A CITY RAT AND A VILLAGE RAT

Once there were two rats who were good friends. One of them lived in a city and the other lived in a village. Both of them exchanged news of their well being through other http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...illage-rat.jpgrats who travelled between the two places.
Once the city rat wished to meet his village friend. He sent the message through some rats of the village. The village friend was very excited about his friends visit. He made preparations to welcome him. To receive his friend, he went to the border of the village wearing a traditional dress like dhoti, kurta and cap, with a garland in his hand. However, his city friend was wearing a suit, boots and a neck tie. They hugged each other and exchanged greeting.
The village rat welcomed him and said, "We have fresh and unpolluted air here. The atmosphere in the city is impure."
They gossiped a lot and exchanged their views on different topics. Then, they sat down to eat. The village rat served him fruits and boiled wheat grains.
After having food, they went for a stroll outside the village. The fields looked green and the natural beauty of the jungle had its own attraction. The village rat said, "Does the city have such beautiful scenes?" The city rat said nothing but invited the village rat to come to the city at least once to see the comfortable life of the city.
The village rat said he would certainly come to the city one day. The city rat said, "Why don’t you accompany me now?" The village rat replied, "All right, I will consider your proposal."
When the night fell, they came back and slept on the soft grass. Next day, for breakfast the village rat served his friend fresh fruits and cereals. The city rat was irritated and said to the village rat, "Let us go to the city right now. Give me a chance to serve you."
The village rat accepted the proposal and got ready for the journey to the city. The city rat lived in a big house. At night the village rat was surprised to see, the dining table full of different types of dishes. The village rat has not seen such a variety of food before. The city rat asked the village rat to enjoy the meal. Then he started eating. The village rat had a liking for the paneer and finished the piece quickly. At this moment, they heard the voice of a cat. The city rat said, "Quickly hide yourself below the almirah, otherwise the cat will eat us." Both rushed to the almirah and hid themselves under it. After some time, when the cat went away, both came out. The village rat was still trembling. The city rat again started eating the dishes and advised his friend too, "Do not be afraid. It is a part of the city life." The village rat gathered courage and went to the dining table again. This time he quickly finished the cake of his choice. At this juncture, a boy came there with a dog. The village rat being afraid of the dog asked his friend, "Who is this fellow?" The city rat said, "He is Jimmi, the son of the master of this house and the dog is his pet. Be quick and hide yourself there." After their departure, both the rats came out. The village rat was very afraid. He said, "Friend, I think I should go back now. I am thankful to you for the tasty dishes, but there are to many dangers. Thanks again." And he started for the village. On reaching, he heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Oh! Life is precious and above all wisdom."

A WISE PARROT

Once upon a time there lived a parrot in a forest. He was very handsome. His beak and wings were very beautiful. His younger brother also lived with him. Both were living happily in the forest
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.
One day, a hunter came to the forest. He saw the pair of the parrots and
thought, ‘These parrots are very beautiful and special. I will present them to the king,’ He spread his net in the jungle to catch them. Soon both the parrots were trapped.
He kept them in a cage and went to the place. He said to the king, "O king, see this beautiful pair of parrots. I caught them in the deep forest. Seeing their beauty I decided to bring them to you. They will add to the beauty of your palace."
The king was very happy. He gave one thousand coins to the hunter. He kept both the parrots in a golden cage and ordered his servants to look after them well.
The parrots were looked after very well. They were treated as very important birds in the palace. They were served fruits and delicious food. They became the centre of attraction. Even the young prince came to play with them. The parrots were very happy. They got everything without any labour. The older parrot once said to his brother, "We are highly respected in the palace and hence, quite satisfied."
The younger brother replied, "You are right, we are getting royal treatment. It is our luck."
One day, a hunter brought a black monkey named Kala Bahu. The monkey was presented to the king, who asked the attendants to keep the monkey in the courtyard. The king as well as the prince were very happy to see the monkey and his amusing activities. Soon the monkey became the centre of attraction.
With the arrival of the monkey, the parrots were neglected. They sometimes did not even get food. Both of the parrots knew the cause of it. The older parrot was wise and hoped that the days would change again and one should not be depressed. He comforted his brother, "Nothing is permanent in this world. Have patience till the bad days are over."
One day the monkey performed such feats before the prince that he got scared and cried, "Help! Help!" Hearing his cries, all rushed there and took the prince away. When the king came to know about it, he ordered his men to leave the monkey in the forest. The next day, the monkey was sent to the forest.
The bad days of the parrots were now over. They were treated well again. Good dishes and fruits were also served to them. They again became the centre of attraction.
The wise parrot clarified the situation to his younger brother saying that time never remains the same, and one should not be depressed by the temporary unfavorable changes. The young parrot also realized the fact that nothing is permanent in the world and one should never lose patience.

A WOLF AND SEVEN LAMBS

Once there lived a goat along with her seven kids near a forest. She loved her kids very much


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One day while the goat was going to collect food for her kids, she said to
them, "Kids! I am going to the forest to bring food. You should not quarrel. And listen! Do not open the door for anyone except me. The Wolf always eyes you greedily." She kissed her kids and bade goodbye.
The wolf was already waiting for the goat to depart. He was very fond of the lamb’s flesh. He went to the hut of the goat and knocked at the door, "Hello kids! Here is your mother. Open the door. I have brought good food for you." The kids were intelligent, they recognized the voice of the wolf and said, "O wicked wolf! Do not try to fool us. Go away!"
Then the wolf practiced speaking like the goat and came again. This time, he spoke in a loud voice, "Hello kids! Open the door. It is your mother here. Be quick."
The kids were intelligent. They peeped through the magic glass of the door cautiously. Seeing the feet of the wolf, they said, "No! We will not open the door. We have recognized you. Your feet are different from those of our mother’s. The color of her feet is white."
Hearing the kids made the wolf go to a grocer’s shop and ask him to cover his feet by the white flour. The shopkeeper was surprised to hear the strange demand of the wolf. But out of fear, he sprinkled some flour on his feet. Thus, the feet of the wolf became white. He came back to the hut of the goat and knocked at the door, "Hello! Dear children, I have come, open the door quickly."
The kids peeped through the magic glass and found the color of the feet white. They

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opened the door. But seeing the wolf, made them run here and there to save their lives. Some went under the bed, while some hid behind the curtains. But the cunning wolf caught and ate up all of them except one who had hidden himself in the big clock of the house. The wolf just could not guess that hide out.
After some time when the goat returned to the hut, she was surprised to see the door wide open. She had thought that the kids would be very happy to eat the fresh food. But her happiness vanished soon. She found that the whole house had been ransacked and none of her kids could be seen. She wept and cried bitterly and said, "Oh kids! What happened to you all? Why did you open the door for a stranger. The wolf has won the fight and I have lost to him."
At this moment, the kid who was inside the clock spoke, "Mother! Are you listening to me, the youngest of all? Take me out of the clock." The goat immediately picked her little kid and kissed her again and again. The kid narrated the whole incident. Then they heard the snoring of the wolf. The goat said, "It appears that the wolf is still here. Bring the long scissors."
The kid brought the scissors. They both went to the garden. They found the wolf sleeping there. The goat went up to the wolf slowly and cut open his belly. She found the kids alive and took them out one by one from the wolf’s belly. The goat hugged the kids warmly. Then she asked all the kids to fill stones in his belly. They all picked big stones and put them in the wolf’s stomach. Thereafter, the goat stitched the belly and they all came back to their hut.
Soon the wolf awoke and felt thirsty. He got up and went to the well to drink water. As there were stones in his belly, he could not balance himself and fell into the well with a loud noise. He died by drowning in the deep water.
The goat and her kids were observing everything from the window. Now they all came out of the hut and danced. They needn’t be afraid of the wolf anymore.

COMMENCEMENT OF A NEW LIFE

Once, there was rich man. He had earned the money by doing hard labour. He had a son named Karim. He often used to say to his son, "Karim, you are my only son. All my wealth is yours. There is none to share the wealth you. You are supposed to increase the wealth with hard labour and should not waste."
"Don't worry father! I will not waste the money unnecessarily." Karim would assure his father.

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But his assurances were false. He had fallen in a company of bad friends. He
used to waste money in drinking, gambling and enjoying dances.
His friends were very happy and used to flatter him for liberally spending money on them." He would also like their flattery and would be ready to spend more money on them.
When his father came to know about his bad habits, he was badly upset. He thought, 'If Karim continue to waste money like this I would soon be penniless. So I will talk to him today to mend his ways.'
When Karim returned home, his father said, "My son! I have come to know that you waste money in bad company, stop doing all this and pay attention to the business. You will be spoiled like this. There is still time for you to put yourself on the right path."
Karim nodded his head in affirmative. But he did not change his bad habits. He continued to waste money on gambling, drinking and enjoying dance with his spoiled friends. Seeing his son sunk in bad habits, the father fell ill. His condition was going from bad to worse




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One day when he felt that his end was near, he called his son and said, "Karim, you are not on the right path yet. My life is on the verge of its end. This is my last advice to you. Don't waste my hard earned money; otherwise you will always repent this."
"Father, I will follow your advice, Do not worry. I will improve myself," said Karim with grief.
"You can think of your good or bad yourself. But if someday you find in trouble then open the door of that room. You will find some relief there," saying this he pointed out towards the closed room.
After a few days, the rich man died. Karim felt sad for sometime but soon he forgot, and was lost in his old bad habits.
After the death of the father, the home become the place for their enjoyment. Being heavily drunk when Karim lost his senses, his friends would steal money from his shelf. Thus, he began to lose his money quickly.
Karim was not aware of the activities of his friends. They continued to cheat him by stealing his money.
Karim never doubted them and continued to spend recklessly on his friends. Soon his money finished. His friends stopped coming to his house. They even refused to talk to him.
Now Karim did not know what to do. He recollected the advice of his father and repented. Suddenly remembering about the closed room, he thought, "Perhaps father has kept money me for emergency." So he went up to the room.
On opening the room he was taken a back! There was a noose hanging from the roof. A paper was also attached to it. "Karim was desperate having lost all hope of money. He took the paper and began to start a new life, then this noose is meant for you. But before hanging test the capability of the noose if it is strong enough for your weight or not."
"I will start a new life instead of hanging myself to death." He came out of the room thinking what he should do.
He kept on thinking for some time. Suddenly he felt very hungry. But there was nothing to eat in the house. He went to the market and sold his cap to buy some milk and bread to eat. He also felt thirsty. So he kept the milk and bread on a stone and went to a nearby well to drink the water. When a returned he saw a dog running away with his bread having spilt the milk. He felt shocked to see this.
Feeling too helpless to do anything he burst into tears. He was very hungry and had no money to buy food. So he thought, "Now there is no other way except asking friends for help."
Despite, being very hungry, he walked towards his friends in the hope of getting the food. He reached one of his friends and said, "Hello friend! I am starving. Give me some food. His friend said, "Karim, I am no longer your friends."
Thereafter he went to another friend and asked for food. He too threw him out of his house. One by one he went to all his friends but none gave him food.
Desperately Karim returned home. He was in great despair and thought, "Now I should commit suicide by hanging. This is how I can get rid of my troubles." Thinking this Karim pulled the rope of the noose to see whether it was strong enough to hold his weight. As he applied force the rope broke up. With the breaking of the rope a bag fell on the ground. Karim picked up the bag and quickly opened it.
He was surprised to see that the bag was full of gold coins. There was also a slip in the bag which read, "Do not finish your life. Start a fresh life with the help of this money. But first you have to change your habits."
Karim said to himself, "This time I promise to myself that I will leave all bad company anymore since all my friends have cheated me. Had I followed your advice earlier I would have been very rich today."
Karim started his business afresh with the help of the wealth found in the blog. Soon his business flourished. He started earning a lot of money. His selfish friends came to meet him on knowing about his prosperity but Karim refused to entertain them. Now he had come to know the difference between right and wrong.

