Moral Stories

[SS91]

FEAR

There was a lion who feared nothing except the crowing of cocks.

A chill would go down his spine whenever he heard a cock crowing.

One day he confessed his fear to the elephant, who was greatly amused.

“How can the crowing of a cock hurt you?” he asked the lion. “Think about it!”

Just then a mosquito began circling the elephant’s head, frightening him out of his wits.

“If it gets into my ear I’m doomed!” he shrieked, flailing at the insect with his trunk.

Now it was the lion’s turn to feel amused.

Moral:
If we could see our fears as others see them we would realise that most of our fears make no sense!

[SS91]

 

Filling a Sieve With Water

 
The Teacher had given a discourse on creative thinking.

Afterwards his disciples approached him and asked him to set

them a problem that required them to think creatively.

The sage gave them a sieve and asked them to fill it with water at the sea, nearby.

 They were gone for a long time.

Finally he went down to the beach to see what they were doing,

and found them seated morosely around the sieve.

They scrambled to their feet when they saw him.

“You’ve set us an impossible task, sir,” said the oldest of the disciples.

“It’s just not possible to fill a sieve with water.”

“Are you sure?” asked the Teacher, picking up the sieve.

“Sometimes it helps to step back and view the problem from a different angle.”

He waded into the water and threw the sieve far out into the sea. It sank.

“There!” said the Teacher. “It’s full of water now.”


 
 

[SS91]

Cycle of Evil

 
There was once a king who was so cruel and unjust that his subjects yearned for his death or

dethronement.

However, one day he surprised them all by announcing that he had decided to turn over a new leaf.

“No more cruelty, no more injustice,” he promised, and he was as good as his word.

He became known as the ‘Gentle Monarch’.

Months after his transformation one of his ministers plucked up enough courage to ask him what

had brought about his change of heart, and the king answered:

“As I was galloping through my forests I caught sight of a fox being chased by a hound.

The fox escaped into his hole but not before the hound had bitten into its leg and lamed it for life.

Later I rode into a village and saw the same hound there. It was barking at a man.

Even as I watched, the man picked up a huge stone and flung it at the dog, breaking its leg.

The man had not gone far when he was kicked by a horse.

His knee was shattered and he fell to the ground, disabled for life.

The horse began to run but it fell into a hole and broke its leg.

Reflecting on all that had happened, I thought: ‘Evil begets evil.

If I continue in my evil ways, I will surely be overtaken by evil’. So I decided to change”.

The minister went away convinced that the time was ripe to overthrow the king and seize the

throne. Immersed in thought, he did not see the steps in front of him and fell, breaking his neck.


 

[SS91]

Saint and Sinner

 
Anastasius was abbot of a monastery in Egypt.

The monastery had a large collection of books, one among them being a rare volume, worth a fortune.

One day a visiting monk chanced upon the book and succumbing to temptation walked away with it.

The theft was discovered the same day and it was not hard to guess who the culprit was but Anastasius

refused to send anyone after the monk for fear that he might say he had not taken it and add the sin of

perjury to that of theft.

The monk meanwhile was trying to sell the book and eventually found a buyer, a rich man who asked him

to leave the book with him for a day so that he could get it evaluated.

When the monk had gone, the man hastened to the monastery and showed the book to Anastasius.

The abbot recognized it instantly but did not say anything.

“A monk wants to sell it to me,” said his visitor. “He’s asking for a gold sovereign.

You are knowledgeable about books. Is this book worth that much?”

“It’s worth much much more than a sovereign,” said the abbot. “It’s a valuable book.”

The man thanked the abbot and left.

The next day when the monk came, he informed him that he would like to buy the book

and was prepared to pay the price he had mentioned. The monk was overjoyed.

“Whom did you show it to?” he asked.

“Anastasius, the abbot.”

His visitor turned pale. “A-And what did he say?”

“He said the book was worth a sovereign.”

“And what else?”

“Nothing.”

The monk was both amazed and touched.

