The Donkey and The Little Dog

A man had a little dog, and he was very fond of it. He would
pat its head, and take it on his knee, and talk to it. Then he
would give it little bits of food from his own plate.

A donkey looked in at the window and saw the

man and the dog.

"Why does he not make a pet of me?" said the

donkey. 

"It is not fair. I work hard, and the dog only

wags its tail, and barks, and jumps on its
master's knee. It is not fair."

Then the donkey said to himself, "If I do what

the dog does, he may make a pet of me."

So the donkey ran into the room. It brayed as loudly as it

could. It wagged its tail so hard that it knocked over a jar on
the table. Then it tried to jump on to its
master's knee.

The master thought the donkey was mad,

and he shouted, "Help! Help!" Men came
running in with sticks, and they beat the
donkey till it ran out of the house, and
they drove it back to the field.

"I only did what the dog does," said the donkey," and yet
they make a pet of the dog, and they beat me with sticks. It
is not fair."

The Ass's Shadow

 A man hired an ass from another man. He paid him two
shillings to lend him the ass for the day.

It was a very hot day, and both men wanted to stand in the
ass's shadow, so that they might be cool. But there was only
room for one of them.

"Go away," said the man who had hired the ass. "Go away! It
is my shadow today. I have hired the
ass."
" You hired the ass," said the owner," but
you did not hire his shadow. It is my
shadow."

They went on, the hirer saying one thing

and the owner saying the other. Then
they began to fight, and while they were fighting one of
them happened to hit the ass. Then the ass ran away. And it
took its shadow with it !

On The Way To The Sun

-MRS. W. K. CLIFFORD

He had journeyed a long way, and was very tired. It seemed like a
dream when he stood up after a sleep in the field, and looked over
the wall, and saw the garden, and the flowers, and the children
playing all about. He looked at the long road behind him, at the
dark wood and the barren hills; it was the world to which he
belonged. He looked at the garden before him, at the big house,
and the terrace, and the steps that led down to the smooth lawn—it
was the world which belonged to the children.

"Poor boy," said the elder child, "I will get you something to eat."

"But where did he come from?" the gardener asked.

"We do not know," the child answered; "but he is very hungry, and
mother says we may give him some food."

"I will take him some milk," said the little one; in one hand she
carried a mug and with the other she pulled along her little broken
cart.

"But what is he called?" asked the gardener.

"We do not know," the little one answered; "but he is very thirsty,
and mother says we may give him some milk."

"Where is he going?" asked the gardener.

"We do not know," the children said; "but he is very tired."

When the boy had rested well, he got up saying, "I must not stay
any longer," and turned to go on his way.

"What have you to do?" the children asked.

"I am one of the crew, and must help to make the world go round,"
he answered.

"Why do we not help too?"

"You are the passengers."

"How far have you to go?" they asked.

"Oh, a long way!" he answered. "On and on until I can touch the
sun."

"Will you really touch it?" they said, awestruck.

"I dare say I shall tire long before I get there," he answered sadly.
"Perhaps without knowing it, though, I shall reach it in my sleep,"
he added. But they hardly heard the last words, for he was already
far off.

"Why did you talk to him?" the gardener said. "He is just a working
boy."

"And we do nothing! It was very good of him to notice us," they

said, humbly.

"Good!" said the gardener in despair. "Why, between you and him
there is a great difference."

"There was only a wall," they answered. "Who set it up?" they asked
curiously.

"Why, the builders, of course. Men set it up."

"And who will pull it down?"

"It will not want any pulling down," the man answered grimly. "Time
will do that."

As the children went back to their play, they looked up at the light
towards which the boy was journeying.

"Perhaps we too shall reach it some day," they said.

The Crooked Hyena

In a thick bamboo jungle, two young pandas had started their new
life. Both of them were very cute and chubby. They were born only
a few days ago. Their mother had lovingly christened them Jackie
and Mickey.

