A Farmer and His Wife

A farmer said to his wife, “You are lazy. You work slowly and lethargically. You waste your time." 

The wife was angry at the words of her husband. 

She said to her husband, “You are wrong. Stay at home tomorrow. I will go to field. I will do your work there. Will you do my works at home here?" 

The farmer said happily, “Very well. I will do your works back at home." 

The wife said, “Milk the cow. Feed the pigs. Wash the utensils. Take care of our hen. Spin the yarn." 

The woman went to the field. The farmer stayed back at home. He took a vessel and went to the cow to milk it. He tried to milk the cow. He received a good kick. He then went to the pig-sty. He hit his head against the beam. He went to feed the hen. He forgot to spin. 

Her Dream Bicycle

Malar lived at Keeranur village in Pudukottai district with her family. Malar was studying in class VI. She was eleven years old. She had two elder sisters and a younger brother. His name was Arul. Malar’s father was Kathirvel. Kathirvel was a hard-working farmer. Of late, the rains were irregular and he could not always cultivate the two acres they owned. Her eldest sister was Ponni. 

Ponni was married to a mason and lived in Mathur with her little son Vikram. Malar’s second sister was Mallika. Mallika decided to do tailoring after Class X and was attending a tailoring course in Mathur. Attending the course also gave Mallika a chance to visit her sister Ponni. But walking all the way made her tired and she often missed the tailoring classes.

Elephants and the King of Mice

Elephants and the King of Mice

There was a village which was ruined by a strong earthquake. With the houses and the streets shattered, the villagers abandoned the village to settle elsewhere. 

Despite being shattered, the vacant houses of this village had become homes for a large number of mice. The mice found the place very comfortable and grew in numbers after some time.  

There was a lake on the outskirts of the village, where a herd of elephants used to visit regularly to drink water and bathe. These elephants used to travel through the abandoned village to reach the lake. 

But as the herd of elephants travelled through the abandoned village, everyday many mice got trampled. This posed a problem for the mice. So, the king of mice decided to confront the elephants and request them to act accordingly. 

Next day, as the herd of elephants approached, the king of mice met the elephants cordially and said, "O Sirs, we live in the ruins of this abandoned village and as you travel through this village, everyday many mice get trampled. Therefore, I request you to change your route to the lake. If you do so, I shall remember to return the favour in your time of need."

The Cobra and the Crows

The Cobra and the Crow

"Even a very powerful enemy can be destroyed through deceit".

There was a big banyan tree, where two crows - husband and wife, had prepared a nice nest and made it their home. In the hollow of the same tree, lived a black cobra. 

Cobra and Crows - Panchatantra Story PictureThe crows had a problem because the black cobra would climb up the tree and eat the newborns, whenever the female crow hatched her eggs. They could do nothing to save them. 

The crows went to a jackal, who lived in a nearby banyan tree, to seek his advice. They narrated   everything to him and requested his advice for them to get rid of their problem

They said, "O Friend, It has become dangerous to live here. Please tell us how we can protect our children from being eaten up by the wicked black cobra." 

The Monkey and the Wedge

                      

 The Monkey and the Wedge

There was once a merchant who employed many carpenters and masons to build a temple in his garden. Regularly, they would start work in the morning; The Monkey And The Wedge - Panchatantra Story Pictureand take a break for the mid-day meals, and return to resume work till evening 

One day, a group of monkey arrived at the site of the building and watched the workers leaving for their mid-day meals

One of the carpenters was sawing a huge log of wood. Since, it was only half-done; he placed a wedge in between to prevent the log from closing up. He then went off along with the other workers for his meal. 

When all the workers were gone, the monkeys came down from the trees and started jumping around the site, and playing with the instruments.