He realized that the abbot had refused to reclaim his lost treasure so that he,

the thief would not get into trouble.

Nobody had ever shown him such love; nobody had ever behaved so nobly towards him.

“I’ve changed my mind, I don’t want to sell it,” he said and took the book from the man.

“I’ll give you two sovereigns,” said the customer.

The monk walked away without answering.

He went directly to the monastery and handed the book to the abbot, tears brimming in his eyes.

“Keep it,” said Anastasius. “When I learnt you had borrowed it I decided to give it to you.”

“Please take it back,” pleaded the monk, “but let me stay here and learn wisdom from you.”

His wish was granted.

He spent the rest of his years in the monastery modelling his life after that of the saintly Anastasius.

 

[SS91]

Headstrong Companion

 
Once upon a time there lived a Bharunda, a bird with two heads.

One day it found a strange fruit on the seashore.

It picked it up and started eating it.

The head that was feeding, exclaimed, "Many a sweet fruit tossed by the sea have I eaten,

but this beats them all! Is it the fruit of a sandalwood tree or that of the divine parijata?"

Hearing this, the other head asked to taste the fruit, but the first head refused, saying,

 "We have a common stomach, so there's no need for you to eat it too.

 I'll give it to our sweetheart, the Bharundi," and with that,

it tossed the half-eaten fruit to the  female.

From that day on, the second head carried a grudge against the first and waited for an

opportunity to take revenge.

 One day it found a poison fruit.

Picking up the fruit, it said to the first head, "You selfish wretch! See, here's a poison fruit

and I'm going to eat it!"

"Don't do that, you fool!" shrieked the first head, "you'll kill us both!"

But the second head would not listen.

It consumed the poison and soon the two-headed bird was dead.

—A tale from the Panchatantra


 

[SS91]

Moment of Truth

 
There was a young student-archer who reached such proficiency in his art that he could shoot an arrow

into a tree and then cleave that arrow into two with the next shot. He began to boast that he was a

greater archer than his guru.

One day his guru, a venerable old man in his 70's, asked the youth to accompany him on a trip across the

hills. The journey was uneventful until they came to a deep chasm.

A single log spanned the chasm.

The guru walked down to the centre of the log, unshouldered his bow and taking an arrow shot it into a

tree on the other side. His next shot cleaved the first arrow into two.

"Now it's your turn," he said, walking back to where his student was standing.

The youth stepped gingerly on the log and very slowly and carefully made his way to the middle.

But his heart was in his mouth. He knew that if he lost his footing, he would plunge to his death.

His hands trembled as he strung an arrow into his bow.

Preoccupied with the danger he was in, he found it hard to focus on the target.

Consequently when he let go of the arrow, it missed the tree altogether.

Whimpering, he turned around.

"Help me!" he shouted to his guru. "I'll fall!"

The old man walked up to him, took his hand and stepping backwards led him to safety.

Neither of them said a word on the return journey but the boy had much to think about.

He had realised that to be a master of his art it was not enough to know how to control the bow,

 he had to learn how to control his mind too.

JaiSaiRam!!!!!!!!!


 

[SS91]

The Three Dolls

 
A sage presented a prince with a set of three small dolls.

The prince was not amused.
"Am I a girl that you give me dolls?" he asked.

"This is a gift for a future king," said the man.

"If you look carefully, you'll see a hole in the ear of each doll."

"So?"

The sage handed him a piece of string.

"Pass it through each doll," he said.

Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll and put the string into the ear.

It came out from the other ear.

"This is one type of person," said the man. "Whatever you tell him, comes out from the other ear.

He doesn't retain anything."

The prince put the string into the second doll. It came out from the mouth.

"This is the second type of person," said the man.

"Whatever you tell him, he tells everybody else."

The prince picked up the third doll and repeated the process.

The string did not reappear from anywhere else.

"This is the third type of person," said the man.

"Whatever you tell him is locked up within him. It never comes out."

"What is the best type of person?" asked the prince.

The man handed him a fourth doll, in answer.

