The Wise Weaver

Once a king was in his court hearing his people. At that time an envoy from the neighbouring kingdom came to his court.

The envoy spoke no words. He merely drew a huge circle in the middle of the court.

After drawing the circle the envoy sat by the side patiently.

The envoy was very silent after that.

A few minutes later it became obvious that the circle drawn by the envoy was a message and that the envoy would offer no other explanations for his actions or his reason to come here.

The king did not know what the circle meant neither did his ministers.

The king decided to ask the common people in his kingdom about the meaning of the circle.

Under the orders of the king the courtiers and the ministers announced the actions of the envoy to the common people of the kingdom.

Most of the people in the kingdom stared blankly at the riddle.

However one particular courtier felt that a wise old man could know the meaning of the riddle. So the courtier went to the house of the old man to see if the old man could help with the puzzle.

The courtier was surprised as soon as he entered the house. There he saw a swing gently swinging itself in the first room. In the second room the courtier saw another swing swinging itself. The swinging moved making sure that the branches of a willow tree moved to scare away the sparrows which could come and eat the corn from the field near the house.

In the basement of the house the courtier found a weaver. But surprisingly the weaver was not doing any work himself. He had obviously built a machine which followed his commands. The weaver directed the machine and the weaving machine would work by itself.

The courtier was sure that the weaver would be able to solve the riddle.

And so the courtier told the old weaver everything.

The weaver smiled as soon as he heard the words of the courtier.

From a nearby hen-coop the weaver picked up a knuckle-bone first. The weaver also picked up a hen and went with the courtier to the king's court.

There the weaver saw the envoy sitting patiently at the side of the court.

The weaver placed the knuckle bone right next to the circle drawn by the envoy. 

As a reply the envoy threw millet seeds all over the place. 

The weaver then placed the hen which ate up all the millet seeds. 

A second later the envoy got up and left the place.

The king and his ministers looked surprised. "What is the meaning of all this?" The king asked the weaver.

The weaver smiled. "The envoy was a messenger of the neighbouring king. With the circle the envoy wanted to know what you would do if the neighbouring king surrounded our kingdom with all their soldiers? The envoy wanted to know whether you would lay down your arms and stop fighting and hand over the kingdom to them."

The king was astonished as the weaver continued "I told him that all these threats were not serious and were just toys like the knuckle-bone for us."

"And the millet seeds?" The king asked anxiously.

"That meant that the neighbouring king could order more soldiers from other places too."

The Weaver studied his hen and smiled at the king "I replied that we could easily destroy all the men that they would bring to our kingdom, just as the hen had eaten all the millet seeds."

"The envoy probably realised the futility of the attack and went away, your majesty," the weaver told the king.

The king was overwhelmed with the wise Weaver and thanked him profusely. 

The king gave the weaver a huge plot of land where the weaver could live for the rest of his life with wealth and prosperity. 

None of the neighbouring kingdoms ever attacked this kingdom because they had all realised that this kingdom had clever and wise people and the people of this kingdom would always fight back and win.

From the Olive Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

A story of fishes

Long ago it was believed that the fishes lived on land and not in water. The fishes did everything that the other animals did on land.

Once a tribe of fishes came back from hunting.

It was hot so the fishes decided to rest under a huge tree near the bank of a river.

Thuggai who was the chief of the fishes along with Biernuga, the bony fish and Kumbal, the bream, cooked the food that they had hunted.

Guddhu was a cod fish and he was always quiet. The other fishes all were looking at the fire that they had created to cook their food. Some fishes were happily dancing around the fire.

After eating their hearts fell the fishes were tired and they all went to sleep.

It so happened that while the fishes were asleep, dark clouds gathered at the place that they were sleeping. The dark clouds started pouring immediately.

Worse, an icy chill wind also blew through the place.

The fishes were huddled miserably in the rain and cold wind because the fire that the fishes had created had been put out because of the rains. Under the direction of Thuggai, the other fishes tried to build the fire again. But none of the fishes could do it. Finally a little young fish told Thuggai that the cod fish had magic in him and he could create a fire.