DISTINY'S KNOCK

Long long ago there was a beautiful palace in the middle of the Baghdad city. The building was surrounded by beautiful orchards. Music playing created soothing atmosphere. The palace was so attractive that whoever saw it could not help praising its beauty. There was no other building equivalent to it in beauty and splendor in Baghdad.
One day, a poor man happened to come to the palace. He was surprised to see the beauty of the building. He thought, 'The building appears very beautiful from outside, it must be much more attractive from inside. But how can I see the interior of the palace?' He was shabbily dressed and therefore was hesitating to enter. Right then, he observed that some people were going inside. He thought, "Why can't I go inside with these people?" He decided to enter thinking that nobody will pinpoint him in the midst of the crowd. So he ran to join the crowd. At the gate, he saw the owner welcoming the guests and asking them, "I hope you did not have to face any difficulty in reaching here?" All of them thanked him for his cooperation in their business and expressed their gratitude to him. Thereafter, he took them to the auditorium and discussed with them various issues regarding business.
The poor man did not go in front of the owner. He hid himself behind a pillar. He heard their conversation and concluded that the owner was very rich.
After some time the poor man went to see the other part of the building. He was http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...fresh-meat.jpg



stunned to see that even the dogs were eating in golden plates. When fresh meat was served to a dog, it did not touch it. It looked towards the poor man as if it was inviting him to eat the meat. The poor man ate the meat to his satisfaction and thought, 'Should I take the golden plate.' He continued to think, 'In case I get this plate, I can start my business and can become rich.' But he was afraid of the dog which might bite him if he picked up the golden plate. He peeped into the eyes of the dog and found only kindness and sympathy in them. He picked up the golden plate and as he had anticipated, the dog remained still.
He came out stealthily without being noticed by others. When he had come out, he thought, 'Now I should not live in Baghdad. It would be dangerous to live here. I will live in a small town start my business there.'
So he settled in another city, started the business and soon became rich. His bad days were over. He had never


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thought of earning so much and becoming rich. He once thought, 'Though I have become rich, I am under the debt of the owner of that beautiful building. I must pay his debt back.' So he loaded a lot of valuable things on camels and proceeded towards Baghdad. On reaching there, he straightway went to the owner of the splendid building. But he was surprised to see the ruins instead of that beautiful palace. He made a thorough search for the owner of the house. After sometime, he saw an old man who was taking the round of the ruined building. He quickly went to him and said, "There used to be a beautiful palace. Could you tell me something about the building and its owner?" The old man said, "Yes, you are right. But that beautiful building has now turned to ruins. Nobody knows which turn destiny will take." The businessman said, "I want to meet the owner of the building. I have to repay his debt. Do you know him and his whereabouts?"
The old man replied, "I am the owner of the building. But I am unable to collect if I have ever lent a loan to anyone. What debt are you talking about?"
At this, the businessman narrated all that had happened with him a few years back when he had stolen the golden plate and how he had stolen the golden plate and how he had started his business. He further said, "I earned a lot of money and profit. I have brought some presents for you and request you to accept them." But the old man refused to accept the presents on the ground that it was the dog that had shown mercy to the man. So the presents could not be accepted. The businessman again said, "Your arguments are strange. The dog was yours and the gold plate was yours." But the old man said, "No, I am not selfish. I will not accept anything from you." Saying this, the old man entered the building.
The businessman felt sorry for the pitiable condition of the old man who was once very rich. He thought, 'The man had lost a golden opportunity to restart his business. Actually, the fate had offered him the chance and knocked at his door, as it knocks once in everyone's life.'

EVIL HAS AN EVIL END

There lived a notorious monkey named Cheenu in the Champak forest. He used to harass http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...nnu-monkey.jpgthe small and weak animals and birds. Sometimes, he destroyed the birds’ nests and threw away their eggs. Rabbits were afraid of being scratched by him. He used to twist the tail of jackals’. Almost all the animals were afraid of the monkey and wanted to get rid of him. But how could they get rid of the monkey? What should they do?
There was a clever jackal in the same forest. He decided to teach a lesson to Cheenu. He went to the monkey and said, "Your body is very attractive. The golden hair further adds to the beauty of your body, still one thing is wrong in you." The monkey said with surprise, "What is wrong with my body?" The jackal replied, "Your body is red which does not suit


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your body. If you do as I tell, your face will shine like the moon." The
monkey was overjoyed and became restless to know the method to beautify his face and asked excitedly, "Tell me the method quickly to make my face glow." The jackal said "If you eat the swargafal (fruit of heaven), your face will shine like the moon." The monkey again asked, "How can I get swargafal?" The jackal replied, "It lies in the forehead of an elephant. When you see an elephant, hit his forehead with a stone and this way the swargafal will come to his trunk, and when the elephant try to catch you, quickly take out the swargafal from his trunk."
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pass by that route. As soon as he came near, the monkey hit him hard with a stone on his forehead. Blood oozed out from the forehead. The wounded elephant cried at the top of his voice in anger. The whole of the forest trembled in fear. But the foolish monkey thought that the swargafal must have slipped to the trunk of the elephant and hit another stone so that the swargafal may fall out of the trunk immediately. But the second stone made the elephant mad, and he ran in search of the hidden enemy.
Soon he saw the monkey who was coming to him to take the swargafal. Cheenu was determined to approach the elephant for the swargafal which he wanted even at the cost of the elephant’s life.
In his excitement, Cheenu rushed to the elephant. The elephant also ran towards the monkey and caught hold of him with his trunk. In a fit of anger, the elephant threw down Cheenu and trampled him under his feet. The monkey died instantly. A wave of happiness spread all over the forest. All the animals thanked the elephant for ridding them of the wicked monkey. They also praised the clever jackal.

IMPORTANCE OF A GURU

According to a mythological story, Indra, the king of gods, after defeating the devils, http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...lord-indra.jpg



was enjoying the luxuries and comforts of heaven. Beautiful apsaras (heavenly dancers) were dancing to the tune of music in the court of Indra. Somras (divine liquor) was also being served to the gods. All the gods were intoxicated and enjoying the victory over the devils.
While they were busy enjoying, Guru Brihaspati entered the court but the gods failed to notice him and did not pay any attention or respect to him.
Hurt by the behavior of the gods, Guru Brihaspati became very sad. He felt that their victory over the demons had gone into their heads, and now they were going astray. He felt insulted. He thought, 'There was no difference left between the devils and the gods.' He pondered further, 'It is shameful to be the guru of such gods.' He immediately came out of Indra's court.
After some time, when the assembly of gods was over, they came out of intoxication and realized their fault that their guru had visited them and they were unable to pay due respect to him. Indra confessed, 'Whatever we have got today is due to the blessings of Guru Brihaspati, and now we have insulted him under intoxication. We should beg pardon from him.' He went to the residence of the guru but Guru Brihaspati was not there. Distressed by the gods' behavior, he had hidden himself somewhere. The gods made a thorough search for him, but could not find him anywhere.
On the other side, when Shukracharya, the guru of the devils, came to know that Guru Brihaspati was living in exile on being insulted by the gods, he advised the devils to take the advantage of the situation and attack the gods.
Acting on his advice, the devils attacked and defeated the gods badly. They had to run for their lives. They went to Lord Brahma and said, "Save us from the devils whose atrocities are increasing day by day."
Brahma said, "You yourselves have invited this trouble. You have insulted your guru, under whom you all were safe. Your false pride is the cause of all your troubles. Now only one way is left. Go to Acharya Vishwaroopa who is the son of Rishi Athvarna Twasta. Only he can protect you at this moment."
As per the directions of Lord Brahma, all the gods went to Acharya Vishwaroopa and narrated all that had happened with them. They further requested the Acharya to protect them from the devils.
Acharya said, "O king of gods! You have insulted your guru. Tomorrow when you will gain your lost kingdom, you will insult me as well. I have no faith in you."
The king of gods assured the Acharya and said, "We have already learnt a lesson and now we shall never repeat the same mistake. Please help us."
The repeated request of Indra compelled the Acharya to think again and finally hehttp://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...-and-indra.jpg

decided to help them. He used his powers to help the gods defeat the demons and regain their lost paradise.
The king of gods was very happy to defeat the devils. He decided to celebrate the victory with great pomp and show. So he requested the Acharya to perform the yajna of victory.
Acharya said, "It would be better to go to Guru Brihaspati and beg pardon for your mistake. Your guru is above all, irrespective of your status. Pay due respect to your guru sages and brahamins."
Indra realized his mistake and promised not to repeat the same in future.

LAUGHTER OF A FISH

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Once upon a time there was a king named Firozshah, who ruled over Kashmir. His wife
was sitting near the window, she saw a woman selling fish. She asked her if she had any female fish. The fish-selling woman said, "NO, I have only male fish." With this the woman moved ahead. As she moved forward, the queen heard the laughter of a fish. The queen was surprised. She thought that the fish was laughing at her. She got annoyed and rushed to the king. She narrated the whole incident to him. But the king could not decide what to do. He called his Prime Minister Hussain who was very intelligent. The king narrated whole incident and asked the minister to solve the riddle – why the fish had dared to laugh at the queen. The king further said,
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"I give you fifteen days to solve the riddle and if you fail, you will be beheaded."
Hussain thought deeply and decided to set out on a journey to unfold the puzzle the next day.
He met an old farmer named Rehman on his way who was going to pahalgam. Hussain thought of making friends with him who might help him in solving the riddle. Thus, Hussain accompanied him to Phalgam.
During the journey, Hussain said to him, "It would be better for us to take each other alternately during the journey." Rehman could not get the meaning of Hussain and preferred to keep quiet. While they were passing through a field of maize, Hussain again asked Rehman could not understand the words and said, "I do not know." He could not make out why Hussain was speaking in such a way. They both continued their journey. After some time they crossed a mosque, and passed through a village. When nobody welcomed them, Hussain asked, "What are we doing in this graveyard?" Rehman said, "Are you mad; this is a village."