When the prince put the string into the doll, it came out from the other ear.

"Do it again," said the sage.

The prince repeated the process.

This time the string came out from the mouth.

When he put the string in a third time, it did not come out at all.

"This is the best type of person," said the sage.

"To be trustworthy, a man must know when not to listen,

when to remain silent and when to speak out."

JaiSaiRam!!!!!!!!!
 

[SS91]

The Monkeys go fasting

 
A group of monkeys decide to go on a fast one day.

“Before we begin, I think we should keep the food with which we’ll break the fast ready,” counselled the old monkey chief.

The monkeys nodded their heads in agreement. The youngsters were sent in search of food. They returned with huge hands of delicious-looking bananas.

“I think each of us should keep our share of bananas with us before we begin our fast, so that we don’t spend time distributing them after we break our fast.

You can imagine how hungry we all will be by then!” said the chief’s wife.

The monkeys liked the idea and they collected their share of the bananas.

“Why don’t we peel one banana and keep it ready to eat? ” said one of the youngsters.

“Yes, let’s do that,” shouted a fat monkey in agreement. Just looking at the bananas was making him hungry.

“All right,” said the monkey chief. “We shall peel the bananas but under no condition should we eat them.”

So the monkeys peeled their bananas and carefully kept them ready for eating in the evening.

“Can I keep the banana in my mouth? I promise not to eat it till evening. Please!” a little monkey asked his father.

“Why don’t we all put a banana in our mouth? That way we can chew it immediately when we break the fast,” said his father, who had agreed to go on the fast only because his wife had not given him a choice. “As long as we don’t eat it, it should be fine,” he added.

So, the monkeys put the bananas in their mouths. One by one they eyed each other uncomfortably as they began their fast — and as you can imagine, within no time at all, the bananas disappeared down their gullets. And that was the end of their fast!

JaiSaiRam!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SS91]

The Right to Say No

 
One day a beggar knocked at the door of a house, and when a woman opened the door, asked her for alms.

“I’ve nothing to give you,” said the woman. “Please go!”

The woman, who was newly married, lived with her mother-in-law.
When her mother-in-law heard her refusing alms to the beggar she was furious.

“Who are you to refuse alms to this man!” she demanded. “I’m the mistress of the house!!”

Thus chastened, the daughter-in-law fled to her room.

“Thank you, kind lady,” said the beggar, ingratiatingly.

“All I asked for was a coin to buy food. I did not know she was not the mistress of the house.”

“She’s not!” snapped the woman. “She had no right to refuse you alms. I’m in charge here, and let me tell you something: you’re not getting a paisa from me!!”

And with that, she slammed the door in the beggar’s face.




 

[SS91]

Half Hungry

 
When Niloy was born, his father had a dream in which Bidhata, the god who writes the destinies of men, appeared to him.

"Your son," said the god, "will never be able to fully satisfy his hunger. Train him to be satisfied with a minimum of food."

His father tried but Niloy never succeeded in overcoming his love for food, and when he couldn't get enough of it, it made him miserable. The years passed. Niloy married and raised a family, but poverty dogged his footsteps, and there was not a day when he could say he had had enough to eat. He always went to bed half hungry. One day he was invited to the wedding of a rich man's daughter. It made him feel that perhaps his luck had changed.

"There will certainly be a lot of food at the wedding," he thought. "I'll eat to my heart's content."

There was certainly a lot of food at the wedding, but when he had eaten just a little, a heavy decorative piece under which he was sitting, fell on him, rendering him unconscious. When he had recovered, all the food was over. His host , wanting to make up for the distress caused to him, invited him to lunch the next day. When he presented himself at the house the next afternoon, his host instructed his servants to take good care of him and to see that he was well fed.

