Story (english)
The Ant and the Grasshopper
One summer’s day, in a field, a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great effort an ear of corn he was taking to his nest.
"Why don’t you come and chat with me," asked the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling your life away?"
"I am helping to store up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and I recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper. "We have got plenty of food at present."
But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When winter came, the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in summer.
Then the Grasshopper knew...
MORAL: WORK TODAY AND YOU CAN REAP THE BENEFITS TOMORROW!
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The Hare and the Tortoise
There once was a speedy Hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, the Tortoise challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.
The Hare ran down the road for a while and then paused to rest. He looked back at the tortoise and cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?"
The Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax."
The Tortoise walked and walked, never ever stopping until he came to the finish line.
The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise that they woke up the Hare. The Hare stretched, yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise had already crossed the finish line.
Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.
This is the story that we have all grown up with. But recently, two additions have been proposed to the story.
Addition 1
After being defeated by the tortoise, the hare did some soul-searching. He knew that though he had tried hard in the beginning, he was not consistent, and had grown overconfident. He was determined to undo his mistakes, and invited tortoise for another race. This time, the rabbit was careful to run the whole distance, and of course, emerged the winner.
Moral: Fast and consistent may be better than slow and steady.
Addition 2
Well, after emerging the loser in the second race, the tortoise thought long and hard. He knew that in any traditional terrain, the hare would win, if he was fast and consistent. Therefore, he thought of a non-traditional terrain for the race. Then he invited the rabbit for another race. This time the rabbit laughed out loud, thinking that the tortoise was out of his head. But the tortoise insisted that there should be another race and the terrain would be decided by the tortoise. The rabbit agreed to the idea.
The race began. The rabbit was leading in front, with the tortoise far back trundling along. Around half way through the race, they came across a river. The rabbit halted on the bank of the river, wondering how to cross the river. Meanwhile, the tortoise approached the river slowly, got in to the water, swam across, climbed up on the other bank, ran the last few kilometers, and won the race.
Moral: when your capabilities are below par, choose a playing ground that gives you a natural advantage.
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Once when a lion, the king of the jungle, was asleep, a little mouse began running up and down on him. This soon awakened the lion, who placed his huge paw on the mouse, and opened his big jaws to swallow him.
"Pardon, O King!" cried the little mouse. "Forgive me this time. I shall never repeat it and I shall never forget your kindness. And who knows, I may be able to do you a good turn one of these days!”
The lion was so tickled by the idea of the mouse being able to help him that he lifted his paw and let him go.
Sometime later, a few hunters captured the lion, and tied him to a tree. After that they went in search of a wagon, to take him to the zoo.
Just then the little mouse happened to pass by. On seeing the lion’s plight, he ran up to him and gnawed away the ropes that bound him, the king of the jungle.
"Was I not right?" said the little mouse, very happy to help the lion.
MORAL: Small acts of kindness will be rewarded greatly.
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Let us enjoy reading this one of African Stories of Friends Forever.
A mouse and a frog were friends. Every morning the frog would hop out of his pond and go to visit his friend who lived in a hole in the side of a tree. He would return home at noon.
The mouse delighted in his friend’s company unaware that the friend was slowly turning into an enemy. The reason? The frog felt slighted because though he visited the mouse everyday, the mouse on his part, had never made an attempt to visit him.
One day he felt he had been humiliated enough. When it was time for him to take leave of the mouse, he tied one end of a string around his own leg, tied the other end to the mouse’s tail, and hopped away, dragging the hapless mouse behind him.
The frog dived deep into the pond. The mouse tried to free himself but couldn’t, and soon drowned. His bloated body floated to the top.
A hawk saw the mouse floating on the pond’s surface. He swooped down, and grabbing the mouse in his talons, flew to the branch of a nearby tree. The frog, of course, was hauled out of the water too. He desperately tried to free himself, but couldn’t and the hawk soon put an end to his struggles.
In Africa they have a saying: ‘Don’t dig too deep a pit for your enemy, you may fall into it yourself’.
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Read more: A Short Story : Friends Forever : African Stories
The kingdom of Vijaygarh had a wise and kind King. People were happy. But the King himself was sad and worried. A devilish snake had entered his son’s body. Neither medicine nor magic worked to cure his son.
When the Prince grew up, he thought, “It is because of me that my father worried." And one day, he left the palace. Wandering, he came to another kingdom. He found a desolate temple and started living there. He begged for food.
The King of that kingdom was cruel. But he had a kind and beautiful daughter. The King was unhappy with his daughter. That girl was always ridiculing her father’s hard work. The King thought, “She is always talking to me low of my hard work. I must marry her to a beggar. Then she will know what hard work is."
So, when the beggar Prince came to beg for food in the Palace, the cruel King forced him to marry his daughter. The Prince and his new bride started for the desolate temple. On their way, they stopped to take rest. The Princess went around in search of food, while her husband went to sleep.
When the Princess came back, she was shocked to see a snake sitting on her husband’s mouth. On a mount nearby sat another snake. They were talking among themselves. “Why do not you leave the body of the Prince? He is so kind and gentle," said the snake sitting on the mound. “You too are evil! You attack passers-by. You should not be telling me what to do," replied the snake sitting on the mouth of the Prince.
The Princess killed both the snakes with all her courage. When her husband woke up, she told him about the two snakes. The Prince was happy. Then he told her who he really was. They set off to the Prince’s palace. The King was delighted to see his son. When the King learned that the devilish snake was killed, his joy knew no bounds. The Prince and the Princess lived happily for a long time. After few years, the Kingdom celebrated the day on which the Royal couple gave birth to twins of one boy and one girl.
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