The crab then fell to the earth and hurried back to the lake, to warn the other creatures about the heron's trickery.

Thus, by staying calm, thinking fast and facing the danger directly, the little crab saved himself and his friends.

Adapted from the Panchatantra

The King and the Broken Bow

It was the time of a brutal battle where an invading army had captured the kingdom and the royal forces had fled.  The ruler of the kingdom was running for survival and had reached a mountain. A storm was raging at the mountain at that time. The king was already nursing a deep injury. Because of the storm, the king was now covered in mud as he collapsed into a dark cave at the top of the mountain.

Resting against the cave wall was the king's most prized possession - it was a magnificent heavy bow carved from the finest wood and horn.

Unfortunately, as the king had tried to escape with his bow, he had stumbled. At the time, the bow had hit a huge boulder because of which the upper limb of the bow had cracked.

Now inside the cave, the king strung the weapon together to pull the string, and he realised what the problem was. 

The bow had lost its perfect symmetry. The bow could no longer shoot straight using any known archery techniques.

The king felt a bitter wave of despair because he realised that he had lost his kingdom, he was injured and now even his bow was about to break. 

The king felt defeated in the dark cave, as the storm raged outside.

The next morning the storm had cleared, but peace did not last for the king. He heard the thud of the boots up the cliff. The king peeked out of his cave and realised that enemy soldiers were climbing up the mountain.

Running away was impossible and all the king had was one damaged bow to fight back.

The king studied the weapon again. He realised that, instead of cursing the flaw with the weapon, he had to improvise, the king did not take a traditional Archer's stance, he stood awkwardly changing his grip and tilted his head and instead of aiming at the soldier, the king deliberately aimed to the right of the target and fired the arrow. 

As the arrow flew it curved at an impossible angle and struck the soldier. 

On seeing that he had hit his target, the king began launching a relentless defence. The bow was crooked and the arrows flew at an impossible angle. 

Because of this, the soldiers down the mountain could not make out where the arrow was coming from. They were terrified because they believed that this was an army that was practising sorcery, and so the enemy soldiers panicked and ran.

After this, armed with a renewed spirit, the king tracked his army and rallied his soldiers. 

Together, they did not launch into a traditional warfare. Instead, the king utilised asymmetric war tactics and drove the invaders out of his kingdom.

Adapted from Veera Gatha in Indian Folklore

The Mouse Merchant

 

In a wealthy city, there was a miserable young man who was weeping along the roadside. His father had passed away, leaving the young man and his mother very poor. The young man believed that he had no future and so he was feeling depressed.

At that moment, a wealthy and famous merchant Visakila came to the roadside with his friends. Visakhila pointed at a dead mouse near the street and turned to his friends. “A man with true focus and enterprise could pick up their dead mouse and start a business with it and eventually earn a fortune.”

Visakila's friends laughed it off. However, the young man saw this as a challenge. He picked up the dead mouse and went to the local tavern. 

There he found a cat owner who needed food for his pet.

When the young man gave the dead mouse to the cat, the owner of the cat gave the young man a handful of roasted gram.

The young man did not eat the roasted gram. Instead, he grounded the gram into a refreshing powder and mixed it with cool water. The young man took this to the edge of the forest and waited there. 

There were many wood cutters who were tired and returning home after a hard day's work. The young man politely offered the refreshing drink to the woodcutters. Gratefully the wood cutters accepted the drink  and in return the woodcutters gave the young man two pieces of firewood each.

The young man sold the firewood in the city market and used the money to buy some gram and molasses. With that the young man did this daily.

Soon, a massive storm hit the city. The storm blew branches into the royal gardens.

The royal gardener was worried because the king was supposed to come to the garden that day and the garden was a mess because of the storm. 

The young man came to the gardener and offered to help the gardner to clear the garden for free if he got to keep all the firewood that he had cleared.

Naturally the gardener agreed to this.

The young man offered sweet snacks to children playing nearby and asked them to clear the garden.

The children happily ate all the sweets and helped the old man and in return the children put all the firewood removed from the garden in the young man’s place.

The young man now had a massive stock of firewood. He sold the wood to the king’s potter at the premium price.

With this substantial capital, the young man opened a small shop and traded goods with traveling horse dealers. Eventually, the young man became one of the most prominent merchants in the empire.

Years later, the young man came to be known as Chuadutta. 

Chuadutta made a gold mouse encrusted with precious jewels and presented it as a gift to Visakila thanking the older man for the loan that built his entire empire.

Adapted from the Kathasarithsagara

The Woodcutter and the Diamond

There was once a woodcutter who lived in a village on the edge of a great forest. The  woodcutter worked day and night but he was very poor. 

One day the woodcutter cried out in frustration. “Why am I alone  undergoing friction and hard work while others walk in silk and gold?”

As an answer to his prayer an ascetic came near the woodcutter. 

The ascetic pulled out a muddy stone the size of a fist from his pouch and gave it to the woodcutter. “This is a rare uncut diamond.”

The woodcutter’s eyes widened in surprise. 

The ascetic however, shook his head. “First take  this stone to the market and ascertain its true price.” The ascetic smiled at the woodcutter. “Before you sell this diamond, come back and talk to me.”