Then they reached a graveyard where some people were distributing roasted meat and bread to the people who were present there, in the memory of their ancestor.
Hussain said, "Oh! What a good village it is!" Rehman murmured, "What a mad man he is! He is speaking like a fool. It appears he has become totally mad."
Soon, they both reached the outskirts of the village of Rehman. Rehman was a kind man so he invited Hussain to stay at his home. "Now you seem quite tired. Why don’t you stay at my house for some time and take rest." Hussain said, "Thank you for the invitation. I will stay here till the evening. But please tell me one thing; are the walls of your house strong enough?" Rehman started laughing at the words of Hussain. He said goodbye to him and came to his house. On reaching home, Rehman told his daughter Johra about Hussain. He also told her that he had invited him to say at his house. But Hussain put a foolish question about the walls of the house.
Johra was an intelligent girl. She said, "Dear father, I think the man is very intelligent." His father said, "How can you say that the man is intelligent? He has only talked foolishly." Johra clarified the meaning intended by Hussain, "By the question of strong walls he meant whether the invitation was real or just a formality." Hearing his daughter, Rehman was very much pleased and said, "If this questions had a deep meaning, his other sentences must have had wise meanings as well. Now I will repeat his sentences. At first, he said that we should go together taking each other alternately." Johra said, "By this he meant that both of you should tell stories alternately so that you could complete your long journey easily." Rehman repeated Hussain’s other sentence, "Why did he ask whether the maize can be eaten or not?" Johra said, "Father, you are a farmer and you must know that one should not eat from a field in the absence of its owner. This is what he wanted to convey to you." Her father again said, "Tell me, why did he call the village a graveyard and the graveyard a village?"
Johra clarified, "The villagers did not entertain you well, that is why the village was similar to a graveyard but the people in the graveyard distributed food so the graveyard was like a village."
Hearing these explanations, Rehman realized that Hussain was very intelligent as there lied a deep and wise meaning in each of his sentences.
Johra was excited and was very much eager to meet Hussain taking rest under a banyan tree outside the village. He brought him home. Johra was pleased to see him. She asked, "Please tell me what made you take such a long journey? May I help you? I hope there is something I can do for you."
Hussain told her about the fish and the king’s resolution to know the secret of the laughter of the fish. He also disclosed that his failure would cost his life.
Johra said, "It is quite a simple puzzle. It means that someone was planning to kill the king." Hussain agreed to Johra’s explanation of the incident. He decided to go back to the king along with Johra and Rehman.
On reaching there, Hussain introduced Johra and Rehman to the king and said to the king, "I have found out the secret of the laughter of the fish. Johra will tell you this secret in detail." Johra said, "Sir, the fish was a foreteller who could see future. The fish was laughing on seeing your future. She wanted to make you cautious against a person who in disguise of a woman wants to kill you." The king asked Johra, "Will you be able to prove this?" At this, Hussain said, "Yes! I want to
test your all maid servants." The

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king and the queen allowed him to do so.
All the maids were called for a test. As per the instructions of Hussain, a large and deep pit was dug and all the maids were asked to jump across the pit. No one was able to cross the pit except one. Thus, the maid was identified as a male among the maids. The king got him arrested immediately. He was a spy of a neighbouring state. The king gave rewards to Johra and later Hussain married her.

MEETHU AND KAURA

Meethu was a beautiful green parrot. His red beak looked very beautiful. He had built his
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nest within the bushy branches of a big peepal tree in a village. Every day he would leave in the morning in search of food and return in the evening to spend night comfortably in his nest.
One day, while he was flying in search of food, he saw a mango tree. It was laden with ripe yellow mangoes.
'Oh! What nice mangoes!', he exclaimed. Sight of the ripe, juicy mangoes made his mouth water. He flew down and sat on a branch of the tree. As he was about to eat a mango, he heard a harsh voice of a crow, "Hey! Who are you? This is my tree. My name is Kaura. I say, go away from here," the crow said.
Meethu looked around and saw a black crow. He was frightened. The crow shouted once again at Meethu asking him to go away. Meethu flew away, but he was very disappointed because he could not eat such lovely juicy mangoes. While flying towards home, he saw a red balloon lying in a garden. An idea struck in the mind of Meethu. He picked up the balloon with its beak and flew back to the mango tree.
He went to the mango tree surreptitiously and blew off the balloon with its beak. The

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balloon burst with a loud sound. The crow was frightened.
Kaura shouted, "It must be a hunter around! He will kill me. I must fly away from here."
Saying so, the scared crow flew away from the tree and never returned. Meethu was very pleased to see the crow go. He ate as many mangoes as he could. Thus clever Meethu could scare away the greedy crow by playing a clever trick on him. He began to eat sweet mangoes every day.

CROP BELONGS TO OWNER OF FIELD

There was a village Kusumpur near patliputra. There lived a farmer named Shankar along with his wife Maya. They had some agricultural land which was enough for their subsistence.
There were no means of irrigation. All the villagers had to depend on rain for agriculture. Every year they waited for the rain even though they had arranged other things in advance.
Shankar had two oxen for ploughing the field. Like others Shankar also waited for the rain. The rain at the right time was very important for the farmers of the village. Once, just before the mansoon, one of the oxen died. It was difficult to plough the field with one ox. Shankar tried his best to get a loan to purchase another ox but could not succeed.
Soon the rainy season came. All the farmers started ploughing their fields. But Shankar stayed within the four walls of his house. He was very depressed.
Seeing him sad, his wife said, “Why do you worry? We have one ox and I will do the work of the other ox. This way, we will be able to plough the field. It is not good to sit idle at home."
http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...s_to_owner.jpgBut Shankar did not agree to the proposal. Maya continued to press Shankar to accept but in vain. At last, she proceeded to the field along with their only ox. When Shankar saw his wife going to the field, he followed her. On reaching the field, Maya tied the plough with the ox and started pulling it. People talked about the way the couple was ploughing the field. But nobody tried to understand their helplessness or came to help.
Meanwhile, the king of patliputra, Sheeshpal, happened to pass through that route. The king was generous and often roamed to assess the condition of his people in disguise. When he saw that a man was using a woman in place of an ox, he was surprised. He went to him and said, “O man! What are you doing? It is a sin to use a woman for ploughing. Stop it and free the woman."
Shankar said, “You seem to be a king or a seth. You certainly do not know what agriculture is. It needs timely action. It will take time to bring an ox and I cannot wait for so long. If you really have sympathy for the woman, you can work in her place."It was like a challenge to the king. He thought for a while and then offered himself to replace the woman. It was not an easy task. The king began sweating badly. Soon the ox was brought and the king got released from the tiresome work.
Shankar ploughed the field well and sowed the seeds of jowar crop. After a few days, when the seeds germinated, he found that some space was left blank. It was the part ploughed by the king. Shankar dug the area with a spade. To his surprise, he saw pearls there. He collected and brought them home.
Seeing the pearls, Maya jumped out of happiness. Both of them thought deeply about the pearls found in the field. They concluded that pearls were found only in that portion of the field which had been ploughed by the stronger. It meant that the stronger had changed to pearls. They decided to handover the pearls to the stranger, the rightful owner. So they made a search for him and identified the person as the king of patliputra Sheeshpal who was known for his generosity.
Next day, Shankar reached the court and handed over the bag to the king. He said, “Oh king! Had I known that the drops of your sweet are so valuable, I would have asked you to plough the whole field."Shankar narrated the whole incident right from the death of one of his oxen till the finding of the pearls in the field. Then he requested the king, “Please keep these pearls which are the fruit of your hard labour."Seeing the humbleness of the farmer, the king said, “No, I cannot take them. The crop belongs to the owner of the field, and from now onwards, do not let your wife work in the field."They lived happily ever after.