Guddhu patiently started creating a fire and soon he was successful.

As soon as the fire started burning, Guddhu asked the other fishes to bring more wood. They were about to bring more wood when a gust of wind blew through the place.

The fishes were at the back of a river. So when the gust of wind blew all the fishes were thrown into the water.

The fishes were trembling even worse in the water and that was when the wind blew the fire also inside the water.

Unlike on land the fire is not put out under the water. The warmth of the fire spread throughout and the fishes decided to stay around the fire to keep themselves warm forever.

That is why on the cold surface of water when ice is formed on the surface of the water, underneath the surface, the waters are warm. It is quite pleasant and unlike the fishes you will be sorry that you cannot stay there forever.

Folk Story from Australia

The Boy and the Evil dragon

 A boy once lived with his parents. 

But the boy was very bored there. He wanted some adventures in his life.

That was when he heard that a dragon had attacked the outskirts of his village. The dragon carried off women and children from the outskirts. It was believed that the dragon carried away the women and children to the far side of the mountains where the dragon supposedly lived. And there the dragon ate the people whom it had taken from the outskirts!

It was even rumoured that the dragon could change form into any animal or even a human if the dragon so wished.

*****

The boy decided to help the people in his village. With the blessings of his parents he set off the very next morning. 

He walked deep into the mountains and that was when he found another young man walking up the mountain.

"Where are you going?" The young man asked the boy.

The boy was slightly suspicious that the young man could be the dragon in disguise. Though the boy dismissed his own suspicions, the young boy lied to the man about the real reason he had come to the mountains.

"My home is just around the corner there." The young man told the boy, "Why don't you come with me?"

The boy said nothing and just stared at the young man.

"You seem tired, you can have some food and have some rest at my home." The man offered studying the boy.

The boy was very hungry and tired so he agreed to the man's suggestion.

******

The boy was shocked when he found some bones near the outside of the man's house. He found an old woman stirring and cooking in a pot under fire outside the house.

"What will you have to eat?" The old woman asked the boy.

"Just some corn." The boy told the old woman because he was unsure of what she was cooking under the fire.

******

The young man had some work outside and left the boy and the old woman alone for sometime. It is during this time that the young boy talked to the old woman. 

She looked at him with kind eyes. "You seem to be a very good and innocent boy. For this I shall tell you something important. The man whom you have met is actually the dragon in disguise. The dragon plans on eating you tomorrow morning. You have to escape this place as soon as possible."

"How do I do that?" The boy asked the old woman.

"Take these shoes and this birch bark with this picture with you. These shoes are magical. With one step in these shoes you will be able to reach those mountains there." She pointed at a far away blue mountain. "After you reach the place you will meet an old man. Give him this birch bark, and he will tell you what to do after that." The old woman suddenly looked worried. "But remember no matter how far you go the dragon will find you by evening."

The boy thanked the old lady.

The old lady suddenly caught the boy's hands.

The boy looked surprised as the old woman continued. "Before leaving you must kill me in the morning."

"Why?!"

"After killing me," the old woman continued, "you must wrap me in this colourful robe. That is the only way I can break the power that the dragon has over me. I can bring myself back from the dead after the dragon has left me here."

The boy agreed to this too.

******

The entire night the dragon man slept next to the boy. So the boy could not escape the place. 

The next morning the dragon went to the stream to get some water. 

The boy killed the old woman and wrapped her in a colourful robe. The boy then put on the shoes that the old woman had given him and he took a step.

The boy was shocked because he found himself near the far away blue mountain immediately. He even found an old man there. 

The old man looked at the birch bark in the boy's hands and smiled. "So you are the young man for whom I am supposed to wait."

But the old man did not wait for a reply from the boy. 

The old man gave another birch bark and another set of shoes to the boy and pointed at a far away pink mountain. "One step in these shoes should take you to those hills and there you will find another old man and he will tell you what to do."

The boy did as he was told. 

There he found another man who gave him a Maple leaf and his last set of instructions. 

The old man told the boy to find a stream and walk into the waters as if it were land. But the old man warned the boy not to look at the water. The old man also gave the boy, a birch bark  and said that the birch bark would help the boy change appearance and also keep him safe.

