panchatantra

Little Story Book

SEPTEMBER 1, 2024
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1. The Foolish Sage

Everyone respected the eminent sage, Dev Sharma, in their village temple. His devotees gave him all
kinds of gifts, which he sold for money. He trusted no one and always kept his money in a pouch near
him. A thief was after this pouch but couldn’t do anything as the sage never left the pouch alone. He
decided to disguise himself as a student. The sage agreed to teach him, and the thief started to live in
the temple. The thief did all the chores and became closer to the sage. One day he and his disciple
were invited to perform a ritual in a nearby village. On the way there, he saw a river. He wished to
bathe in the river. He wrapped the pouch in a blanket and laid it on the banks of the river. He asked
his disciple to guard it while he bathed. This was the opportunity the thief was waiting for. As the
sage stepped into the river, he took the pouch and ran away.

Moral: Don’t trust any strangers easily.

2. The Foolish Pandit

The pandit Someshwar was a devotee of Goddess Durga. His guru asked him to go and pray to Maa
Durga. He went to the jungle, where he spent years meditating and praying. No matter the weather,
he did not waver. One day Goddess Durga appeared in front of him. She was pleased by his devotion
and granted him a wish. He told her if she wanted to give him something, she could give him
Sanjeevni booti. She gave it to him and told him a few drops from this could bring the dead back to
life. He thought this was a great way to help the village and gain followers. Maybe he would even
become the sarpanch. He got anxious about whether it was real booti, so he decided to test it on a
dead lion. The lion came back to life with more strength and energy. When the lion roared, he
realised his mistake. He could not outrun the lion and was soon eaten by the lion.

Moral: Think about the consequences of your actions.

3. The Rats Who Ate the Iron Balance

A boy named Dilip wanted to go to a foreign land to earn money. He gave his heavy iron scale as
mortgage to a shopkeeper named Mahajan to fund his travels. After he returned, he went back to
get his scale. Mahajan claimed that rats ate his scale. Dilip knew Mahajan did not want to give the
scale back. However, all he said was, ‘The mice ate it, so it is not your fault.’ Later, he asked Mahajan
to send his son to bathe with him at the river. Dilip locked his son in a cave and told Mahajan that an
eagle carried his son away. Mahajan was furious and said an eagle could not pick up such a large
person. Dilip replied, just as rats can eat heavy iron scales. Mahajan knew he was at fault and
returned the iron scale. Dilip then freed Mahajan’s son and returned him.

Moral: You cannot get away with doing bad things.

4. Four Brahmins

Three brahmins in a village were trained in unique magical arts. Since the fourth one was not, they
would make fun of him. One day, they went into the city to earn money. They rudely didn’t let the
fourth one join them. But they agree to let him come if he does their chores. On their way, they
come across a skeleton. Curiosity getting the better of them, the first one reassembled the bones.
The second one uses his powers to give the skeleton muscles and skin. The third one also wanted to
show off, so he brought it back to life. The fourth one had warned them not to do this. However, they
did not heed his warning. He decided to climb a tree alone. The lion killed and ate them as soon as it
came back to life. When the lion goes away, the fourth brahmin comes down and goes back to the
village.

Moral: Treat everyone with equal respect.

5. Turtle And Swan

A pair of swans were friends with a turtle who used to love the sound of his voice. During a hot
summer, the turtle’s lake started drying up. The swans decided to save the turtle by moving him to a
lake that was 50 km away. The turtle would take too long to walk there, so they both held up the
ends of a stick and told the turtle to hold it with his mouth tightly. They warned him not to speak.
While they were flying over a town, many people watched this unique view in awe. He couldn’t stop
himself from blurting out, “look at all the people.” He then fell to his death.

Moral: Speak only after you assess the situation.

6. The Jackal and The Dhol

After a long war, a king called some performers to his kingdom to celebrate. During the celebrations,
one Dhol fell and rolled into the forest. It got stuck in a free in the position where the branches
would hit the Dhol and make sounds. A jackal passed the Dhol and observed it from a distance. He
decided it was not a harmful animal. He concluded it must be very tasty because of the loud, deep
sound coming from it. He went back to his friend and told him that there was a tasty animal stuck
between the dried leather of the Dhol. At night they went to catch the animal inside the Dhol. They
started by tearing the leather on both sides but found nothing.

Moral: Do not act without the full information.

7. Two Cats and the Monkey

One day, a person filled one bowl of milk for both their cats and went to work. The cats started
fighting over who would drink the milk. A monkey sitting close by said that he could help them out if
they opened the window. They let the monkey in. He asks them to get another bowl. They get
another bowl, in which he pours 3/4th of the milk from the first bowl. He claimed he divided it
equally, but they said one bowl had more. He then drank from that bowl until the other one had
more. Since they had the same complaint, he drank from the other bowl. He kept doing this till the
milk was over, and they were left with nothing.