Bidhata, god of destinies, was alarmed when he saw the servants piling food on the banana leaf from which Niloy was eating. He quickly took the form of a tiny frog and hopped onto the leaf, hoping that Niloy would be so filled with disgust that he would lose his appetite. What the god did not know was that his victim was extremely short-sighted. Niloy scooped up the frog along with a ball of rice and swallowed it.The god was trapped. His only consolation was that Niloy had begun to feel uneasy after swallowing him and had stopped eating.

Bidhata called out to Niloy while he was returning home and explained his predicament.

"Spit me out," he entreated.

"Spit you out!" exclaimed the man when he had got over the shock of hearing a voice from his stomach and that too of a god."You have troubled me all my life. Do you think I will let you go so easily!!"
"My duty is to write the destinies of men," said the god."I derive no pleasure from their tribulations."
"Be that as it may," said Niloy. "I will not let you go until you promise to end my state of perpetual hunger."
"I cannot alter anyone's destiny," said Bidhata, "but if you become my devotee and worship me in an appropriate manner you will have my blessings."

"One can achieve great things with divine blessings," thought Niloy. He forced himself to bring up the food he had eaten, and the frog came out in the process. As Bidhata assumed his true form, Niloy said to him: "Now tell me, what is the appropriate way to worship you?"

"In your case," replied Bidhata, "the only way you can worship me is by never fully satisfying your hunger. Remain hungry all the time."

Adapted from a Bengali Folktale.

 

[SS91]

The Foolish Lion and the clever rabbit


Once upon a time there lived a ferocious lion in the forest.

It was a greedy lion and started killing animals in the forest indiscriminately.

Seeing this, the animals gathered and decided to approach the lion with the offer of one

animal of each species volunteering itself to be eaten by the lion everyday.

So every day it was the turn of one of the animals and in the end came the rabbits' turn.

The rabbits chose a old rabbit among them. The rabbit was wise and old. It took its own

sweet time to go to the Lion. The Lion was getting impatient on not seeing any animal

come by and swore to kill all animals the next day.


The rabbit then strode along to the Lion by sunset.

The Lion was angry at him. But the wise rabbit was calm and slowly told the Lion that it

was not his fault. He told the Lion that a group of rabbits were coming to him for the day

when on the way, an angry Lion attacked them all and ate all rabbits but himself.

Somehow he escaped to reach safely, the rabbit said. He said that the other Lion was

challenging the supremacy of his Lordship the Lion. The Lion was naturally very enraged

and asked to be taken to the location of the other Lion.


The wise rabbit agreed and led the Lion towards a deep well filled with water. Then he

showed the Lion his reflection in the water of the well. The Lion was furious and started

growling and naturally its image in the water, the other Lion, was also equally angry.

Then the Lion jumped into the water at the other Lion to attack it, and so lost its life in the

 well. Thus the wise rabbit saved the forest and its inhabitants from the proud Lion.


MORAL: Wit is superior to brute force.

[SS91]

The Monkey and the crocodile

Once upon a time there lived a monkey named Red-face on a tree by the side of the sea. The tree was an apple tree and the fruits it bore were sweet as nectar. Once a crocodile named Ugly-Mug swam ashore and Red-face threw apples at him and asked him to taste them. Ugly-Mug started coming everyday ashore and eat the fruits thrown by Red-face and soon they became good friends. Ugly-Mug used to take some fruits to his home to his wife.


His wife was a greedy lady and asked him as to where he got the nectar filled apples. Ugly-Mug told about his friend the monkey. The lady was greedy and pleaded with her husband that she would like to eat the monkey's heart, as a person who gave such tasty fruits must have a heart filled with nectar. Ugly-Mug was angered and did not agree to deceiving his friend. But she then insisted on not eating anything till he brought her his friend's heart. Out of desperation, Ugly-mug started making plans for killing his friend.


He came back to Red-face and entreated him with an invitation to his house for supper stating that his wife would be thrilled to have him home and also that she was very anxious to meet such a nice friend. Poor Red-face believed the story but was asking his friend as to how he could cross the sea to reach the house of the crocodile on the other side. Ugly-mug then offered to carry him on his back and the monkey agreed.