*******

The boy did all this very easily.

He felt the power of the birch wood and that was when he saw the dragon far off coming towards the mountain.

He realised that the dragon had found him by evening.

The boy immediately changed himself into a little fish and swam in the stream.

******

The dragon man looked around but could not find the boy anywhere. The dragon man found a little fish in a stream. "Little fish, have you seen a young boy here?"

"No," the little fish replied and swam away.

After that all the animals in the forest including the great Turtle either lied to the dragon or misdirected the dragon away from the boy.

Finally the dragon changed into a Snake and it was directed by the Turtle towards a portion in the stream.

There the boy with the help of his birch bark swam round and round in the water creating a violent whilrpool.

The dragon in the form of the Snake is about to drown in the whirlpool, when the boy changed his form and picked up the Snake. 

The boy cut off the head of the Snake. 

The dragon was no more.

******

The boy went back to the house of the dragon and found that the old woman was alive.

He received many gifts for his deed and he became very well known as a brave boy.

The kingdom never had to fear dragons again.

But even now the Snakes are hated in that particular village because the dragon man had taken the shape of a Snake before meeting its end.

A Canadian Native American folk story

The Two Friends and the Stranger with the Coat

 In a faraway land lived two friends. They had been friends since their childhood and wanted to be so all the time.

Another man came to the village and saw the friendship of the two men. The man who came to the village wanted to know whether the friendship of the two men was strong enough. So he did a very simple thing.

* * * *

The very next day the two men saw a stranger walk across the field. 

The stranger shouted and drew a lot of attention to himself. That way both the friends looked up from their work. 

The friends admired the coat that the stranger wore.

* * * *

In the evening when the two friends met each other they talked about it.

"The stranger was wearing such a lovely red coat" Said the first friend.

The other friend was confused. "I wanted to talk to you about it, but it was not a red coat, it was a blue coat!"

The first friend shook his head hurriedly and was confused himself. "How could you say that? it was a red coat!"

"You did not see it properly!"

And so the two friends now were angry with each other and soon they started fighting. It reached a stage that they both insulted each other and called each other names in the middle of the road.

* * * *

It was at this time that the two friends saw the stranger on the road again.

The stranger looked at the two friends fighting each other and he laughed. 

He pulled out the coat from his bag and showed it to the two friends. "You fools! You fools! You fought without the facts."

The two friends were flabbergasted. The coat in the strangers hand was half red and half blue. 

"You both fought because neither of you were right. You just saw things from your own point of view and refuse to understand anything from the other man's side. You do not deserve to be friends."

Folk stories from Africa

Eros and Psyche

Psyche and her two elder sisters were princesses in a kingdom. Psyche was so beautiful that people from all over the kingdom and even beyond it, were thrilled by her beauty.

Aphrodite was the Greek Goddess of love and beauty. When she heard of Psyche’s beauty, Aphrodite became jealous that people gave more attention to Psyche than to her. It hurt the Goddess more because people did not come to Aphrodite’s temples and instead went to see Psyche, who was rumoured to be even more beautiful than the Goddess.

Aphrodite, irritated, decided to solve the problem by summoning her son Eros.

Eros was the God of love and desire. He threw arrows at the hearts of humans to make them fall in love.

"Make the beautiful Psyche fall in love with the most despicable and ugly creature on earth." Aphrodite instructed her son.

Eros was a very obedient son. He flew to earth to fulfill his mother’s wishes.

But once, Eros looked at Psyche, he was stunned. Accidentally, he pricked himself with his own arrow.

Following that, Eros fell deeply in love with Psyche. Eros decided that he had to save the beautiful princess from the wrath of his mother, and he left her alone.

But Psyche’s problems were far from over.

Men came to admire her beauty, but they did not want to marry her. So though she was beautiful beyond compare, she could not get married.

The unhappy state of affairs continued even as Psyche’s older sisters got married.

That was when Psyche’s parents were worried that they had done something to offend the Gods, and so the king approached the Oracle of Delphi for advice.

The Oracle solemnly looked at the king and sighed. "Your daughter will marry a beast that even the Gods will fear."

As the Oracle continued, the royal couple became terrified. "Dress her in black clothes and let her walk up the tallest rock mountain in your kingdom. Nothing else can be done for her."

Sadly, the couple told Psyche the Oracle’s prediction for her.

Unhappily, Psyche did as she was asked to do.

There on the mountain, Psyche was terrified and waiting for a monster to come.

A wind carried the scared Psyche off the mountain, far away from the kingdom.

Psyche was terrified, but no one could help her, and she did not know where the wind was taking her. She thought that all this was the monster’s doing and did not know what to expect as she was terrified out of her wits.

However, the wind gently deposited Psyche in a place far away from her own kingdom. There was a lovely meadow and a magnificent castle in front of Psyche.

Psyche was guided by gentle, invisible voices all around her. "This is your home. You will be well taken care of here. You have nothing to worry."

Psyche found the courage to follow the voices and enter the castle.

Psyche's every need was met in the castle, just as the voices had predicted. There was treasure all over the castle; rich food was served at all times, and there was gentle music playing around just to soothe her.

At night, she had a gentle and caring lover in her bed.

But Psyche’s lover took care to stay invisible to her and never let her see him.

Over the next months, Psyche was sure that all these things had been done by her husband, and he was her unseen lover at night.

She learnt to enjoy herself more and lived like a Goddess in the castle.

However, Psyche slowly became homesick. She realized that though she was living happily in her new home, her parents and sister would be mourning for her. They would still believe that she was dead after being carried off by a monster from the top of the rock mountain.

That night, she told her lover that she wished to meet her family and just talk to them.

Her lover agreed to it but warned her not to get influenced by other people’s ideas and notions.

Psyche happily nodded, not quite understanding her lover’s advice.

A few days later, Psyche’s sisters were brought to the meadow the same way that Psyche was brought here.

The sisters cried in happiness on seeing each other.

Psyche's two sisters, on the other hand, saw her sister's opulence and luxury and were curious about the owner of the castle and Psyche's lover who had allowed her to live like this.

Psyche could not answer their questions truthfully.

Psyche’s sisters grew jealous that their sister lived like a Goddess.

The three sisters lived in the castle for a few days, and then the other two sisters decided to go back home.

However, while leaving, the jealous sisters had a word of advice for Psyche. "Your husband seems to be a monster, Psyche. Even the Oracle of Delphi said that you would be taken by a beast. I think your husband looks hideous, and that is the reason that he keeps himself hidden."

Psyche stared uncomprehendingly at her sisters, unwilling to believe that her gentle lover was a monster.

Her eldest sister shook her head in mock sadness. "There is no other reason why he would keep himself hidden from someone like you."

Her second sister solemnly nodded her head. "Take care, Psyche."

That very night, Psyche took a dagger and a lantern to bed with her.

When her lover came to bed, Psyche lit the lantern to properly see his face.

Psyche tried to look at the face of her lover from the light of the lantern when he came to bed at night.

Eros was so handsome that it was impossible not to look away from him after looking at him once. Psyche was startled at seeing how handsome Eros was, and her hands shook. A drop of oil from the lantern fell on Eros’s face, and he woke up from his sleep.

Eros looked at Psyche and realized that she had seen his face.

Eros ran from there, and Psyche tried following him.

"Love cannot exist without trust." Eros told her as he disappeared from there. The castle also disappeared as Psyche found herself back in her own kingdom.

Psyche realized that Eros, the God of Love, had been her husband, and she had not trusted him after believing the words of her sisters. She was unhappy and heartbroken and she roamed around the world in search of her lover.

On her way, she visited both her sisters. When her sisters learnt the truth about Psyche’s husband, they were so jealous that they decided to offer themselves in place of Psyche. They also climbed the rock mountain in the hope of finding Eros. But the two sisters fell to their deaths because the wind did not carry them as it did Psyche.

Back to Psyche: she roamed far and wide in search of Eros but found him nowhere.

Finally having no choice, Psyche approached Aphrodite to help her.

The Goddess of Love did not make things easy for Psyche. She was still jealous and wanted Psyche to prove that she was the appropriate wife for her son.

First, Aphrodite led Psyche to a huge mountain of food grains. The mountain was just that—a huge mountain with a mixture of every single variety of food grain. "Separate all the grains, and I shall decide whether you would be a good wife for Eros."

Unable to bear the despair of his wife, Eros ordered some ants to help Psyche.

The ants separated the grains easily and in no time at all.

Aphrodite was shocked to see that the work was done, but she could not believe that Psyche had done this without any help. But Aphrodite could not prove it either.

Unwilling to give in, Aphrodite set the next task for the girl—to get the golden fleece from a violent herd of sheep, who were grazing near a river.

The God of the River advised Psyche to wait until midday—that was when the sheep were very sleepy and would not attack her.

After this, Psyche was easily able to collect the golden fleece from the sheep.

Aphrodite again suspected that Psyche had outside help, but this time too, she could not prove it.

The third time, the Goddess of Love asked Psyche to get water from the River Styx. The river Styx was believed to be the boundary between the earth and the underworld.

Though Psyche could see the river, she could not get to the water because the surrounding terrain was steep and slippery.

The eagle of Zeus, the Greek God of Thunder, who was the King of all Gods, helped Psyche in her third task. The eagle flew into the river and brought water for Psyche.

Aphrodite was stunned on seeing the water and suspected that Psyche had outside help, but this time too, she could not prove it.

So, for the fourth time, Aphrodite asked Psyche to get a portion of Persephone’s beauty from the underworld.

Hades was the Greek God of the Dead and the Underworld. Persephone was the Goddess of vegetation, and she was kidnapped by Hades and subsequently married him. Since then, Persephone has been the Goddess of the Underworld.

Psyche is in despair because she felt that she could not complete the final task. So she was about to end her life by jumping off a high tower when a voice guided her. The voice instructed her on the location of the opening to the Underworld and warned Psyche to maintain silence throughout her journey.

Psyche followed the instructions (which were from Eros) and found Persephone, who gladly gave her a closed box that contained a portion of Persephone’s beauty.

Psyche got the box out of the Underworld.

But unfortunately, on reaching earth, curiosity overcame Psyche, and she opened the box.

She fell into a deep sleep on opening the box from the Goddess of Death.

Eros, who saw this, realized that Psyche loved him. By this time, the scars from the oil on his face had also healed, and Eros had more or less forgotten all about them.

Eros first woke Psyche up from her sleep and then approached Zeus and the other Gods to help him.

Psyche was offered ambrosia, the nectar of the Gods, so that she could be with Eros for all eternity.

In the end, Aphrodite was also happy with this.

Psyche lived in the Heavens with Eros and was forgotten by the world of men, and men again went to the temples of the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

The Cobra and the Crows

There lived a husband and a wife crow in a dense forest. The dense forest was on the outskirts of a prosperous kingdom.

The birds had built a nest in the branches of the tree and lived there.

Unfortunately, the crows did not know that a cobra also lived in the base of the same tree. The cobra was silent and did not draw any attention to itself, and it merely observed the crow couple.



Once the wife crow laid eggs in the nest and the couple were very happy that they were going to become parents.

The couple went out to hunt for food and that was when disaster struck.

When the couple returned to the nest, they found that their eggs were broken and eaten. The miserable couple looked around and found that the trail led to the base of the tree and realized that there lived a cobra there.

After that, every time the wife crow laid eggs, the cobra would eat them when the couple went to hunt.



Not knowing what to do, the crow couple approached the wise jackal. “You need to help me!” The wife crow told the jackal unhappily. “The two of us cannot fight the cobra. We are not strong enough to kill the cobra. The cobra knows this. It waits for us when we are away and then eats our eggs.”

“I think we should abandon the tree.” The husband crow voiced from the other side.

The jackal was silent and then shook his head. “Moving to another location will not solve your problem. It will merely give you a new set of troubles in the new area.”

“What do we do?” The wife crow wailed. “We cannot let the cobra do this to us all the time.”

The jackal studied the crow couple and then a second later grinned.

A day later, the kingdom near the dense forest was in a big frenzy. Something unthinkable had happened. A crow had stolen jewelry from the palace!

The guards ran out following the flying bird and the crow had a precious necklace in its beak.

The crow for some strange reason seemed to be slow, almost as if it were letting the guards follow it.

After a long run, the guards had followed the crow to a dense tree.

The guards sighed in relief as the crow dropped the necklace at the base of the tree.

Unfortunately, one of the guards spotted a huge cobra hole where the necklace had fallen into.

While taking the necklace out, the cobra was disturbed and hissed angrily.

The guards saw this and immediately killed the cobra.

The next day, the jackal smiled at the crow couple. “You do not need strength to defeat a stronger enemy.”

From the Panchatantra

The Wise Carpenter

 The kingdom of Snalong was ruled by King Genchog. King Genchog’s father was Gendong. 

When Gendong had been alive, he had also been a very good king of his times. 

In the same kingdom lived a painter and a carpenter. They were both masters in their respective fields. But the carpenter and the painter hated each other.

One day the painter went to the court of King Genchog with a very special letter.

The letter was from King Genchog!

‘Dear son,

I am in the heavens and I am very happy there. 

However, I wish to build a temple for the Gods here. There are no good carpenters in Heaven. Please make arrangements to send a carpenter to heaven. 

The painter through whom I have sent this letter can make the necessary arrangements for my wishes to be carried out.’

King Genchog did not doubt the letter. His father would definitely want to build temples for the Gods and there was no reason for him to doubt the contents of the letter.

That very day, the king sent for the carpenter.

The carpenter was very surprised when he looked at the letter. When he saw the mention of the painter, he grew even more suspicious. But he did not voice any of his suspicions. He studied the King. “How am I supposed to get to heaven, your majesty?”

King Genchog called for the painter to court and that confirmed the carpenter’s suspicions. 

“How is the carpenter supposed to go to Heaven?”

The painter nodded at the king, smiling slyly at the carpenter “The carpenter and his tools are to be laid on the ground. Then they are all burnt. Using the smoke of the fire, the carpenter can ride up to the heavens with his tools.”

The carpenter stared blankly at the painter as fear clutched his heart. With great difficulty he caught himself and nodded slowly at the king. “Your majesty, I… work from my home… I hope that all this is done there.”

The innocent king nodded much to the glee of the painter.

However the carpenter was not yet done talking. “I have some work here too, your majesty. Kindly give me about a weeks’ time to finish my work on earth, before I go to heaven.”

The king agreed to this request too. 

The date for burning the carpenter and his tools to be sent to the heavens was fixed to the next week.

In his fields, the carpenter worked hard for the next seven days in a secret mission.

On the seventh day, the carpenter and his tools were burnt on the pyre.

The painter went back home smirking happily thinking that he had got rid of his enemy.

Three months later, King Genchog was in court. 

He was surprised to see the carpenter walk in hale, hearty, happy with divine looking wonderful garments.

The king welcomed the carpenter happily. “How was the trip to the heavens, carpenter?”

The place is amazing, your majesty.” The carpenter nodded at the king. “I could find all the materials and build a magnificent temple for the Gods. Your father is very happy with my efforts.” The carpenter handed over another letter to the king. “He asked me to give me this letter to you.”

‘Dear son,

The carpenter that you have sent has done a magnificent job. 

Now I need a good painter to finish the temple. Kindly make the necessary arrangements to send a painter.’

The painter heard this and he was stunned. He was in awe when he saw the attire of the carpenter. He genuinely believed that attire was made in heavens. The foolish painter did not know that the carpenter had used his one week well and had built a tunnel leading away from the place of burning to an underground chamber. The carpenter had stored the underground chamber with enough rations and provisions to last him for the three months. In those three months, the carpenter had the attire prepared in the underground chamber.

The painter knew none of this. He genuinely believed that he was being called to the heavens.

As the painter was not as quick thinking as the carpenter, he met his end that day.

Folk stories from Tibet