The woodcutter agreed and he excitedly took the diamond to the village market.

First the woodcutter showed the diamond to a vegetable vendor. 

The vegetable vendor looked over the stone. “This is a heavy stone. I will give you two bags of potatoes for this.”

The woodcutter was taken aback. 

Then the woodcutter took the stone to a brass merchant.

The brass merchant nodded appreciatively at the stone. “This seems to be a rare stone. I can give you ten copper coins for this.”

The woodcutter refused to sell the stone to the brass merchant too and the woodcutter took the stone to the capital city. 

There the woodcutter showed the stone to the royal jeweler.

The royal jeweler removed the mud from the stone and looked into it. The jeweler was taken aback when he saw the stone. “Where did you find this? This is a rare uncut diamond worth a thousand gold coins now.” The jeweler was still breathless. “If this stone was polished by friction, this stone’s worth would not be measurable.” The royal jeweler shook his head. “I do not have enough money in the treasury to buy that polished jewel.”

The woodcutter took the stone back to the forest.

The ascetic was sitting near a fire when the woodcutter found him.

The ascetic smiled because he realized that the woodcutter had understood it. “We are all like this stone. When we are polished our worth is more than a kingdom. However now we judge our worth based on the opinion of the vegetable vendors and the brass merchants. Our hard work removes the dirt and lets our real diamond shine showing our true worth to the world.”

The woodcutter kept the stone but he did not sell it. He kept it in his home and started working hard and since then he never saw his hard work as difficult. 

He realized that this hard work was merely a precursor to show his true worth to the world.

Adapted from Indian Folklore

The Crow and the Peacock

There was once a crow that did not like its black feathers.

The crow often admired the colourful feathers of the peacock and wanted to be one among the peacocks. 

The crow would often tell its fellow crows, “You all look so dull and plain. look how beautiful the peacocks are. I wish I were a peacock, too.”

Finally, the crow had an idea. 

It decided to pick up all the peacock feathers that had fallen down and decided to stick it to its own wings so that it would look like the peacock.

Painstakingly, using tree sap, the crow stuck all the fallen peacock feathers to its tail.

The crow looked at its own work. “Now I am as gorgeous as a peacock.” The crow told itself.

However, when the crow tried to join the flock of peacocks, the crow was mocked and thrown out of the place because the peacocks clearly saw that the crow was not one among them. “Putting on peacock feathers will not make you a peacock.”

Sadly the crow returned to the other crows. But none of the crows now wanted to be with this crow that had shunned them.

A wise old crow came and told the crow its lesson. “We have to accept ourselves for the way that we are and not copy others, blindly. I hope that you have learned your lesson.”

Adapted from the Panchantantra

Audio Story in Youtube

The Crow and the Cobra

 

Deep within a lush forest, a happy pair of crows made their home in the branches of a banyan tree. Their lives were peaceful, save for one terrifying large black cobra that lived in a hollow at the foot of the very same tree.

Every time the crows laid their eggs, the cobra would slither up the trunk and eat the eggs. 

The crows knew they were physically no match for the venomous snake and were grief-stricken and felt helpless.

Desperate for a solution, they turned to a trusted friend - a wise old jackal.

The jackal patiently listened to the crows and smiled. 

"Do not be afraid," the jackal said calmly. "Strength is not the only way to win. You cannot use your own strength here, but you can borrow the strength of another to solve your problem."

The jackal then told the crows what to do.

The next morning, the crow took flight and headed toward the nearby royal palace. 

Down by the riverbank, the queen and her ladies-in-waiting were bathing in the cool waters. 

Before stepping into the river, they had left their expensive jewelry on the banks, under the watchful eyes of the royal guards.

With perfect timing, the crow swooped down, scooped up a heavy, shimmering gold necklace belonging to the queen, and flew off.

"Stop that thief!" The guards shouted running after the crow.

The crow deliberately flew slowly, making sure he stayed well within sight of the royal guards. 

The royal guards tracked the crow as it flew straight back to the banyan tree.

As the guards came to the banyan tree, the crow hovered over the hollow at the base of the tree and dropped the glittering gold necklace right inside.

The guards rushed to the tree and peered into the dark hollow to retrieve the queen's necklace. 

But as they looked closer, they saw the black cobra coiled tightly around the gold. 

Fearing for their lives and to protect the royal treasure, the guards immediately killed the cobra with their spears.

The guards safely recovered the necklace and returned to the palace. 

From that day forward, the crows lived in peace with their nest safe from any threats.

Chandasimha and Sattavasila - Part Five

 

The other city that the princess led Chandasimha and Sattavasila to, had trees that produced flowers and fruits for all the seasons, at the same time. The city itself was made of gold and jewels.

The princess led the king to the throne and told him her story. “I am the daughter of Kalanemi, the asura who was killed by Lord Vishnu.” The princess nodded at the king. “I have inherited these two cities from my father and these cities were designed by Vishwakarma, the divine architect.These cities can provide everything that a person wants.” The princess studied the king and took a deep breath. “I look upon you as my father now. And I am placing these two cities at your disposal.”