THE VICTORY OF A SON

Long back, there lived a learned Brahmin in Taxila. His name was Shivdutt. He was a great scholar of the Vedas and other books and had defeated many other scholars during discourses on theology. He had a friend named Namdev, who was equally learned and wise. Shivdutta loved and believed in Namdev.
Once Namdev suggested to Shivdutta, "Let us go to Patliputra, the city of scholars, and test our knowledge there."http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...avati_rive.jpg
Shivdutta consented to the proposal of Namdev and said, "Certainly, we would go to test our wisdom and compare it with the knowledge of the scholars there. We would know our worth."
So they left for Patliputra.
When they reached a river quite near the city, they saw a woman washing clothes. They said to her, "We are travelers and new to this place. Please, guide us which place would be suitable for us to stay." The lady said, "I know that lions live in a forest. The fish live in water, birds live in their nests and a king lives in his palace, but I do not know where the travelers live."
Both were surprised on hearing her. This was their first encounter with a scholar in that city.
Both proceeded ahead. After some time, they saw a child crying despite of the fact that there was a plate of delicious food before him. They said, "See what a fool this boy is! He is weeping though there is hot and fresh food before him."
The boy laughed on hearing them, "I am not a fool, but I am sure you are. Don't you know why I am crying? Weeping clears the throat and increases the power of digestion."
After realizing the child's cleverness, Namdev said, "Dear, the city is full of scholars. Be cautious, otherwise we would be disgraced. Then both the friends proceeded ahead."http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti..._hot_mango.jpg
After walking some distance, they saw a garden of mangoes. A girl was plucking the fruit, sitting on a tree.
Namdev said to the girl, "We are coming from a far-off place. Will you please drop some mangoes for us?"
The girl agreed and asked, "Okay what type of mangoes would you like, hot or cold?"
To this, both the friends were surprised. But Shivdutt asked for hot mangoes thinking that the word ‘Hot' must be a synonym for ‘ripe' mangoes.
The girl dropped several ripe mangoes. Both the friends cleaned the dust on the fruit by blowing it away and started eating them.
The girl commented "The mangoes seem to be very hot, as you are blowing air to cool them down. Another method to cool them is that you could go to the nearby pond and dip them in the cold water."
Shivdutt was greatly embarrassed to know the hidden meaning of the words said by the girl. Then he said to Namdev, "The girl is the most intelligent of all the people we have met so far. But I will teach her a lesson. Anyhow I will marry her and take my revenge."
Namdev said, "I will be happy if the girl becomes your wife. But marrying her for taking revenge is not a sensible idea. She has done nothing wrong."
Shivdutt said, "She has tried to degrade us by speaking to us in this way. We feel humiliated now."
Namdev said, "You yourself called her intelligent earlier. And now you want to take revenge. I think you should take her comments positively."
But these sermons failed to change the attitude of Shivdutt. He asked Namdev to follow the girl and find out her name, address, etc. for further actions. Now when the girl started for her house with basket of mangoes, Namdev followed her secretly.
On his return, Namdev told Shivdutt, "She is the daughter of pandit Ramanand and her name is Kalavati. Her house is very near to this place."
Both the friends stayed at a nearby inn for the night. Shivdutt chalked out his plan. They decided to go to the house of the girl in disguise of Brahmins. Next day they started reading Vedic verses loudly in front of the house of Ramanand. Ramanand heard and came out. He saw them and thought, ‘They appear to be scholars. Let me talk to them.' So he went near and said, "From where have you come? It seems you are new to this city."http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti..._met_each_.jpg
Shivdutt answered him, "We have come from Alkapuri and want to study here."
Ramanand said, "You have come from afar and must be tired. Moreover, the rainy season is approaching. I request you to be my guest and stay at my house. Thereafter, you may do as you like."
Shivdutt was happy to see that his plan was working out properly. He said, "We can stay here, but on the condition that you would give me the thing which I ask for before my return."
Ramanand promised, "Certainly! I will give you the thing, if possible."
At this, both the friends stayed there. Panditji and his daughter Kalvanti served them well. She could not recognize them as the same persons whom she had met in the garden of mangoes.
When the rainy season was over, both the friends decided to go back. They told Ramanand about their desire to leave. Shivdutt also remained him of his condition for staying. Panditji said, "Of course! I had promised you. You can ask for anything. If it is in my hand, I will grant it to you." Shivdutt said, "Give your daughter to me in marriage." Panditji was surprised but thought, ‘The Brahmin is intelligent and my daughter will live happily with him.' So he married his daughter to Shivdutt.
After the marriage when Shivdutt met her, he mentioned the incident of the garden and said that she had degraded him by playing a trick on him, and she should be sorry for her behavior. At this, Kalavati said, "You are a villager and hence are slow to understand the meaning of a thing." Now Shivdutt lost his temper and said, "Do not think yourself to be too intelligent. Now you will see how this villager teaches you a lesson. I shall go forever leaving you alone here. You will remain here repenting forever."
Kalavati was not moved and said, "Even if you go, you would return one day out of the love for your children."
Shivdutt thought, ‘I will not live with her and as such, the question of children would not arise at all.'
Shivdutt accepted the challenge of his wife. At the middle of the night, he got up and went away leaving his wife alone. However, before going out, he took off his ring and put it on the finger of Kalavati. Then he left Taxila with Namdev.
When Kalavati got up in the morning, she found her husband missing. When he did not return even after many days, she got worried. Meanwhile, she noticed a ring in her finger. The ring had the name and address of her husband engraved on it. She came to know that her husband Shivdutt belonged to Taxila. She decided to bring him back. She told her father that she was going for a pilgrimage as her husband had left her at the mercy of God. The father allowed her and gave money and maids to attend to her.
Kalavati started for Taxila in a palanquin. On her way to the city, she purchased beautiful dresses fitted for a dancer. When she reached there, she ordered to pitch a tent at the outskirts of the city. Her tent was decorated like a royal palace.
Kalavati changed her name to Anarkali. She sent her maids to the city to promote her as the most beautiful and expert dancer of the time.
Hearing about Anarkali, another dancer of the city, Roopali, came to meet and wanted to know about her. Anarkali told Roopali that she belonged to Vaishali and had come here to study about the culture and traditions of the city.
Anarkali treated Roopali well and extended her hand of friendship. Roopali was very happy and offered her palace to Anarkali to stay. Anarkali accepted her offer and shifted to the palace.
Hearing about Anarkali, Namdev, the friend of Anarkali's husband Shivdutt came to see her in the evening. The guards of Anarkali asked him to take a bath, which took a lot of time. Thereafter, he was asked to wear a special dress. Then he was taken to a room, where he was offered delicious food. Two-thirds of the night had passed and when he reached the door of Anarkali, he was stopped by the guard who said to him, "No decent person should come to meet a lady at this odd hour. You cannot meet her now." Namdev felt insulted and returned to his house. He thought that the lady was very intelligent, as she had very cleverly forced him to go back. He told Shivdutt about it who was annoyed and wanted to take revenge.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...ase_from_m.jpg
Shivdutt went to the place of Anarkali and bribed the guards at all places and, thus, reached the door of Anarkali easily. There he gave a diamond necklace to the lady guard and asked her to convey the massage- ‘A person named Shivdutt wants to meet you.' Anarkali called him inside. Seeing the beauty of Anarkali, he lost his heart to her and said, "You are really very beautiful. I have no words to praise your beauty.
Anarkali welcomed and gave him generous and cordial hospitality. She also presented a most attractive dance.
When Shivdutt was about to leave the palace, Anarkali requested him to come again. Shivdutt now become a daily visitor.
One day, Anarkali proposed to Shivdutt saying, "I came here only to search for a life partner. Would you like to marry me?" Shivdutt deeply in love and bewitched by her beauty, readily agreed. Soon they got married. Shivdutt shifted to the palace of Anarkali and started living there. When Anarkali was pregnant, she expressed her desire to go back and told Shivdutt, "I am going on the orders of the king. Do not be sad. I will come back soon."
But on reaching Patliputra, Kalavati did not return. At the right time, she gave birth to a baby boy. As the child grew, Kalavati taught her son all the art and skills. She also gave him a good education.
This way the boy became perfect in all the arts. When he was about 12 years old wanted to know about his father. Kalavati narrated him the story and said, "Your father is a great scholar and learned man. He lives in Taxila. His name is Shivdutt. He also has a very close friend named Namdev."
Knowing about him, the boy promised to bring his father back home. After receiving his mother's blessings, he proceeded to Taxila. There, he made a thorough search for his father. Someone told him that Shivdutt was very distressed and kept himself busy in gambling. He reached the gambling house and recognized his father with the help of his features described by his mother. His father was busy gambling. The boy had also been taught the art of gambling by his mother. He was an expert in it. He participated in the game and soon won all the money the gamblers had. Shivdutt was very impressed by the boy, who seemed to be very intelligent. He asked the boy, "Who taught you the art of gambling at this young age?"
The boy said, "I Know many arts and have deep knowledge of different subjects."
Shivdutt invited the boy to stay with him. The boy made a condition that they would tell stories to each other. At the end of the story, the listener would have to explain the hidden meaning of the story. The one who is unable to do it would accept his defeat and serve the other as a slave for ever. He accepted the condition of the boy.
Next day, the competition of storytelling started between the boy and his father. The first story was told by Shivdutt, "There was famine in the state of a king. He covered the beloved of the pig by the chariot of serpents and showers of water. This way the king ended the famine."
The boy clarified, "The chariot of serpents means clouds. The earth beloved of the pig that refers to Lord Vishnu who had incarnated as a pig. That is, the king produced cereals with the help of rain."
The correct answer surprised Shivdutt. Now the boy's turn, "Long Ago, a strange boy was born on the earth. His birth caused the earth to shake. When he gained age, he stepped out onto another world."
Shivdutt accepted his defeat. The boy was now ready to go back his home. Shivdutt had to go to Patliputra as slave. The boy went to his mother with his father, who recognized Kalavati but asked about the birth of the boy.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti..._son_and_w.jpg
Kalavati clarified how she had done all this only to bring him back. This way she proved her words and asked her husband, "Will you leave us again?"
Shivdutt said, "Oh no! Never! The boy has made me his slave by winning the competition of storytelling."
Shivdutt was very happy to get his wife and son back after a long time.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE THINKING

Long ago, there was a trader named Sripad. He amassed a huge wealth by his hard work. He had everything in his house.
One day, he set out on a trade journey. When he was passing through a forest, he felt tired and wanted to take rest for some time. He sat under a tree to relax.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...e_thinking.jpg
While relaxing, he felt thirsty and desired for a glass of Water, 'If I had some water with which I could quench my thirst right now!' There was a miracle. No sooner did he wish for water than a pitcher appeared before him. He quenched his thirst and felt relieved.
After some time, he felt hungry and wished for food. He said to himself, 'If a plate of tasty food be available to me now, I would be really lucky.'
As soon as he thought of it, there appeared a plate of tasty food before him. He ate to his full satisfaction. Too much of food made him drowsy and he murmured, 'How can I sleep on this rough surface? Why shouldn't there be a soft bed for me?' As he uttered these words, a colourful and comfortable bed of velvet appeared before him immediately.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...e_thinking.jpg
Sripad slept on the bed. He felt as if he was in heaven as his all desires were being fulfilled immediately. He was quite unaware that he was sleeping under a tree which can fulfil any desire. It was not an ordinary tree but a Kalpavriksha (a tree thought to have powers to fulfil any desire).
Sripad enjoyed a good sleep on the velvet bed. After he awoke, he began to think, 'I am all alone in the forest which is full of wild animals like lions, tigers and wolves who may come at any moment and can kill me. I would not be able to protect myself.'
As he thought so, a ferocious tiger appeared there and attacked Sripad. Poor Sripad was so scared that he could not even run. Thus, he was killed because of his negative thinking.
It is said that the a man is always led by his thought. A positive thinking leads to positive results. It anticipates happiness and favourable result from every situation. Hence, we should always be positive.

A LESSON FROM NATURE

One day, a boy was playing in a garden. He was running after butterflies and trying to catch them. He was very happy to see the colourful flowers.
Then he saw a frog skipping and jumping. As he ran behind the frog, it jumped into the pond.
A cow was also grazing in the garden. He saw how the cow was chewing grass. A fly then came there and buzzed over the cow. The cow swung her tail to make the fly move away. The child clapped and laughed.
http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...rom_nature.jpgThe boy was enjoying the beauty of nature. He said, "Nature is wonderful. Its beauty attracts everyone."
When he saw a squirrel he ran after it and reached near the bed of roses. He tried to pluck some of the roses, but a thorn pierced his finger. It was very painful. The boy started crying and ran to his house.
His mother asked him, "What is the matter? Why are you crying?" The boy said, "The thorn of the rose pierced my finger while I was plucking it and now I feel severe pain."
His mother said, "It is your mistake. You should not have tried to pluck the flower. The flowers are meant to be seen and not to be plucked. Besides, natural beauty should never be harmed. One should not interfere with the natural processes. Instead, we should help to maintain the nature."
The son said, "I will always follow what you have just told, mama."
The Mother said, "Let me know what you have learnt today." Her son explained, "We should protect all living beings, whether animals or plants. We should never harm them. Unnecessary interference with nature is harmful. It may harm the human beings in the long run."

