Short stories

The Tiger, The Brahmin and The Jackal Once a Brahmin was passing through a forest when he came across a tiger caught in a trap. “Oh pious Brahmin. Please let me out of this cage”, called the tiger to the Brahmin. “Oh no, my friend!” replied the Brahmin. “If I did so, you would kill me and eat me.”  The tiger swore to not kill him, and promised he would be the Brahmin’s slave for his entire life. Listening to the tiger plead, the Brahmin’s heart softened and he released the tiger from the trap. The tiger immediately pounced on the man and cried, “What a fool you are! What is to prevent my eating you now.” The Brahmin pleaded for his life. The tiger granted that he would abide by the decision of the first three things the Brahmin chose to question as to the justice of the tiger’s action. The Brahmin first asked a tree. “I give shelter to all who pass by, yet humans tear down my brothers for firewood. You’re a fool to expect gratitud...

The Monkey And The Crocodile A long time ago, there was a monkey who lived in a rose-apple tree by the side of a river. He lived alone, but was very happy. One day, a crocodile came out of the river. He swam up to the tree and told the monkey that he had travelled a long distance and was in search of food as he was very hungry. The kind monkey offered him a few rose apples. The crocodile thanked him and asked him if he could visit the monkey again. “You are always welcome,” said the monkey. After that, the crocodile started visiting the monkey every day. They would share rose-apples and talk about everything they knew. The crocodile told the monkey that he had a wife and that they lived on the other side of the river. So the generous monkey plucked many rose-apples and gave them to the crocodile for his wife. The crocodile’s wife loved the rose-apples, but she grew jealous of her husband spending so much time away from her, in the company...

The ship A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island. The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man’s parcel of land remained barren. After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing. Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man sti...

A Glass of Milk Once, there was a poor boy who made a living by selling various objects from door to door. This was the way he earned money to pay for his school. One day, as he was walking from house to house as usual, he felt very hungry and weak. He felt that he couldn’t walk even a few steps. He decided to ask for food at a house. He knocked on the door and was stunned to see a beautiful young girl open the door. With much hesitation, he asked the girl for a glass of water. The young girl understood his condition and offered him a huge glass of milk. With an astonished look, the boy drank the milk very slowly. “How much do I owe you for this milk?” he asked her. The girl replied, “I do not want any money for this.” The boy thanked the girl from the bottom of his heart and left the place. Years passed by. The young girl grew up. In her youth, unfortunately, she fell ill and was diagnosed with the rarest kind of nervous disorder. Many experienced doctors were ba...

The Thirsty Crow One hot day, a thirsty crow flew all over the fields looking for water. For a long time, she could not find any. She felt very weak, almost giving up hope. Suddenly, she saw a water jug below her. She flew straight down to see if there was any water inside. Yes, she could see some water inside the jug! The crow tried to push her head into the jug. Sadly, she found that the neck of the jug was too narrow. Then she tried to push the jug down for the water to flow out. She found that the jug was too heavy. The crow thought hard for a while. Then looking around her, she saw some pebbles. She suddenly had a good idea. She started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the jug. As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. Her plan had worked! If you try hard enough, you may soon find an answer to your problem.

Real solution to problems A group of employees was working in a software company. It was a team of 30 employees. This was a young, energetic and dynamic team with keen enthusiasm and desire to learn and grow. The management decided to teach the employees about finding real solution to the problems.   The team was called to play a game in a banquet hall. The group was quite surprised as they were called for playing game. All reached the venue holding various thoughts. As they entered the hall, they found the hall decorated beautifully with colourful decorative papers and balloons all over the place. It was more like a kid’s play area, than a corporate meeting hall.   Everyone was surprised and gazed at each other. Also, there was a huge box of balloons placed at the centre of the hall.   The team leader asked everyone to pick a balloon from the box and asked them to blow it. Every one happily picked a balloon and blew it.   ...