In the middle of the sea, Ugly-mug took the crocodile deep into the ocean to kill the monkey. The monkey was frightened and asked the crocodile why he was doing this. Ugly-mug told him that his wife wanted to eat the monkey's heart filled with nectar. Red-face immediately asked it to take him back to the tree as he told him that he had left his other heart which was full of nectar back at the tree. The foolish crocodile then swam back to the tree and the terrified monkey jumped up the tree never to return. Upon being asked as to why she was not returning, the monkey answered to the crocodile that he had only one heart and he had been fooled and scolded his friend for misusing his friendship.


The crocodile was ashamed at what happened and asked the monkey if he could make any amends. And he was also scared that his wife would not let him back in because he had returned without the monkey's heart. Just then he heard that a huge he-crocodile had occupied the house of his. The monkey advised him to fight the he-crocodile and drive him out of his home and gain his wife's confidence. His advice the crocodile followed and he was back happy with his wife.


MORAL: Wit is superior to brute force.

[SS91]

The Sparrow and the elephant

Once upon a time there lived a sparrow with her husband on a tree. She had built a nice nest and laid her eggs in the nest. One morning, a wild elephant with spring fever feeling restive came to the tree in search of shade and in a rage broke the branch of the tree on which the nest was residing. Unluckily all the sparrow eggs were lost though both parents were saved. The she-sparrow was deep in lament.


Seeing her lament, the woodpecker bird, a friend of hers offered her consolation that she would think of a way of killing the elephant. Then she went to her friend the gnat, who in turn went to the counselor frog for advice. The frog then devised a scheme for killing the elephant. He asked the gnat to buzz in the ears of the elephant, so that the elephant would be thrilled to listen to the music of the gnat and close its eyes. Then she asked the woodpecker to pluck his eyes. She herself would be on the edge of a pit and would croak misleading the elephant to think that it is a pond.


The next day at noon the three carried out the plan and the elephant was killed when he fell flat into a pit after being blinded by the woodpecker when he closed his eyes in response to the gnat. So the revenge was taken with collective wit of all three animals.

MORAL: Wit is superior to brute force.

[SS91]

The blue Jackal

Once upon a time there lived a jackal who strayed into a city in search of food. He was hungry and was being chased by a group of dogs. He accidentally entered the house of a dyer and fell into a vat of indigo(blue), and was stained blue from head to toe. When he escaped from the house back into the forest, all animals were surprised at his appearance and could not place its identity. Taking advantage of the situation, the jackal decided to play the situation to his advantage. He proclaimed that he was Fierce Owl, sent by the king of Gods, Indra, to earth to gaurd the forest.


The gullible animals believed the jackal. The jackal then appointed the Lion as his Prime minister, tiger as his gaurdian of the bed chamber and the elephant was made the door keeper. He then drove all the jackals out of sight from the forest for fear of being recognized. The animals would hunt food and bring it to the self proclaimed king and the king would distribute the food to all equally just as a king would do. So he was leading a life of luxury.


One day a herd of jackals were passing by howling to their glory. Unable to control his natural instinct, FierceOwl showed his natural voice and howled at the top of his voice. Hearing this howl, the animals realised that they had been fooled by a jackal and killed the jackal instantly.


MORAL: Excess of Greed is harmful.

[SS91]

The greedy jackal


Once upon a time there lived a lazy jackal. Also in the hills there lived a hillman and a wild boar. Once when the hillman went to hunt, he saw the wold boar. He took a sharp aim with his arrow and stuck the boar. But the boar was only injured and it attacked the hillman and he died on the spot. But the boar also collapsed due to the injury and died.


The jackal happened to pass the site of both the dead bodies, and the jackal decided to eat them slowly. But he was excessively greedy and first wanted to eat the bowstring, before the other bodies. As he tried to eat the bowstring which was tightly attached to the bow, it snapped and the end of the string pierced the roof of its mouth and it stuck a big injury to the jackal and the jackal died on the spot.


MORAL: Too much of greed is harmful.