A TALKATIVE BARBER

Once upon a time there was a tailor in a city. He was jolly and broad-minded. He used to call the people to his house and narrated them amazing stories. People listened to his stories with great interest.
There was a barber's shop near his store. The barber was very talkative. People knew his habit of gossiping and often enjoyed his gossips.
One day, a lame stranger came in front of the tailor's shop. The stranger came in front of the tailor's shop. The stranger was tired and wanted to take rest. The tailor felt pity for him and asked him to rest for a while in his shop. The man was very thankful. All of a sudden, he saw the barber and became very sad. He said to the tailor, "I am angry with this barber as he has ruined my life. I hate him and cannot stay here anymore."
http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...ling_story.jpgThe tailor asked him, "Why are you so angry with him?"
The stranger took a long breath and narrated his story to the tailor: "my father was a rich bu8sinessman of Baghdad. After his death, I was the only heir to all the wealth he possessed. I was a bachelor to the core and did not like woman."
One day while I was passing along a road, I saw a beautiful girl standing at the window of a house. I fell in love with her at the first sight. At the same time, I guessed him as the father of the girl and quickly left the place, but could not forget the girl. I wanted to marry her. I disclosed my love to one of the friends of my mother. She said, "I know the girl. She is too proud and her father is the judge of the District Court. You may never be able to win her heart. But do not worry. I will help you and talk to her."
She went to the girl and expressed my desire to her. But the girl did not want to meet me. But after much persuasion, she called me on Friday after her father had gone to the mosque for prayer.
I was very happy and eager to meet her. I got up early in the morning on Friday. I called this barber to shave my beard. I asked him to finish his work quickly, but the barber was talking continuously. I scolded him and said, "Hurry up; I have to go to meet someone."
But the barber did not care at all. Leaving the shave in between, he went out to see the sun and came back after sometime. He said, "Today is not a good day for you and hence, do not go out to meet anyone."
I shouted at him, "Stop talking nonsense! Finish your work and go away."
But the barber continued absurdly and said, "I am not an ordinary barber. I know all about future. I want to help you."
I asked him, "Go away and never come again."
But the barber did not go. He waited for some time and again said, "My master, I came here only when you called me. I will shave your beard and then I will come with you."
Then he started shaving my beard. But he kept on talking continuously. He asked me, "Tell me where you are going."
I did not want to tell him the truth. Hence, I lied that I was going to meet my friends. I had been ill and now had recovered. So I wanted to treat my friends. It would be a big feast."
Suddenly, he stopped shaving and said seriously, "Master, I have also invited my friends for a feast today. I forgot that I had to purchase some food from them."
"Be quick, I will give you food for your friends. Finish your work fast," I said, since I was in a hurry.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...er_running.jpg
Without waiting for a reply, he started dancing, and said, "Come to my house and enjoy the company of my friends. They will entertain you. Visit your friends some other day."
I laughed at him. He was too talkative. I told him, "I would be very happy to go to your house. But today it is not possible because I have to meet my friends. I will come to your house some other time." The barber said, "It does not matter if you cannot come to my house. I would like to accompany you to your friends. I will give food to my friends." I cried, "Be quick and shave." At last he shaved my beard. I told him, "My servants will give you food for your friends, you can take my servants with you and go now." He went away. I got ready and left to meet the girl. I was happy to meet her. It was not in my knowledge that barber had followed me. Soon we realized that her father had returned earlier than usual. She was surprised. When I peeped from the window, I saw the barber sitting across the road.
Meanwhile, her father entered the house. He got angry with his servant on some matter and started beating him. The servant cried in pain.
The loud cry, made the barber think that I was being beaten, hence he shouted for help. People gathered around the girl's house. The barber asked her father why was he beating his master, i.e. me. The father could not understand anything and said, "What nonsense are you talking? Who is your master? I do not know your master."
The barber said, "My master is with your daughter. Do you know they love each other? I thought you have asked your servants to beat my master. Anyway, leave my master."
The girl's father said, "There is no one in my house. Come inside and see for yourself." The barber entered the house along the people gathered and started searching for me everywhere. I had hidden myself inside a box, but the barber noticed it. He opened the box and found me there. He shouted and attracted the attention of the people. I jumped from the box and ran out of the house. As I was in a hurry, I collided with a stone and fell on the ground and broke my leg. Since then, I am a cripple. The people started following me and to stop them, I threw gold and silver coins behind me. Though the other people stopped to pick the coins, the barber continued to follow me. Seeing the barber behind me, I took shelter in an inn and asked the owner not to allow the barber to enter. He stopped the barber on the gate. Since then I hate the barber. He has spoiled my life.
After this, the stranger got up and went away.
Thereafter, the tailor asked the barber "Was this man feeling the truth?" The barber said, "He was right. I tried to help him but he hated me. I wanted to make his love story public and out of shame the judge would have allowed him to marry his daughter. But he did not understand me."

DESIRE FOR HOOKAH

Long ago, there lived a farmer in a village. His name was Ramu. He was all alone and had no family. He was fond of hookah or hubble-bubble (a kind of long pipe for smoking). Better say, he was much addicted to it.
One night, Ramu's desire for Hookah became so intense that he could not sleep. He tried his best but the desire for hookah made him restless. So he got up and put tobacco in the chilam (the container at the top of a hookah). Thereafter, he made a thorough search for some burning coal to be put into the chilam but there was no fire in the kitchen. Finding no other alternative, he went to his neighbour. It was mid-night and most people had gone to bed. He knocked at the door of his neighbour. The neighbourer was surprised to see Ramu at the door so late in the night. He asked, "What happened? Is there an emergency?"
http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...rom_hookah.jpgRamu was unable to speak clearly yet spoke hesitatingly, "The….. the….the desire for Hookah brought me here"
He continued, "There was no fire in my kitchen, therefore I have come to you. Please give me some burning coal so that I can put into the pot of the tobacco."
Now the neighbour laughed and said, "You have your lantern (oil lamp) and with the help of its fire you can easily burn coal. But without thinking you came here."
Ramu realized his mistake and felt embarrassed for his folly.
The neighbour further said, "It is typical human nature. Although they have something in hand, they tend to search for it everywhere. This is one of the biggest stupidity inherent in them."

THE MOST DANGEROUS CREATURE

Once Raghuraj Singh, the king of Ramgarh, was sitting in his court. The court was packed full with scholars, advisors, ministers and visitors. A discourse was going on in the court. The king was enjoying the jests of the scholars, when his attention was diverted due to the stinging of an ant on his foot. He searched for the ant and picked it up. Then he said, "See! Even a creature so small, can sometimes give immense pain. This ant was stinging on my foot." Then he asked the courtiers if they knew the most dangerous creature.
The question of the king made all courtiers silent for a moment, but after a while they started answering the question. Most of the people said that snakes were very dangerous. Some people said that snakes were poisonous as well as non-poisonous, so they could not be considered as the most dangerous creatures. Some were of the opinion that dogs were the most dangerous creatures because the condition of a person becomes critical if he or she is bitten by a mad dog. But this opinion was also opposed by others who opined that dogs are the most faithful animals and their friends too.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti..._give_his_.jpg
The discussion continued and people included flies, mosquitoes, scorpions, crocodiles and others. The process of agreeing and disagreeing continued for a long time. The king heard all the views minutely.
Meanwhile, his eyes fell on Pandit Ramnarayan who was a known scholar of his time. There was no one equivalent to him in knowledge, logic, intelligence and wisdom and modest. He expressed his views only when asked.
The king asked Ramnarayan politely, "panditji, would you like to express your views on the topic." Panditji replied, "I think the humans are the most dangerous creatures of all. The people who are of vicious nature and those who are perfect in flattering others, are more dangerous than any animal."
The king asked the panditji to clarify his point.
Panditji said, "A vicious person is dangerous in the sense that he always gets irritated on your good as well as bad acts. Moreover, if you do good for him he would return it in a bad manner. He happens to be a backbiter and will always try to defame you."
"On the other hand, a person who is a flatterer would always praise you despite your weaknesses. He will address you as the most intelligent, brave and great person. Sometimes, he would not even hesitate to put you as equivalent to God. This way, he will keep you in dark and you will always continue to commit sins."
"A flatterer would also make you vainglorious and would keep you far away from the reality. Consequently, a time will come when you will not be able to face the reality. It will give you a great shock."
"A snake or a dog is dangerous only when it bites a man. And a person bitten by a snake or a mad dog can be saved with a timely and proper treatment. But a person who is the victim of wickedness or flattery of a person can hardly be recovered and may continue to suffer throughout his life."http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...s_creature.jpg
All the courtiers were surprised to hear Pandit Ramnarayan. But the king again asked, "Who is more dangerous: a vicious person or a flatterer?"
Pandit Ramnarayan replied, "Oh king! A flatterer is more dangerous then a vicious person. The activities of a vicious person can be tolerated as he targets your weakness all the time. This way you can remove your weaknesses and reform yourself. Kabir has rightly said, keep the critics near yourself and this way you will continue to know your weaknesses."

IMPORTANCE OF HARD WORK

Palampur was a small village near Shimla. People of this village were ordinary workers and earned very little for their livelihood.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...ardworking.jpg There was a railway station near the village, where a small market developed in due course of time. Ramlal was a poor labourer of this village and used to work in the market on daily wages. This was the only source of income for Ramlal and he had many liabilities to carry – children's education, food, clothes, etc. He had four children, but Bhola was the most notorious child of all. He had no interest in studies. He used to make several excuses for not going to the school. Not only this, he preferred to eat chocolate, toffee and junk foods instead of homemade food. Every day he used to take money from his father giving one pretence or another and spend recklessly.
Ramlal was very much worried for his son Bhola who had such bad habits. One day, he took a strict decision to reform his son. He vowed not to give him any money from that day onwards.
The words of his father made Bhola sad. He came to the conclusion that the day was not good for him. In case he did not earn, he would not get the food in the evening. http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...ailstation.jpgHe thought, ‘Where should I go? I must ask my mother for fifty rupees and this way today's problem would be solved.' So, he went to his mother and narrated the whole incident to her. The mother gave him fifty rupees. He ran to his father and gave him the money.
Ramlal understood that his son had not earned the money but had taken it from someone. Therefore, he asked his son to throw the note into a well. Bhola threw the money into the well.
Ramlal complained to him, "I had asked you to earn money on your own. Why did you take it from your mother? Go again and earn this amount yourself. In case you fail to earn fifty rupees, you will not get the food in the evening. Go and do just as I have told you."
In spite of this, Bhola did not take the words of his father seriously. He again went to his mother, told her everything and asked her for fifty rupees. But this time, his mother refused. Then he went to his sister, narrated the whole story to her and asked for money. She took pity on her brother and gave him fifty rupees. He was very happy and went to his father with those rupees. But his father again asked him to throw the note into the well. He had to throw this money into the well.
Ramlal commanded his son again, "Go and earn money yourself." The bewildered son again went to his mother for money, but she refused. Then he went to his sister, but she also refused.
Bhola came out of the house. He was very sad and lost all hope. He sat on the road-side and started weeping. At this moment, a passerby asked him, "Why are you crying?" Bhola replied, "I need fifty rupees urgently. My father has told me to earn fifty rupees today. Failing this he will not allow me to take the meal in the evening." "Right, you have to work and earn money. Nobody will pay you without work. Why don't you go to the railway station and help the passengers carry their luggage." Then the man gave his own bag to the boy to carry it to the station and paid him twenty rupees. Encouraged by the job suggested by the stranger, Bhola helped other passengers in carrying their luggage to the railway platform and earned thirty rupees more by the evening. Now, he had fifty rupees in all. He quickly went home.
On reaching home, he handed those rupees to his father. But his father again asked him to throw the money into the well.
http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...oud_on_son.jpg"This time, Bhola did not throw the money away. Instead he said to his father, "The money is not borrowed, but I've earned it through hard labour. I will not throw it into the well. I worked at the railway station carrying loads on my head. I did not hard labour so I cannot throw the money. I will rather keep it safe." Hearing this, Ramlal patted his son with great affection. He further said, "I also earn money with hard labour and the same is wasted by you on useless items. I hope now you have understood the value of hard labour and money." He continued to say, "It is praiseworthy that you did not lose hope and continued to make efforts to earn. Now you are supposed to study and get good education to become a good citizen."
Bhola was very happy. His confidence increased and he said, "I will work hard in life and never waste money. I will also try to become a good citizen."

THE FRUIT OF HUMBLENESS

http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...ges/raghav.jpgOnce upon a time there was a poor person named Raghav. He was so poor that he never thought of marriage and carrying out the responsibility of a family. He never worked permanently at one place. Whatever work he got, he did wholeheartedly. He never negotiated for the wages and was happy with the remuneration he got. This was the reason that there was no shortage of work for him. People always preferred to call Raghav for their work.
Sometimes odd jobs were also given to Raghav, such as cutting wood for fire, washing clothes and bathing animals. This way Raghav remained busy all the animals. This way Raghav remained busy all the time.
In the evening, before coming back to his house, Raghav used to take a bath in the river and visit the temple every day.
One day, Raghav felt that the god was a bit perturbed and was starting sadly at him. He thought, 'Either the god is tired, or he is unable to tolerate the smoke of the incense sticks or can't bear the load of the garlands.'
Then, he said to the god with folded hands, "Oh god, it appears that you are tired. Come with me to my house. I will serve you delicious food."
The god smiled at the simplicity and innocence of Raghav.
Raghav was surprised to see the god smiling. Meanwhile, the god spoke out, "Go home and prepare food for me. Then come here to take me with you."
Raghav felt great that despite the crowd in the temple, the god only spoke to him.
Now Raghav went home quickly and prepared food for the god as well as for himself.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...pared-food.jpg Thereafter, he felt for the temple to bring the god to his house for the meal.
Raghav had hardly gone a few yards when an old man called him and said, "My son! I am hungry. I have not eaten for two days. Will you kindly give me some food?" Raghav said, "Why not? Come with me."
He took the old man to his house and served him food. Having eaten, the old man blessed him and left.
Now Raghav again rushed to invite the god but an old lady called him from behind and said, "I am very hungry. Will you please give me some food?" Raghav felt pity for her and said, "Please come with me."
He took the old lady to his house and served her food. After the meal, she thanked him and went away.
Thereafter, Raghav again rushed to the temple to bring the god to his house. But this time a child came across him. He said to Raghav, "I am hungry. I have not eaten anything since morning."
Though Raghav was in a hurry, he took the boy to his house and gave him food. The boy thanked him and said that he was an orphan and always had to beg for food. He further said that he had no place to live.
Raghav felt pity for him and offered him his house to live in. He said to the boy, "Come to my house again tomorrow and I will give you nice food."
The boy nodded his head and went away. Then, Raghav again proceeded to the temple to bring the god for food. On reaching, he stood in front of the statue of the god and said with his eyes closed, "Oh god! I am sorry for coming late." The god said, "But you have already given me food."
Raghav was surprised and asked, "Oh God! When did I serve you food? I am unable to recollect."
The god said to him, "Did you not serve two old people and a boy with food at your home? By feeding them, you have in fact served me. I am very happy with you." At this, Raghav said to the god, "But you had promised me that you would come to my house?"
To this, the god said, "All right. Go to your house and I will be there soon."As soon as Raghav reached his house, he saw a sharp beam of light entering his house and the next moment, the god appeared there. Raghav said to god, "Now I am very happy that you came to my house. Please be seated. Since there is no food left, I will bring fruits for you." After taking fruits, the god blessed Raghav. Raghav fell on his feet and bade goodbye to him. The god disappeared. Raghav felt proud on having served his god at home. It was the happiest day of his life.
On the other hand, when the landlord of the village came to know that the god came to the house of Raghav, he felt jealous of him. He thought, "I have invested a lot of money in constructing the temple. But the god has never come to my house, nor ever talked to me." So he reached the temple and said to the god, "You have never come to my house. I am requesting you to come." The god said, "My son, go to your house and prepare food for me. I will come to your house." The landlord went to his house and ordered different food items to be prepared. Then he rushed to bring the god home. On the way, he met an old man who begged him for food. But the landlord got angry and scolded him. Then he met an old woman who also begged for food but he ignored her as well. He told her to move aside as he was in a hurry. He kept grumbling about the poor and beggars, "I do not know from where all these people have come."
After some time a small boy approached him and begged for food. But the landlord pushed the boy aside and rushed to the temple.
On reaching there, he requested the god with folded hands and closed eyes, "Oh god, food is ready. I have come to take you my home. Please come with me."
The god said, "I had gone to your house but you did not welcome me. First I was there as an old man, then as an old woman and then as a boy. But you behaved very rudely." Then the god disappeared.
The landlord felt sorry for his behavior. He realized his fault and took a pledge not to behave rudely with anyone in future. Since then he became a kind person.

SAVE YOURSELF

http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...ur-friends.jpgThere were four friends named Mahesh, Ramesh, Rakesh and Mohan. They belonged to the same village. Once they were invited to attend a marriage function in a distant village. Therefore, they decided to go to attend the marriage party together.
On the day of the marriage started their journey early in the morning, so that they could cross the forest before darkness falls.
While they were crossing the forest cautiously, they could not enjoy its beauty because they were afraid of the wild animals. That’s why; they wanted to cross the forest speedily.
By noon, they had crossed more than half the way. All of a sudden, Mahesh asked Ramesh, Rakesh and Mohan to stop and said, "There may be danger ahead as the area is known for its tigers. Let us check for the tigers first, then we will proceed further." They all looked here and there. At this moment, Mohan saw the tail of a tiger behind the bushes. He trembled with fear and cried, "There is a tiger behind the bushes! Now, what do we do? How can we save our lives?" Mahesh said, "Do not be afraid of the tiger. Have faith in God. We should pray to God. He will protect us."
Ramesh climbed up a tree and said to his friends, "Do not waste time in talking. Quickly, climb up a tree. God helps those who help themselves. Be quick. Save yourself." So Mahesh, Rakesh and Mohan rushed to a nearby tree and climbed up. They all waited for the tiger to go. When the tiger went away, they descended from the tree. Thus, they crossed the forest safely and reached the village to attend the marriage party.

REUNION OF A COUPLE

http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...-his-queen.jpgLong ago, there was a king named Somvardhan who was ruling over Baji. He had a son named Rajyavardhan. Rajyavardhan and Meghnath, who was the son of the prime minister, were good friends. They both studied at Kashi for many years and had learnt many things. The prince was an expert in entering the dead body of an animal, while Meghnath knew the art of bringing a dead to life. After they finished their studies, they returned to Baji.
Then the king of Magadha approached Somvardhan with a marriage proposal of his daughter. Both agreed and the prince, Rajyavardhan married the princess of Magadha named Chandramukhi. She was very beautiful and adept in many subjects.
One day, the prince said to his friend, Meghnath, "Today I want to go for hunting. Would you like to accompany me?"
His friend said, "Why not? When you are inviting me, I wouldn't dare to deny. Let us go for hunting. It is our royal game."
Both the friends went to the forest. There they saw a dead lion. Meghnath suggested to his friend that they should try their knowledge on the dead lion. The prince agreed and told Meghnath to make the dead lion alive. He decided to try his own skill after Meghnath.
Thus, Meghnath prepared himself to perform the task. He chanted the verse to make the lion alive. As soon as he finished his task, the lion stood alive. The prince was standing very close to the animal. The lion suddenly rushed to attack him. But a timely warning from Meghnath saved the prince. He had already told him to be active and ready to face the lion. The prince was ready. He swiftly took out his sword and killed the lion.
The prince was very happy with his friend. He said to Meghnath, "Dear friend, thank you very much. Your timely warning saved my life; otherwise the lion would have killed me. You have won my heart. Now I will teach you the art of entering a dead body." Meghnath said, "When also teach me your knowledge, I will also teach you the art of making the dead alive." Both of them then taught each other their respective arts. Thereafter, they returned to the palace.
The king Somvardhan had now become very old and often fell ill. One day, he died leaving the responsibility on the shoulders of his son Rajyavardhan. On the other hand, the prime minister had also become old and hence, took retirement from his work. His son Meghnath took the charge and became the prime minister of Rajyavardhan. Soon the royal comforts got into his head and he became a changed person. He wanted to remove the king and take his place himself. He even had his eyes on the queen Chandramukhi and wanted to marry her.
Thus Meghnath thought of a plan. He then said to the king, "It is long since we have gone for hunting. If you permit, we shall go for it today."
The king Rajyavardhan readily agreed to his plan. Both the friends went to the forest on their horses. They found the dead body of a monkey. Meghnath thought, 'This is a golden opportunity for me and I should not miss it. I would ask the king to enter the dead body of the monkey and thereafter, I would enter the body of the king. On getting the king's body, I will kill the monkey, i.e. Rajyavardhan and thus, be a king for- ever.'
Meghnath requested the king, "We have been busy in the state affairs for long. Now we should test our knowledge, lest we forget it." The king agreed and got ready to enter the body of the monkey. He said Meghnath, "I will enter the body of monkey and you will keep a watch on my body." So he went inside the body of the monkey. Meghnath was eagerly waiting for this opportunity. He quickly entered the body of Rajyavardhan. Seeing this, the king who was now a monkey said to Meghnath, "What are you doing? Leave my body immediately. I want to enter my body."
Meghnath laughed and said, "You are a fool. Now I will sit on the throne. You must die now." And he rushed to kill the monkey but the monkey quickly thought climbed up a high tree.
The monkey thought, 'Oh! I have committed a blunder. I should not have taught him the art of entering another body. Now he will easily capture everything that belonged to me.' Meghnath was also worried because he could not kill the monkey, who might disclose the secret in future. He threw his own vacant body into a well and came back to the palace.
When he came back to the palace, nobody expressed any doubt about him. He thus became the king. He told everyone that Meghnath had been killed by a lion while hunting. His parents wept and cried and then a accepted their son's death as God' wish.
Meghnath was now very worried about the monkey who might disclose the secret of his claim on the throne. He wanted to kill the monkey at any cost. He declared, "Monkeys are a nuisance. They damage the crops. So they should be finished. A monkey catcher would be paid two silver coins per monkey and a special price would be paid for the monkey speaking like human beings."
The announcement created turmoil among the hunters. They started catching monkeys for the reward. The monkey having Rajyavardhan in his body was also caught by a hunter. The hunter thought of taking the monkey to the king the next day. He was not aware of the fact that the monkey he had caught could speak like a human being.
The monkey spoke to the hunter, "If you want a lot of money, you should take me to the queen." The hunter was surprised to see the monkey speaking and said, "Who are you – A ghost or a genie?"
The monkey replied, "I am neither a ghost nor a genie, but a victim of a disloyal friend. I request you to take me to the queen. She will give you lot of money."
The greedy hunter said, "Alright! I will not give you to the king. But how can I approach the queen?"
The monkey asked him to bring a pen and a paper and said, "I will give you letter and ifhttp://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...ing_letter.jpg you deliver it to the queen, you will get a lot of money. 'In case you do whatever you like."
The hunter went outside and brought a pen and a paper from another hunter. The monkey wrote a letter to the queen narrating the whole incident. He also asked the queen to give a good amount of money to the hunter to get him released from the custody.
Unluckily, when the hunter asked the other hunter for a pen and paper, the latter got suspicious. He was very clever and wanted to know what the matter was. He spied on the former hunter and heard the conversation between him and the monkey. He had already heard the announcement regarding a speaking monkey so he decided to buy the monkey from the hunter.
Next day, he bought the monkey from the first hunter at a very high price. But the first hunter did not tell about the letter and proceeded to the queen to get more money. On the other hand, the monkey was not worried about the new hunter and was satisfied that the letter would reach the queen as the first hunter had not revealed anything his new owner. The first hunter gave the letter to the queen. The queen was very intelligent. She recognized the handwriting of her husband and under stood everything. She gave a good reward to the hunter and decided to punish Meghnath who had entered the body of her husband. She asked one of her maids to bring a parrot and a goat from the market secretly. Her maid bought the parrot in a cage and a goat and gave them to the queen. Now she began thinking of a plan to release her husband.
On the other hand, the letter hunter along with the monkey left for the palace to get a reward. As the hunter reached near the palace, the monkey looked towards the window of the queen with hopeful eyes. The queen was standing with a parrot in her hands. She also saw the hunter along with the monkey, who was gazing at her. She understood the whole thing. She whistled sharply to the monkey. Then, she killed the parrot and started singing the instructions so that her husband (who was in the body of monkey) can enter the body of the parrot. Her husband followed the signal and quickly left the body of the monkey and entered the parrot's by using his skill. The queen put the parrot into the cage and brought him her room. The hunter was surprised to see the monkey dead. People assembled to see the dead animal. When Meghnath came to know that Rajyavardhan had changed the body, he ordered to catch all birds and animals around the palace. Thereafter, he came to the queen and asked her, "Why don't you love me wholeheartedly?" She replied, "I have noticed a change in your behavior and come to doubt that you are someone else, who resembles my husband." Meghnath said, "Your doubt is baseless." The queen said, "If you are right in your claim, just prove it by entering the body of this goat, which I am going to kill. If you could do it, I'll be convinced, since my husband knew this art well."
http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...d-the-goat.jpgThe queen then killed the goat and Meghnath got ready to enter the body of the dead animal.
As Meghnath entered the body of the goat, the body of the Rajyavardhan became empty. The queen asked her husband, who was in the body of the parrot, to enter his own body quickly. Rajyavardhan used his skill and entered his own body left by Meghnath who was now in the body of the goat.
The queen Chandramukhi got her husband back through her intelligence and Rajyavardhan received his old status. Then they killed the goat, i.e. Meghnath. The wicked Meghnath was no more. This way, the queen and the king were reunited

FROG CHANGED TO PRINCE

Once upon a time, there was a king who lived in a beautiful palace that stood near a forest. He had several beautiful daughters.
There was a lake at a distance from the palace. During the summer, the youngest princess used to seat near the lake and sometimes would play there with a golden ball.
One day while she was playing with her ball, the ball fell into the lake. She started crying. Seeing the princess weeping, a frog who has present there, said to her, "What's the matter? O, princess! Why are you crying"?
http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...olden_ball.jpgThe princess was surprised to hear the voice. She looked here and there. Then her eyes fell on a frog who was peeping out of the lake water. The princess said, "O frog, see, my ball has fallen in the lake. How can I get my ball back. Please help me in getting the ball out."
The frog laughed and said, "Oh! This is what you are crying for. Now stop weeping. I will certainly help you."
Then he thought for a while and said, "But tell me what you will give me in exchange for bringing the ball out of the water."
The princess said, "Dear friend, I am ready to give you anything. You may ask for jewellery, pearls and even my golden crown in exchange for the golden ball."
The frog replied, "Dear princess, I do not want any of these things. I only want your true friendship. I want to share your lunch and dinner and want to be a good friend of yours. If you agree to make me your friend, I can bring your ball out of the water." The princess readily agreed and said, "I accept your proposal. Now please go quickly and bring my ball."
She was very eager to get her ball back. ‘The frog is mad that's why he wants to make friends with me,' she thought.
Meanwhile, the frog took a dip and brought the ball out of the water. As she saw the ball, the princess jumped out of joy. She picked it up and ran to the palace. The frog also followed her and said, "Wait, dear princess! Take me with you as you have promised. I cannot run as fast as you." But the princess ignored the frog. She reached the palace and forgot her promise to the frog. Next day when the princess was sitting on the dining table with her father and sisters, she heard a noise coming from outside. After some time, it sounded that someone outside. After sometime, it sounded that someone was coming through the stairs. The sound of ascending the stairs could be heard clearly.
The next moment someone knocked at the door and said, "O princess! Please open the door. I have reached here after so much trouble."http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...eat_togeth.jpg
On hearing the voice, the princess rushed and opened the door. The princess was surprised and frightened when she saw the frog. She quickly closed the door and went back to the dining table.
Seeing his daughter disturbed, the king asked her, "What is the matter? Is there an enemy at the door or has anyone tried to harm you?"
The princess said, "No father! There is neither an enemy nor anyone who has tried to hurt me. It is an ugly frog who is trying to enter the palace."
The king asked, "Why has the frog come here?" The princess narrated all that happened the previous day at the lake. She also told the king that she had promised to make the frog her friend in exchange for getting the ball back. At this moment, the frog again knocked at the door. The king said, "Dear princess, do not break your promise. Bring the frog inside with due respect."
Then, the princess, let the frog enter the palace. The frog said, "Let me sit on the chair beside you." The king said to the princess, "Dear, do what the frog is saying."
The princess gave a seat next to her. Then she offered the plates of dishes as desired by the frog, which he ate to his satisfaction. But the princess could not eat properly. After the dinner, the frog expressed his desire to sleep and asked the princess to take him to her bedroom.
Then the princess became nervous. She cried, "How can an ugly-looking and dirty frog sleep with me?"
But her father said, "Dear, never break any promise. If someone helps you in your distress, you should not forget his obligation. It is not fair to forget the help which he had rendered to you in your bad time."
The princess had no other mean but to take the frog to her bedroom and went to her bed to sleep.
At this stage, the frog whispered to the princess, "Take me to your bed, otherwise I will complain to your father."
http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...mes_prince.jpgThe princess lost her temper and in a fit of anger, she picked the frog up and threw him on the wall. But as soon as the frog hit the wall, he changed into a handsome prince. Seeing the prince, she cooled down and fell instantly in love with him.
Then the prince told her his story how he had been cursed by a witch. "O princess, pardon me. I behave rudely because that was the only way left for me to come of the course," the prince added. Soon they got married and the king blessed them. Thereafter, the prince went to his kingdom taking his bride with him.

THE RESULT OF CUNNINGNESS

Once there lived a sadhu on the bank of the river Ganga. He had pledged to silence. That is why he had to convey his messages and ideas by sign language. He had many pupil to follow him. http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...utiful_gir.jpg
One day, he reached the house of Ganesh Vaish for alms. A beautiful girl came out to give alms. The sadhu was so enchanted to see her beauty that he even forgot his pledge. He spoke out, "What a beauty!" But the very next moment he realised his mistake and rushed bach his place.
But Ganesh, the farther of the girl saw him speaking something. He went to the sadhu and asked, "Baba! You are under the pledge of silence, but you uttered some words today at my house?" The sadhu was very cunning. H e said, "Your daughter is responsible for breaking my silence." Ganesh asked again, "How is my daughter responsible for that?"
The sadhu said, "Troubles are coming to you. The girl will bring misfortune. If you get her married, you will be destroyed." Ganesh became nervous and asked for the remedy. He promised to do whatever the Sadhu would ask him to do.
The hypocrite Sadhu thought for a while and said, "Put your daughter into a big wooden box and set it to float in the river with an earthen lamp lit over it. This way you will always be happy in your life."
The selfish and orthodox father was ready to sacrifice his daughter. He did as he had been told by the Sadhu despite his daughter’s protest.
On the other side, the Sadhu had directed his pupil to bring the box to him without opening it.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...out_from_t.jpg
Meanwhile, something strange happened which saved the life of the daughter. A prince who was strolling along the bank of the river saw the wooden box floating in it. He asked his men to take the box out. When the box was opened, all were surprised to see a beautiful girl in it. The prince asked her, "Who are you? What had happened with you." She told everything to the prince. The prince understood that she was a victim of the lust of a cunning Sadhu, who had tried to take advantage of a superstitious self-centred father. He decided to teach a lesson to the Sadhu. He asked his men to put a dangerous monkey into the box and set it afloat again in the river. Then, the prince married the daughter of Ganesh and took her to his palace.
When the box reached near the ashram, the pupil took it out and gave it to their guru, who directed them to leave and not to come till called. He clarified that he would be busy in meditation. All the pupil left, leaving their guru alone in his hut.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...unningness.jpg
At midnight, the Sadhu opened the box; a monkey jumped out and bit him at several places. The Sadhu ran out of his hut and cried for help. His pupil rushed to save him from the monkey. At first, they felt pity for him, but when they came to know the reality, they laughed at him.

THREE WISHES

Once there lived a woodcutter with his wife. He used to cut wood in the forest and sold them in the market. This was the only means of his livelihood.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...tting_wood.jpg
One day, he went to cut wood in the forest. On the way, he was singing a song and enjoying the nature and its beauty. There he saw a very big tree in front of him. He thought of cutting the whole tree to get more wood. As the tree was very big, the wood obtained from it would be enough for his whole life.
As the woodcutter picked up his axe to cut the tree, he heard a voice, "Please do not cut this tree." The woodcutter stopped and looked here and there, but found none. He thought it to be an illusion. He again picked his axe and aimed at the tree, but he heard the same words again, "Please be kind to me. Do not cut this tree." The woodcutter again stopped and looked all around. But he could not see anyone. He was quite perplexed. Then a fairy spoke from the tree, "I am a fairy and live in this tree. During the winter, I live in the trunk and for rest of the year I live on its branches. If you cut this tree, I will be homeless, the winter is approaching fast and I will die of cold. Do not destroy my home. I will fulfill your three desires instead."
The woodcutter was very happy. Now he could be rich without doing any work. He accepted the fairy’s offer and ran to his house to tell his wife about this. His wife was waiting for him as usual. She was surprised to see the woodcutter back so early and said, "Why did you so early today? You are looking very happy. What is the matter? Please let me know."
The woodcutter replied, "I got a big treasure today. Though it is yet to come. I will get the treasure soon." And he started dancing. His wife could not understand anything and said, "What is the matter? Tell me clearly. I cannot hold my patience anymore."http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...nd_tresure.jpg
The woodcutter narrated the whole incident to his wife. His wife jumped out of joy. The woodcutter said, "I am hungry. Give me something to eat." His wife said, "Since you used to come late, I have not prepared anything till now. Wait, I will just prepare something for you." The woodcutter said, "No, do not cook anything. I can fulfill any three desires. Now as the first one, I want sweets and hot pudding." As soon as he uttered these words, a plate of hot pudding came before him. He ate to his satisfaction and the plate continued to fill again and again. Then he asked his wife also to eat the tasty pudding. But she was very angry and said, "You have wasted one boon, and now I wish that the pudding should be pasted on your nose!" The pudding immediately stuck to his nose. The woodcutter got annoyed and said, "Oh, what a fool you are! What have you done?" He tried to clear the pudding from his nose, but the pudding remained stuck. He scolded his wife and said, "You have wasted the second boon and we can ask for lots of money." The woodcutter got irritated and said, "Oh! You are a big fool. There is hot pudding stuck to my nose and you are asking for money! I wish that the pudding of my nose should vanish immediately!" The pudding vanished. The woodcutter heaved a sigh of relief.
This way, the woodcutter and his wife lost the golden opportunity of becoming rich. Their luck had knocked at their door, but they failed to avail the opportunity and remained poor was as before.