Moral: Fighting amongst yourselves allows others to take advantage of you.

8. The Bird and The Monkey

On a cold winter day, three monkeys were feeling cold. They decided to make a fire to warm
themselves up. They found some dry leaves and piled them together. They were trying to find out
how to light it up when they saw fireflies and thought they were fire sparks. They tried to catch the
fireflies and put them under the leaves. A sparrow nearby told them that they were catching fireflies
and not sparks. They told the sparrow to be quiet. The sparrow yet again told them to use two stones
to create a spark. They were already annoyed about their fire and got angry at the bird. They hit the
tree, causing the sparrow to fall and die.

Moral: Do not meddle with stupid people.

9. The Three Fishes

Two fishermen found a reservoir rich in fish one day. They decided to fish there the next day. Aaru,
Akki, and Chiku, three fish from the reservoir, heard their plans. Aaru wanted to leave the reservoir
and go towards the river to avoid getting caught. Akki said a lot could happen before tomorrow, and
their plans might change. Chiku said if they are to come, they will come, and if they are to be
trapped, they will be trapped. Aaru decided to leave by himself. The next day Akki, Chiku, and all the
other fish were caught in the fishing net.

Moral: Luck is for those who work towards it.

10. The Bedbug and The Louse

There was once a louse that lived in the bedroom of a king. She would secretly suck his blood when
he went to sleep. One day a bedbug came to his bedroom. The louse asked him to leave, but he
asked her how she could treat a guest like this. She told him he could stay for a night without biting
the king. The bedbug insisted that he needed to eat and that he would gently bite the king. When
the king went to sleep that night, the bedbug was not at all careful. The king felt the sting of the bite
and immediately called his servants to kill the bugs. The bedbug hid under the bed and saved
himself. The louse, who was on the bedsheet, was killed instantly.

Moral: Do not easily fall for smooth words.

11. The Crane and The Crab

In a forest, a crane lived in the shell of a large tree. At the root of the tree, there lived a snake who
would always eat the crane’s children. While the crane was lamenting, a crab noticed her and said he
would help her get rid of the snake. He devised a plan to get rid of the snake and his competitor, the
crane. He told the crane to leave a trail of meat from the snake’s home to a mongoose’s home. The
crane put this plan in action. The mongoose saw the snake and ate it. However, he also ate the crane.

Moral: Think things through before doing them.

12. The Lion and the Jackal

There was a powerful lion in the Himalayas. One day, he came across a very frail jackal that wished to
be his servant. The jackal said he would serve the lion and eat the remains of his prey. The jackal
soon became healthy and believed himself to be as strong as the lion. He told the lion that he would
kill an elephant and bring the leftover meat to the lion. The lion tried to dissuade the jackal.
However, it fell on deaf ears. He stood on top of the mountain and tried to jump over the elephants.
But instead of reaching the elephant’s head, it fell at their feet. The elephant did not notice and
stepped over the jackal’s head. The jackal’s head was fractured, and he died.
Moral: Arrogance motivates stupid actions.

13. The Elephant and The Sparrow

A sparrow and her husband lived on a tree with their eggs. One day when they were looking for food,
a rampaging elephant shook their tree, causing their nest to fall and split their eggs. They decided to
get revenge on the elephant. They took the help of a woodpecker and frog. The woodpecker pecked
out the elephant’s eyes, and the frog and his friends went to a swamp and began croaking there. The
elephant, believing a pond was nearby, ran in that direction. He got stuck in a swamp instead and
eventually died.
Moral: You can achieve anything if you work together.

14. The Donkey and The Horse

A washerman owned a donkey and a horse. However, the horse was very arrogant as the washerman
used the donkey for all the heavy work. One day, the donkey asked for help because the clothes were
too heavy. The horse refused to help the donkey several times. The donkey quietly bore the pain and
tried his best to carry the weight. However, it was too hot, and the clothes were too heavy, and the
donkey died soon after. The washerman took all the clothes and put them on the horse. Now the
horse had to carry all the weight alone. If he had agreed to help the donkey, he would only have to
carry some of the weight, and the donkey would still be alive.
Moral: Do not belittle others. Help them when you can.

15. The Washerman’s Donkey

There was a washerman who owned a donkey. The donkey became feeble due to the lack of food.
The washerman decided to skin a dead lion and put the skin on his donkey. He then let his donkey go
into the fields. The owners of the fields would not approach the donkey, thinking it was a lion. Every
night he let the donkey go out in the fields to eat. However, one day the donkey heard another
donkey braying and started making the sound itself. The owners of the fields quickly realised he was
not a lion and beat him to death.
Moral: Deceit will not get you anywhere.