Jackie and Mickey were pretty young and weak. They were not even
big enough to take care of themselves. Therefore their mother said,
"Kids, you are growing now, you should be able to differentiate
between a friend and a foe."

"Mother, who are friends and foes?" asked Jackie and Mickey.

"One who helps us and stands by us in all our odds is our friend.
And one who harms us, kills innocent animals and birds, is our
enemy. Do you understand anything?" asked their mother.

"Yes mother, we do understand. We will maintain a safe distance

from our enemies and not even let them come near us, "Jackie and
Mickey assured their mother.

"Good, my children. I was expecting the same understanding from

both of you. Now I can leave you alone as you have grown wise,
"said their mother and she gave her children a hug.

The next day Mother Panda went to visit her

sister. She left Jackie and Mickey alone and
went away.

All this while a Hyena was keeping an evil eye

on Jackie and Mickey. He was looking for a
right opportunity for the past few days. The
Hyena's mouth watered when he saw the
young and chubby pandas. With their mother away, the Hyena
found that much-awaited opportunity.

The Hyena came near the bamboo and said, "Hello friends, what are
you doing on the bamboo. Come near me, I will sing you a song and
take you both for a jungle-ride."

The pandas were surprised to hear the Hyena. On seeing the

dangerous -looking Hyena down-below, Jackie whispered, "This
cannot be our friend. He has a big teeth. Our mother had asked us
to stay away from enemies. We have to be careful and don't have to
go near the Hyena.

On hearing what Jackie had to say, Mickey cried aloud, "You wicked
Hyena ,you are our enemy, you want to eat us to satisfy your
hunger. We will never get down." 

"Are you out of your mind? Believe me I am not your enemy, I am

your friend, "the Hyena tried to convince the young pandas.

Mickey heard the Hyena and understood clearly that his intentions
were not correct. He thought, "This devil will not leave us
peacefully. We have to think about some other trick to get rid of
him for some time."

Suddenly his eyes fell on the bamboo and he said, "Our mother had
advised us not to make friends with anybody till flowers bloomed on
the bamboo. So you will have to wait till the bamboo flowers."

"All right then, I will wait. All the young children should obey their
mothers, "said the crooked Hyena grimacing.

The Hyena realized that his luring the young pandas had back-fired.
Totally dejected, he went away. Jackie and Mickey heaved a sigh of
relief as the Hyena went away. They once again got busy eating
fresh soft leaves of bamboo.

The flowers bloomed on the bamboo within a

week's time.

The Hyena's happiness knew no bounds and

he said aloud to himself, "Wonderful, flowers
on the bamboo have brought me good luck.
Now both the young pandas have to be
friends with me. I will lure them away and
feast on them."
The Hyena once again came to the pandas and said, "Now the
flowers have bloomed on the bamboo. Hurry up and get down to
shake hands with me."

Mickey was very upset and was at his wit's end as to how to get rid
of the beast this time. Jackie however, was least afraid of the
Hyena. He was busy sharpening a thick bamboo pointed at both its
ends. When the bamboo became pointed, he hurled it towards the
Hyena.

He pointed towards the pointed bamboo and said, "We can become
friends only when you put the bamboo in your mouth and jump
from that cliff."

The flabbergasted Hyena asked, "But why should I jump with

bamboo in my mouth? Can't we become friends without this
exercise?"

"Absolutely not. Our mother had said that if the Hyena does not
jump with the bamboo in his mouth ,we should not be friends with
him. If you have to be our friend then you have to do as I say", said
Jackie very seriously.

The Hyena became thoughtful. He was thoroughly trapped in

Jackey's trap. If he refused to do what was being told, he had to
retreat. Finally, under compulsion he decided to jump with the
bamboo in his mouth.

Despite his reluctance, the Hyena inserted the pointed end of the
bamboo in his mouth and climbed the cliff and jumped.

The moment he landed on the ground, the Hyena shouted loudly in

pain, "Oh my God! I am dead. The bamboo has pierced through my
neck."

The panda brothers jumped with joy. Meanwhile the Mother Panda
had also returned after visiting her sister. She saw the Hyena
writhing in pain. Jackey and Mickey told her everything. When she
came to know everything, she applauded her sons and said, "Well
done, you have proved that both of you are brave and intelligent
and can defend yourself from prying enemies."

The Hyena, with the bamboo stuck in his mouth, was in a really bad
shape. He ran away as fast as he could and was never seen in the
jungle again.
 The Frog Prince
-Brothers Grimm

One fine evening a young princess put on her bonnet and

clogs, and went out to take a walk by herself in a wood; and
when she came to a cool spring of water with a rose in the
middle of it, she sat herself down to rest a while. Now she
had a golden ball in her hand, which was her favourite
plaything; and she was always tossing it up into the air, and
catching it again as it fell.

After a time she threw it up so high that she missed catching

it as it fell; and the ball bounded away, and rolled along on
the ground, until at last it fell down into the spring. The
princess looked into the spring after her ball, but it was very
deep, so deep that she could not see the bottom of it. She
began to cry, and said, 'Alas! if I could only get my ball
again, I would give all my fine clothes and jewels, and
everything that I have in the world.'

Whilst she was speaking, a frog put its head out of the
water, and said, 'Princess, why do you weep so bitterly?'

'Alas!' said she, 'what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My
golden ball has fallen into the spring.'

The frog said, 'I do not want your pearls, and jewels, and
fine clothes; but if you will love me, and let me live with you
and eat from off your golden plate, and sleep on your bed, I
will bring you your ball again.'
 'What nonsense,' thought the princess, 'this silly frog is
talking! He can never even get out of the spring to visit me,
though he may be able to get my ball for me, and therefore I
will tell him he shall have what he asks.'

So she said to the frog, 'Well, if you will bring me my ball, I

will do all you ask.'

Then the frog put his head down, and dived deep under the
water; and after a little while he came up again, with the ball
in his mouth, and threw it on the edge of the spring.

As soon as the young princess saw her ball, she ran to pick it
up; and she was so overjoyed to have it in her hand again,
that she never thought of the frog, but ran home with it as
fast as she could.

The frog called after her, 'Stay, princess, and take me with
you as you said,'

But she did not stop to hear a word.

The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner,
she heard a strange noise - tap, tap - plash, plash - as if
something was coming up the marble staircase, and soon
afterwards there was a gentle knock at the door, and a little
voice cried out and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there
she saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten. At this sight
she was sadly frightened, and shutting the door as fast as
she could came back to her seat.

The king, her father, seeing that something had frightened

her, asked her what was the matter.
'There is a nasty frog,' said she, 'at the door, that lifted my
ball for me out of the spring this morning. I told him that he
should live with me here, thinking that he could never get
out of the spring; but there he is at the door, and he wants to
come in.'

While she was speaking the frog knocked again at the door,
and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
 By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the king said to the young princess, 'As you have given
your word you must keep it; so go and let him in.'
She did so, and the frog hopped into the room, and then
straight on - tap, tap - plash, plash - from the bottom of the
room to the top, till he came up close to the table where the
princess sat.

'Pray lift me upon chair,' said he to the princess, 'and let me

sit next to you.'

As soon as she had done this, the frog said, 'Put your plate
nearer to me, that I may eat out of it.'

This she did, and when he had eaten as much as he could, he

said, 'Now I am tired; carry me upstairs, and put me into
your bed.' And the princess, though very unwilling, took him
up in her hand, and put him upon the pillow of her own bed,
where he slept all night long.

As soon as it was light the frog jumped up, hopped

downstairs, and went out of the house.

'Now, then,' thought the princess, 'at last he is gone, and I

shall be troubled with him no more.'

But she was mistaken; for when night came again she heard
the same tapping at the door; and the frog came once more,
and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

And when the princess opened the door the frog came in,
and slept upon her pillow as before, till the morning broke.
And the third night he did the same. But when the princess
awoke on the following morning she was astonished to see,
instead of the frog, a handsome prince, gazing on her with
the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen and standing at
the head of her bed.

He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy,

who had changed him into a frog; and that he had been fated
so to abide till some princess should take him out of the
spring, and let him eat from her plate, and sleep upon her
bed for three nights.

'You,' said the prince, 'have broken his cruel charm, and now
I have nothing to wish for but that you should go with me
 into my father's kingdom, where I will marry you, and love
you as long as you live.'

The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in saying
'Yes' to all this; and as they spoke a brightly coloured coach
drove up, with eight beautiful horses, decked with plumes of
feathers and a golden harness; and behind the coach rode
the prince's servant, faithful Heinrich, who had bewailed the
misfortunes of his dear master during his enchantment so
long and so bitterly, that his heart had well-nigh burst.

They then took leave of the king, and got into the coach with
eight horses, and all set out, full of joy and merriment, for
the prince's kingdom, which they reached safely; and there
they lived happily a great many years.

The Bad Girl

-MRS. W. K. CLIFFORD

She was always called the bad girl, for she had once, when she was
very little, put out her tongue at the postman. She lived alone with
her grandmother and her three brothers in the cottage beyond the
field, and the girls in the village took no notice of her. The bad girl
did not mind this, for she was always thinking of the cuckoo clock.
The clock stood in one corner of the cottage, and every hour a door
opened at the top of its face, and a little cuckoo came out and called
its name just the same number of times that the clock ought to
have struck, and called it so loudly and in so much haste that the
clock was afraid to strike at all. The bad girl was always wondering
whether it was worse for the clock to have a cupboard in its
forehead, and a bird that was always hopping in and out, or for the
poor cuckoo to spend so much time in a dark little prison. "If it
could only get away to the woods," she said to herself, "who knows
but its voice might grow sweet, and even life itself might come to
it!" She thought of the clock so much that her grandmother used to
say—

"Ah, lassie, if you would only think of me sometimes!" But the bad
girl would answer—

"You are not in prison, granny dear, and you

 have not even a bee in your bonnet, let alone a bird in your head.
Why should I think of you?"

One day, close by the farm, she saw the big girls from the school
gathering flowers.

"Give me one," she said; "perhaps the cuckoo would like it." But
they all cried, "No, no!" and tried to frighten her away. "They are for
the little one's birthday. To-morrow she will be seven years old,"
they said, "and she is to have a crown of flowers and a cake, and all
the afternoon we shall play merry games with her."

"Is she unhappy, that you are taking so much trouble for her?"
asked the bad girl.

"Oh, no; she is very happy: but it will be her birthday, and we want
to make her happier."

"Why?"

"Because we love her," said one;

"Because she is so little," said another;

"Because she is alive," said a third.

"Are all things that live to be loved and cared for?" the bad girl
asked, but they were too busy to listen, so she went on her way
thinking; and it seemed as if all things round—the birds, and bees,
and the rustling leaves, and the little tender wild flowers, half
hidden in the grass—answered, as she went along—

"Yes, they are all to be cared for and made happier, if it be

possible."

"The cuckoo clock is not alive," she thought. "Oh, no; it is not

alive," the trees answered; "but many things that do not live have
voices, and many others are just sign-posts, pointing the way."

"The way! The way to what, and where?"

"We find out for ourselves;—we must all find out for ourselves," the
trees sighed and whispered to each other.

As the bad girl entered the cottage, the cuckoo called out its name
eleven times, but she did not even look up. She walked straight
across to the chair by the fireside, and kneeling down, kissed her
granny's hands.

The Two Frogs

Two frogs had lived in a village all their lives. they thought they
would like to go and see the big city that was about ten miles away.

They talked about it for a long time, and at

last they set off to see the city.

It was a hot day, and they soon began to feel

tired. They had only gone a little way when
one said to the other, "We must be nearly
there. Can you see the city?"

"No," said the other frog; "but if I climb on your back I might be
able to see it."

So he climbed up on the back of the other frog to see the city.

Now when the frog put up his head, his eyes could only see what
was behind, and not what was in front. So he saw the village they
had just left.

"Can you see the city?", asked the frog who was below.

"Yes," answered the frog who had climbed up. " I can see it. It looks
just like our village."

Then the frogs thought that it was not worthwhile going any farther.
They went back and told the frogs round the village that they had
seen the city, and it was just like theirs.

The Two Goats

Over a river there was a very narrow bridge. One day a goat
was crossing this bridge. Just at the middle of the bridge he
 met another goat. There was no room for
them to pass."Go back," said one goat to
the other, "there is no room for both of
us".

"Why should I go back?", said the other

goat. "Why should not you go back?"

" You must go back", said the first goat,

"because I am stronger than you."

"You are not stronger than I", said the second goat.

"We will see about that", said the first goat, and he put down
his horns to fight.

"Stop!", said the second goat. " If we fight, we shall both fall
into the river and be drowned. Instead I have a plan- I shall
lie down, and you may walk over me."

Then the wise goat lay down on the bridge, and the other
goat walked lightly over him. So they passed each other, and
went on their ways.

The Banker and The Pauper

Once upon a time there lived a pauper and a banker. The first
was as poor as the second was rich. So it was inevitable that the
rich man will be happier than the pauper. But their natures
were opposite, for the poor man was happy whereas the
banker was not. The banker was annoyed of the fact that while
he tossed and turned in his bed at night, the pauper slept
peacefully and always awoke rested and full of energy.

One day the banker could stand it no longer. He decided to find

out why the pauper was a happy man inspite of his poverty. So
he summoned him to his house and asked him his yearly
income because he believed that happiness could only be
measured in terms of wealth.

"I don't count too well, nor do I really care. I live each day as it
comes and never worry about the next."

"Well, then, just tell me how much you earn in one day,"
insisted the rich man.

"I earn what I need. And even that would be too much were it
not for all the Sundays and holidays when I must close my
shop."

The banker liked the pauper. He wished to thank him for

coming to his house, so he presented the poor man with a bag
of hundred gold coins.

Now, to the pauper these coins, which meant so little to the

banker, seemed a great fortune. He decided to hide the bag, so
that he would have the money if ever he should need it. So,
when he returned to his house, he dug a big hole in a secluded
corner of the garden, threw the bag into it, and covered it with
dirt.

But from that day on, the poor man's life

changed- he began to worry about the safety
of his money. Every night he slept a little less,
and each time he heard the slightest sound,
he became anxious about the safety of his
coins.

Finally, he could bear his unhappiness no longer. He went to

the garden, dug up the coins and returned them to the banker.
The pauper had learned an important lesson, and so has the
banker. 

The Wolf Plays the Flute for The Clever Lamb

A wolf carried off a lamb. The lamb said, " I know you are
going to eat me, but before you eat me I would like to hear
you play the flute. I have heard that you can play the flute
better than anyone else, even the shepherd himself."

The wolf was so pleased at this that he took out his flute and
began to play.

When he had done, the lamb insisted him

to play once more and the wolf played
again.

The shepherd and the dogs heard the

sound, and they came running up and fell
on the wolf and the lamb was able to get
back to the flock.

Love & Time

Once upon a time, in an island there lived all the feelings and
emotions : Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others,
including Love. One day it was announced to them that the island
would sink! So all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.
 Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a boat. Love said,

"Richness, can you take me with you?"
Richness answered, "Sorry Love, I can't. There is a lot of gold and
silver in my boat and so there is no place here for you."

Love next asked Vanity who was also sailing by. Vanity was also
ready with the same answer.
"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my
boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, take me along with

you."
"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!", sadness
said in a sullen voice.

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so preoccupied with

her happiness that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was
an elder. An overjoyed Love jumped up into the boat and in the
process forgot to ask where they were going. When they arrived at
a dry land, the elder went her own way.

Realizing how much was owed to the elder, Love asked Knowledge
another elder, "Who Helped me?"
"It was Time," Knowledge answered.
"Time?" thought Love. Then, as if reading the face of Love,
Knowledge smiled and answered, "Because only Time is capable of
understanding how valuable Love is."

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Aesop

A shepherd-boy, who watched a flock of sheep near a village,

brought out the villagers three or four times by crying out, "Wolf!
Wolf!" and when his neighbors came to help him, laughed at them
for their pains.

The Wolf, however, did truly come at last. The Shepherd-boy, now
really alarmed, shouted in an agony of terror: "Pray, do come and
help me; the Wolf is killing the sheep"; but no
onepaid any heed to his cries, nor rendered
any assistance. The Wolf, having no cause of
fear, at his leisure lacerated or destroyed the
whole flock.

There is no believing a liar, even when he

speaks the truth.

************

The Miser
Aesop

A miser sold all that he had and bought a lump of gold, which he
buried in a hole in the ground by the side of an old wall and went to
look at daily. One of his workmen observed his frequent visits to the
spot and decided to watch his movements. He soon discovered the
secret of the hidden treasure, and digging down, came to the lump
of gold, and stole it. The Miser, on his next visit, found the hole
empty and began to tear his hair and to make loud lamentations. A
neighbor, seeing him overcome with grief and learning the cause,
said, "Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place it in
the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It will do you
quite the same service; for when the gold was there, you had it not,
as you did not make the slightest use of it."
***********

The Snow Queen

by Hans Christian Andersen

There is a legend that, once upon a time, a beautiful fairy, the Snow
Queen, lived on the highest, most solitary peaks of the Alps. The
mountain folk and shepherds climbed to the summits to admire her,
and everyone fell head over heels in love with her.

Every man would have given anything, including his life, to marry
her. Indeed, their lives are just what they did give, for Fate had
decided that no mortal would every marry the
SnowQueen. But in spite of that, many brave
souls did their best to approach her, hoping
always to persuade her.

Each suitor was allowed to enter the great ice

palace with the crystal roof, where the
Queen's throne stood. But the second he
 declared his love and asked for her hand, thousands of goblins
appeared to grasp him and push him over the rocks, down into
bottomless abysses.

Without the slightest emotion, the Queen would watch the scene,
her heart of ice unable to feel anything at all. The legend of the
crystal palace and the beautiful heartless Queen spread as far as
the most distant alpine valley, the home of a fearless chamois
hunter. Fascinated by the tale, he decided to set out and try his
luck. Leaving his valley, he journeyed for days on end, climbing the
snowclad mountain faces, scaling icebound peaks and defying the
bitterly cold wind that swept through the alpine gullies.

More than once he felt all was lost, but the thought of the lovely
Snow Queen gave him new strength and kept him moving onwards.
At last, after many days climbing, he saw glinting in the sunshine
before him, the tall transparent spires of the ice palace.

Summoning all his courage, the young man entered the Throne
Room. But he was so struck by the Snow Queen's beauty that he
could not utter a word. Shy and timid, he did not dare speak. So he
knelt in admiration before the Queen for hours on end, without
opening his mouth. The Queen looked at him silently, thinking all
the while that, provided he did not ask her hand in marriage, there
was no need to call the goblins.

Then, to her great surprise, she discovered that his behaviour

touched her heart. She realised she was becoming quite fond of this
hunter, much younger and more handsome than her other suitors.
Time passed and the Snow Queen dared not admit, not even to
herself, that she would actually like to marry the young man.

In the meantime, the goblins kept watch over their mistress; first
they were astonished, then they became more and more upset. For
they rightly feared that their Queen might be on the point of
breaking the Law and bringing down on the heads of all the
Mountain People the fury of Fate.

Seeing that the Queen was slow to give the order to get rid of her
suitor, the goblins decided to take matters into their own hands.
One night, as dusk fell, they slipped out of the cracks in the rock
and clustered round the young chamois hunter. Then they hurled
him into the abyss. The Snow Queen watched the whole scene from
the window, but there was nothing she could do to stop them.
However, her icy heart melted, and the beautiful cruel fairy
 suddenly became a woman.

A tear dropped from her eye, the first she had ever shed. And the
Snow Queen's tear fell on to a stone where it turned into a little
silvery star.

This was the first edelweiss ... the flower that grows only on the
highest, most inaccessible peaks in the Alps, on the edge of the
abyss and precipice . . .

The Stone Cutter

Once upon a time there lived a stone cutter ,in a small village.
All day long he worked hard, cutting the hard stones and making
the shape which were needed by his customers. His hands were
hard and his clothes were dirty.
One day he went out to work on a big stone. It was very hard
to work and the sun was very hot. After spending several hours
cutting the stone, he sat down in the shade and soon fell asleep.
After sometime, he heard sound of somebody coming. Walking up
he saw a long procession of people. There were many soldiers and
attendants and in the middle, in a palanquin, carried by strong
people at the king .
How wonderful it must be to be the great king thought the
stone cutter . How happy I would be if i were the king instead of a
poor stone cutter.
As he said these words, a strange thing happened. The stone
cutter found himself dressed in silk clothes and shining jewels. His
hands were soft and he was sitting in a comfortable palanquin.
He looked through the curtains and thought, How easy it is to be a
king, these people are here to serve me.
The procession moved on and the sun grew hot. The stone
cutter ,now the king ,became too warm for comfort. He asked the
procession to stop so that he could rest for some time .
At once the chief of the soldiers bent before the king and said
Your Majesty, only this morning you swore to have me hanged to
death if we did not reach the palace before the sun set.
The stone cutter felt sorry for him and ordered the procession to go
on its way again.
As the afternoon wore on, the sun grew hotter, and the king
became more and more uncomfortable.
I am powerful, it is true, but how more powerful the sun is, he
thought I would rather be the sun than a king .
At once, he became the sun ,shining down on the earth.
His new power was hard to control.
He shone too strongly, he burned up the fields with his rays and
turned the ocean into vapour and formed a great cloud which
covered the land.
But no matter how hard he shone, he could not see through
the clouds.
It is obvious that the clouds are even stronger and more
powerful than sun said the stone cutter, now the sun, I would rather
be a cloud.
Suddenly he found himself turned into a huge dark cloud.
He started using his new power. He poured rain down on the fields
and caused floods. All the trees and houses were swept away but a
boulder, which once he had been cutting when he was a stone
cutter was unmoved and unchanged.
However much he poured down on the stone it did not move.
Why that rock is more powerful than I am said the stone cutter now
a cloud. Only a stone cutter could change the rock by his skill. How
I wish I were a stonecutter.
No sooner he said the words that he found himself sitting on a
stone with hard and rough hands.
He picked up his tools and set to work on a boulder, happily.

The Hungry Mouse

A mouse was having a very bad time. She could find no food at all. She
looked here and there, but there was no food, and she grew very thin.
At last the mouse found a basket, full of corn. There was a small hole in the
basket, and she crept in. She could just get through the hole.
Then she began to eat the corn. Being very hungry, she ate a great deal,
and went on eating and eating. She had grown very fat before she felt that
she had had enough.
When the mouse tried to climb out of the basket, she could not. She was too
fat to pass through the hole.
" How shall I climb out?" said the mouse. "oh, how shall I climb out?"
Just then a rat came along, and he heard the mouse.
"Mouse," said the rat, "if you want to climb out of the basket, you must wait
till you have grown as thin as you were when you went in."