The king studied the princess and smiled. “You are my daughter now. So I give you as a wife to my friend and relation - Sattavasila.”

The princess happily agreed to this.

The king then turned to Sattavasila. “You had given me two amalaka fruits when I was in need. What I have done for you today is in return for one of the fruits that you have given me.”

Sattavasila bowed to the king but he was speechless.

The king then turned to the princess. “Now, this city belongs to you and Sattavasila. So lead me to my own city.”

The princess first gave the king a sword that would make the wielder invincible against anyone. The princess also gave the king a fruit which when eaten would prevent old age and death.

After that, the king went to the tank of water. He stepped into it and came out of his own city.

Sattavasila and the princess ruled the undersea kingdom and Chandasimha went back to him own kingdom and ruled that place.

Now that the story of Chandasimha and Sattavasila was complete, Vetala had a question for King Trivikramasena.

“Who among the two men was more brave? Chandasimha or Sattavasila?”

The king thought for some time. “Sattavasila.”

“Why?”

“Sattavasila did not know what to expect when he went to the undersea kingdom. But he went on. The king on the other hand knew exactly what to expect. That would mean Sattavasila was the braver one. The king never tried to charm the princess because he had realized that it would have never worked on the princess. But it is Sattavasila who is the braver of the two men.”

On receiving the right answer, Vetala flew back to the tree away from King Trivikramasena.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

Chandasimha and Sattavasila - Part Four

 

Soon King Chandasimha and Sattvasila reached the undersea kingdom.

Chandasimha was stunned when he saw the temple of Goddess Durga in the undersea kingdom and sat down along with Sattavasila to admire the entire kingdom.

This time too, the princess and her attendants came to the temple. One look at the king and the princess realized that the king was royalty. She turned to her attendant. “Go to that distinguished man and request him to accept our hospitality. He is a great hero and we have to entertain him.”

The attendant went to the king and repeated everything.

The king was however unimpressed. “The temple and the garden around is sufficient entertainment for me. I do not need any other entertainment."

When the princess heard the words of the king, she realized that the king was unimpressed with her and she realized that she had to do something else to get the attention of the king. 

“I have another city, my king.” The princess told the king. “Come and see it.”

The king laughed as he waved at Sattavasila who was near him. “He has already told me about the tank of water that you use to deceive people.”

The princess was chagrined. “I have no intention of cheating you, my king. The kingdom that I speak of, is far too beautiful than this place.”

The king finally consented to go with the princess.

Sattavasila accompanied the king and the princess as she took the two men to the other city.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

Chandasimha and Sattavasila - Part Three

Once Sattavasila plunged into the water of the tank and rose up from it, he was shocked. 

Sattavasila woke up in the garden of King Chandasimha in Tamralipti.

He was shocked and looked around. The city that he had seen under the water and the beautiful maiden had all disappeared.

Realizing that he had been fooled by the attendants of the maiden, Sattavasila roamed around the king’s garden like a madman.

The people working in the garden saw Sattavasila who looked like he was pining for the loss of someone and they immediately went and told the king all about it.

King Chandasimha was bewildered when he came to the garden. The man whom he had sent in a ship was in the garden near his palace. The king sat beside Sattavasila and asked him what had happened.

Sattavasila told the king all about his adventures.

The king immediately realized that Sattavasila had fallen in love with that maiden under the sea. The king realized that this was his opportunity to repay the debt to Sattavasila for the two amalaka fruits that Sattavasila had given him.

“Don’t be sad, Sattavasila.” The king told the other man. “Take me to the same place where this beautiful maiden lives.”

The next day, the king entrusted the kingdom to his ministers and along with Sattavasila, they set out on a journey by sea.

Sattavasila showed the exact spot where the banner had appeared. Today there was a flagstaff that had appeared there.

“I will dive into the sea towards the flagstaff, the king must follow me there.” Sattavasila told the king.

Both the men jumped into the sea after that.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

Chandasimha and Sattavasila - Part Two

The other people in the ship were terrified.

Sattvasila pulled out his weapon and jumped into the sea to fight with whatever it was that was pulling the ship into the sea. Sattvasila did not know any details about the dangers of the sea, but he was determined to fight it out.

However, as soon as Sattavasila jumped into the sea, the wind blew the ship and the others in it far away and the ship and the others were eaten by sea monsters.

Sattvasila looked around the waters and that was when he saw a beautiful city that was under the waters.

The underwater city glittered with palaces made of gold, and there were pillars made of jewels and the gardens there had precious gems strewn around.

He also saw a temple of Goddess Durga there.

Sattvasila went towards the temple first and prayed there and looked around the city wondering what sort of enchantment this was.

That was when an extraordinarily beautiful girl came to the temple.

She was so beautiful that Sattvasila immediately fell in love with her.

Sattvasila sat beside the girl gazing at her with love in his eyes.

That was when the attendants of the girl came to the temple. The attendants realized that the girl also liked Sattvasila and went towards him. “You have come here as our guest. So enjoy our hospitality.”

Sattvasila rose up and towards a tank that had some water in it.

However, something very strange happened when Sattvasila went under the water.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara