The King and The Robber

Once in a big village lived many robbers. They would roam around the streets and steal as they willed, out of these, one particular thief used to regularly attend the spiritual discourses given by the local sadhu at the village temple.

Once, while on his way to the assembly his foot was pricked by a thorn. It became red and swollen, that night he couldn't join his team for their nightly looting, his friends, however, carried on without him. There was a king in that town who had a lot of wealthy the robbers decided to rob the king that night they broke into the king's treasury and succeeded in escaping with millions and millions of rupees overnight, they shared the wealth amongst themselves and slept as millionaires. Hearing of this success, the thief that didn't go was scolded by his family "Just because you went to the assembly you got hurt and failed to join your friends in that robbery you had to sit here and waste your time you didn't get a single penny and they're all millionaires." While these words were being repeatedly said the king's army had arrived they had tracked the robbers down and collected all of them for execution even the innocent thief was lined up for death. All of the robbers, including the innocent one, were lined up ready to be executed. At that time all the villagers had gathered in the court the sadhu and the local villagers stood up as witnesses and said that the last thief that had been hurt by a thorn had not gone out stealing that night and the king set him free.

The Hole in the water

A young man who was alone in the world decided to get married. He was handsome and rich, but it seemed that in the whole land there was not the right wife for him: either they were too young, or too old. There remained just one lovely young maiden, whom he had met at the well, but she seemed to be a bit mad. Not only did she say that her stepmother was a fairy, but she also insisted that her stepmother would only allow her to marry a man who could perform a certain very difficult task. What is that? asked the young man. He has to make a hole in the water. Thats impossible, exclaimed the young man. You will never find a husband. Yes, I will find one, replied the young girl. My stepmother says that when someone is truly in love, they can even work miracles. The young man was truly in love, but he had no idea how to solve the problem. He sighed and suffered for a long time but he did not give up. Then one day he found that the well had frozen over. Suddenly he understood. Seizing a stout stick, he made a hole in the frozen surface .. and so he was able to marry the beautiful maiden.

The Young Man and The Golden Mountain

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Looking for Employment, a young man was hired by another man, who took him abroad a ship, which then called off to a distant island. There stood a high mountain made of gold. Go to the top mountain, his employer ordered, and dig out as much gold as you can, then throw it to the bottom where I can collect it. How do I reach the top? he asked. Drink this magic potion, came the reply, and you will be like a feather. But it was really a sleeping potion, and as soon as the young man was asleep, his master wrapped him in a cow skin and left him on the beach. Along came some seagulls which took the cow skin and carried it to the top of the mountain, and dropped it. When the young man awakened, he scramble out of the skin, and chased the seagulls away. Then he set about digging, throwing the gold down to his master. How do I get down? the young man shouted. The master replied, You dont. You can just stay up there. But the golden mountain dislike being dug up and robbed, so it began to shake and rumble, as it was really a volcano. Then it blew its top, and the young man was hurled up into the air. He eventually landed safe and sound back in his own country, but the master was caught in the flow of lava and turned into a golden statue.

The Swan and the Goose

Narrative text - The swan and the goose

A swan and a goose were both sold at the market on the same day to the same buyer. Then they were taken back to his villa and both put in the lake, the swan to please his eye, and his ears with its legendary song, and the goose to please his stomach eventually with its lovely, tasty meat. For a long time, the two birds lived very happily together, becoming great friends. They swam about every day in the water and the master and his guests often came by to admire the two animals and feed them tasty morsels. Nevertheless, the day came when the master ordered that the goose should be roasted for his dinner. The cook went down to the lake to fetch the unwilling guest to the banquet. By chance that day, the cook was drunk, and instead of taking the goose he took the swan. W hen the swan saw the cooks knife coming for its throat, it began to sing its famous last song. The cook was so amazed that he refused to kill the bird. Which goes to show that everyone who knows how to make good use of words can find a way out of even the most desperate situation.

The Man who Came from the Sky

One day, a man who made his living by tricking people stopped a good woman on the road. Who are your? asked the woman. 'Where do you come from? I fell from the sky, the man replied craftily. Oh really. The woman's face lit up. Then maybe you have met my husband. He died last year, Certainly I know him, but he's not doing too well. He hasn't found a job yet and he hasn't got enough to eat or enough clothes to wear The poor man cried the woman. if I give you some clothes, can you take them up to him? No, I'm sorry but it's forbidden to take clothes into paradise, replied the man, I might manage to smuggle some money to him. Nobody would find a little money bag hidden in a pocket. Oh, thank you, then please take this. It's all my savings, and the woman gave the man a little pile of money. She was so grateful to him for doing her such a kind service. Well, who would have thought, she kept repeating, that in paradise my husband would be lacking ever, the bare necessities. englishstory12

The Lazy Threesome

An old king, with death approaching, re m e m b e re d t h a t h e h a d n o t ye t decided to which of his three sons he would leave his kingdom. As lie thoughtabout this, he realised that there was only one thing which they knew how to do well, and that was nothing! So he decided he would leave his throne to the son who was best of all at doing nothing. He called the three princes to him and began toquestion them. 'I am so lazy,' said the first, 'that if a grain of dust lands in my eye while I am falling asleep, rather than go to the effort of getting it out, I prefer to forget about sleeping and remain all night with my eyes open.' 'Ah, but if I,' said the second prince, should sit near the f ire to wa rm myself, why, rather than tax myself by moving my feet, I let them get burnt by the flames.' 'I am so lazy,' boasted the third prince at this point, 'that if I were being hung and I was given a knife to cut the rope, I would let myself strangle to death, rather than make the effort of raising my hand.' 'That really is astonishing!' thought the old king. 'You couldn't get lazier than that! The throne is yours!' he said, turning to the third and laziest of the three princes.

Rapunzel

Grimm's Fairy Tale version translated by Margaret Hunt - language modernized a bit by Leanne Guenther Note: Rapunzel is an old nickname for a herb with leaves like lettuce and roots like a radish -- it is also called rampion.

There once lived a man and a woman who always wished for a child, but could not have one. These people had a little window at the back of their house from which a splendid garden could be seen. The garden was full of the most beautiful flowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared to go into it because it belonged to an witch, who had great power and was feared by all the world. One day the woman was standing by the window and looking down into the garden, when she saw a bed which was planted with the most tasty rapunzel. It looked so fresh and green that she longed for it and had the greatest

desire to eat some. This desire increased every day. The woman knew that she could not get any of it and grew more pale and miserable each day. Her husband was worried about her and asked "What is wrong my dear?" "Ah," she replied, "if I can't eat some of the rapunzel from the garden behind our house I think I shall die." The man, who loved her, thought, "Sooner than let my lovely wife die, I will bring her some of the rapunzel myself, no matter what the cost." In the twilight of the evening, he climbed over the wall into the garden of the witch, hastily grabbed a handful of rapunzel and took it to his wife. She at once made herself a salad and ate it happily. She, however, liked it so much -- so very much, that the next day she longed for it three times as much as before. If he was to have any rest, her husband must once more descend into the garden. In the gloom of evening, therefore, he set out again; but when he had climbed over the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the witch standing before him. "How dare you," she said with angry look, "sneak into my garden and steal my rapunzel like a thief? You shall suffer for this!" "Ah," the frightened husband answered, "please have mercy, I had to have the rapunzel. My wife saw it from the window and felt such a longing for it that she would have died if she had not got some to eat."

Then the witch allowed her anger to be softened, and said to him, "If this is true, I will allow you to take as much as you like, only I make one condition. You must give me the baby daughter your wife will bring into the world; she shall be well treated, and I will care for it like a mother." The man in his fear consented and when the baby was born the witch appeared at once, gave the child the name of Rapunzel and took the baby away with her. Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child beneath the sun. When she was twelve years old, the witch shut her into a tower, which lay in a forest. The tower had no stairs or doors, but only a little window at the very top. When the witch wanted to go in, she stood beneath the window and cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair." Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when she heard the voice of the witch she wound her braids round one of the hooks of the window, and then the hair fell down the side of the tower and the witch climbed up by it. After a year or two, it came to pass that the Prince rode through the forest and went by the tower. He heard a song which was so lovely that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel who in her loneliness passed her time singing. The Prince wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of the tower, but none was to be found. He

rode home, but the singing had so deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest and listened to it. Once when he was standing behind a tree listening to Rapunzel's song, he saw the witch come and heard how she cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair." Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the witch climbed up to her. "If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I will for once try my fortune," thought the Prince and the next day when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair." Immediately the hair fell down and the Prince climbed up. At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man such as her eyes had never seen, came to her; but the Prince began to talk to her quite like a friend and told her that his heart had been so stirred by her singing that it had let him have no rest. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him for her husband -- and she saw that he was kind and handsome, she said yes, and laid her hand in his.

She said, "I will willingly go away with you, but I do not know how to get down. Bring a bit of silk with you every time you come and I will weave a ladder with it. When that is ready I will climb down and we shall escape together." They agreed that until that time he should come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day. The witch knew nothing of this, until once Rapunzel said in her distraction, "Oh my, you are so much heavier when you climb than the young Prince." "Ah! you wicked child," cried the witch "What do I hear thee say! I thought I had separated you from all the world but you have deceived me." In her anger she clutched Rapunzel's beautiful hair, seized a pair of scissors -- and snip, snap -- cut it all off. Rapunzel's lovely braids lay on the ground but the witch was not through. She was so angry that she took poor Rapunzel into a desert where she had to live in great grief and misery. The witch rushed back to the tower and fastened the braids of hair which she had cut off, to the hook of the window, and when the Prince came and cried, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair," she let the hair down. The Prince climbed to the window, but he did not find his dearest Rapunzel above, but the

witch, who gazed at him with a wicked and venomous look. "Aha!" she cried mockingly, "You've come for Rapunzel but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat has got it and will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzel is banished and you will never see her again!" The Prince was beside himself and in his despair he fell down from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes. Then he wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries and did nothing but weep over the loss of his dearest Rapunzel. In this way, the Prince roamed in misery for some months and at length came to the desert where the witch had banished Rapunzel. He heard a voice singing and it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards it. When he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell into his arms and wept. Two of her tears fell on his eyes and the Prince could see again. He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented.
http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/rapunzle/story.htm

Snow White A long time ago, a child was born to a queen and king and she was called Snow White. When the queen died, the king married again. This new queen was wicked and hated Snow white. The queen gave orders that Snow White was to be treated as a servant. Snow White grew very beautiful and one day a Prince riding by, saw her at work and fell in love with her. The queen was beautiful too, and every day she asked her Magic Mirror, "Who is the fairest in the land?" and the mirror always answered, "You are the fairest one of all". But one day the mirror answered Snow White was the fairest in the land, and in a rage the queen gave orders to one of her Huntsmen to take Snow White into the woods and kill her. The Huntsman had a kind heart and couldn't do the deed so told her to run away. She fled into the woods where Seven little dwarfs lived. Their house was small and strange. Snow White entered the little house and finding it very untidy, started to clean up. Upstairs she found seven little beds. She was very tired and stretching out on one of the beds, was soon asleep. When the Dwarfs came home they were surprised to find Snow White and after some argument, decided to let her stay. She promised to cook and look after them. The Queen discovered where Snow White was living and disguising herself as a witch, took a poisoned apple and set out for the Dwarfs cottage. She gave Snow White the poisoned apple to eat and as soon as she bit the apple, she sank into unconsciousness. Thinking she was dead, the Dwarfs built a glass coffin and put her in it. For days she lay in the forest in her glass coffin. One day, the Prince was riding through the forest looking for Snow White and found her. He leaned over and kissed her. She opened her eyes and sat up with a smile. Everyone was happy. The Prince took Snow White to his palace where they were married and lived happily ever after.

http://www.overplayers.org.uk/html/snowstory.html