THE KING CHAKRAVEN

The story belongs to the mythological period of Tretayug. There lived a king named Chakraven who had a large empire. Unlike other kings, he lived like a saint. He never took any money either for himself or for his wife from the state treasury. He used to farm and grow vegetables, fruits and cereals, etc. for his family. This way, he lived a simple life.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...y_her_life.jpg
Once, a fair was held in the kingdom. The women went there all decked up. But the queen reached there in a simple dress. She was not wearing any jewellery. Seeing the queen so simple, the women said to her, "You are the queen of such a big state, but you look the poorest of all. We want to see you impressively dressed with costly jewellery. You don’t live like a queen. We request you to live according to your status so that we could feel proud. We would be happy to see you adorned in a royal dress and costumes. Please consider our request. We want our queen to like a queen."
The queen was very distressed to hear the comments of the ladies.
On her return to the palace, she said to the king, "Some ladies from rich and prosperous families met me in the fair. They were surprised to see me in a simple dress and advised me to live as per the status i.e. a queen. Please arrange some ornaments and royal clothes for me."
The king was surprised to hear it. He thought, ‘The queen has become a victim of bad company and she has moved from the principles of a simple and pious life.’ Then he said, "I have no money for such valuable things and I cannot take money from the state treasury."
But the queen continued to press the king to arrange costly clothes and the ornaments for her. The king was unable to pacify her. At last he said, "Alright! I will do something to arrange for your ornaments." Then he ordered one of his ministers, "Go to Ravana, the king of Lanka, and tell him to give me a bag of gold. Lanka is made of gold. He can give me a bag easily."
The Minister expressed his doubts, "Ravana is not under you, majesty. He is under no obligation to pay you."http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti..._power_of_.jpg
The king said, "Though he is not under me, but he is prosperous. He will understand my need and would give me some. If he refuses, I will take him under my control by force."
The Minister reached Lanka and said to Ravana, "My king Chakraven want to you to give him a bag of gold." Hearing it, Ravana got angry and said, "How dare Chakraven ask for gold as tax! I think he has forgotten about my power. Leave at once. Had you not been a messenger, you would have been killed."
The Minister said, "King Chakraven controls the whole world. I think you are making a mistake by refusing him." And the minister went out. He made a sand model of Lanka on the sea shore and then went to Ravana again. Seeing him again, Ravana said, "Why have you come again?" The minister replied politely, "This time, I have not come to demand anything from you. But I want to show you something and request you to come outside."
Ravana accompanied him. When he came out, the minister showed him the Lanka of sand made by him, and said, "This is a copy of Lanka. If I crush any part of this duplicate Lanka, the same part of your Lanka would be destroyed." He further sad, "I pray in the name of king Chakraven, Ravana is refusing to give the gold." Then he destroyed a little part of the duplicate Lanka and the same part of the real Lanka was demolished. Ravana was scared. The minister smiled and sand, "The king Chakraven need not fight you. Only the power of his virtuous city is enough to destroy your Lanka. This has been proved"http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...ives_golds.jpg
Ravana was so afraid of the powers of king Chakraven that he gave the quantity of gold to the minister immediately.
The minister returned and gave the gold to the king Chakraven. The queen asked, "From where did you bring the gold?" The minister told her the whole story. The queen felt ashmed as she had failed to realise the real powers of his husband. She understood that a good and virtuous way of life is far better than a luxurious one. The queen repented and ordered the minister to return the gold to Ravana. The minister did the same.

THE LAKE OF MURA

This is a folk tale of ancient times. There was a dense forest in a country. A woodcutter lived in a village near the forest with his mother. He was known by the name of Kushimura of Kushi in short. He used to go to the forest daily to cut wood and then made toys out of them. Thereafter, he sold the toys in the market.
He was a great devotee of the god and used to go to his temple daily. One day, the god appeared before him and said, "Oh son! I am pleased with you. Ask for anything and I am pleased with you. Ask for anything and I will grant it to you."
http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...bring_food.jpgKushi bowed to the god and said, "Oh god! I do not want anything for myself, but I do want a lake for the villagers that would help them to earn a living." The god said, "All right! As you like," and disappeared.
Next day when Kushi went to the forest, he was happy to see a beautiful lake there. But when he was going to sell the toys, he saw a boatman with his boat in the lake. The boatman said to him, "The god has sent me to help you. Sit in the boat. I will take you ac across the lake." Kushi sat in the boat and crossed the lake. This way, he began to cross the lake every day.
One day while he was returning from the market, he heard a cry, "Help! Help!" He ran towards the voice. He saw a boy and a girl running towards him. They said to him, "Please help us! Two hunters are following us. They want to kill us." Kushi assured them and look to a nearby cave. "Stay here. Do not be afraid. I will bring food for you," Kushi said.
Kushi came back his home and asked his mother to pack one box of rice and some extra soup along with his lunch every day.
Now Kushi used to take lunch for the boy and the girl living in the cave. After a few days, his mother became curious to know the secret of the extra lunch. She wanted to know to whom her son was feeding daily? At last, she began to ask her son about the secret repeatedly. Her son Kushi got irritated and said, "I will tell you the secret but do not disclose it to anyone."
After getting her assurance, he narrated the whole incident and the place where the girl and the boy were living.
The next day his mother went to the forest and was surprised to see the lake there. She also saw the boatman with his boat in the lake. She asked the boatman, "How did a lake, a boat and a boatman appear here? From where did a boy and a girl come to live in the cave?"
She pressed the boatman to tell the things clearly. Although the boatman was afraid of telling the secret, yet he told it to Kushi’s mother. "The god was pleased with Kushi and gifted him with this lake and asked me to work as a boatman. The girl and the boy are sister and brother and have been sent to test Kushi. The lake will dry the day when the sister and brother will not get food. "
But Kushi’s mother could not believe it. She mixed pebbles in the rice for the children. Both of them fell ill. Kushi prepared a medicine out of herbs and shrubs and gave it to them. They recovered from illness. When he was returning home, he saw that the water level of the lake had reduced. He could not understand the reason.
Next day when he was going to work, he heard the sound of pebbles in the lunch box of the children. He threw the food aside and went to work. Both sister and brother remained hungry.
In the evening, he saw the water level of the lake receded. Kushi became sad. He prepared food himself and served it to the children. The level of the lake again rose.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti..._from_lake.jpg
One day, the hunters came and asked Kushi’s mother the address of the sister and brother. According to the condition, she did not tell the address, but she waved her hand towards the cave. As soon as she waved her hand, she became a statue. The lake also dried and a deodar tree appeared in the dry lake.
When Kushi returned from the market, he was very sad to see the dry lake. He did not go to his home. Instead he prayed to the god and wept bitterly. The god was kind enough and blessed him. The lake was filled again by the drops of his tears

THE REAL OWNER OF THE BULLS

Once a farmer purchased two healthy oxen from a fair. He reached home very late but was very happy to have those good oxen. Now, he no longer have to depend on other's for cultivating his fields. He decided to take good care of the oxen. He was also thinking of making money by lending them to others.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...er_of_bull.jpg
Next day, he left early in the morning with his oxen and ploughed the field. At noon, he left the animals loose for grazing and slept for a while under a tree to refresh himself.
A thief passing by saw a pair of oxen and the owner sleeping. He thought, 'I shouldn't miss this opportunity of stealing them. As soon as he roped them and proceeded, the farmer got up and saw the thief taking away his oxen. The farmer ran after the thief and caught him by his neck.
The farmer said, "Who are you? How dare you steal my oxen!" The thief said, "What nonsense! These are my oxen. I bought them yesterday from the fair."
The farmer got annoyed and said, "Do not try to befool me. These are mine." They continued to fight like this.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti..._the_thief.jpg
The farmer dragged the thief to a nearby village. He put his claim over the oxen but the thief also made a counter claim.
The villagers asked both of them to bring witnesses to support their claim. The farmer showed his inability as he had brought the oxen only yesterday. His villagers had not seen the oxen hence they could not recognize them. The thief, too, failed to bring witness. The dispute remained unsolved.
The thief said, "See! This fellow has no proof and was just trying to befool us all." At this stage, all the villagers decided to take the case to the village physician who was very intelligent.
The village physician heard both of them. He understood who the real owner was. Even then he wanted to make the case candid. Therefore, he asked the thief what food he had served the oxen early in the morning. The thief said, "Rice and vegetables."
The physician asked the same question to the farmer. The farmer said, "I am poor hence, only the grass was served to the oxen." Thereafter, the physician gave a purgative to the oxen to cause vomiting. The oxen discharged only grass from their rectum and vomited the same through the mouth. This was enough to support the claim of the farmer.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...sting_oxen.jpg
Then the physician said to the thief, "Do not steal anything in future. It is not a good thing. It only leads a person to his fall.
The thief promised not to do so in future. The farmer was very happy to get his oxen back.

THOSE FORTY DAYS

Once an Arab cloth merchant named Ajab was going on a voyage along with his friends. They were enjoying the journey, eating, drinking and dancing all the way. All of a sudden, a storm arose in the sea. It destroyed the ship totally. All the friends were drowned but Ajab. He managed to swim to the shore. He was exhausted and tired. Besides, he was hungry. He searched for food but found nothing. He back to his country.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...b%27s_ship.jpg
After some time, he heard some noise coming from the seaside. He saw that a ship was coming closer. He thought that the ship may have pirates or even man-eaters. So he quickly hid himself behind a tree to save his life and to keep a watch on the movements of the strangers.
The ship stopped on the sea shore. Some slaves descended from the ship. They had spades with them. They moved ahead and dug a pit. Then they brought big baskets from the ship and descended into the pit. They were going down and coming up by the steps they had made. Ajab was surprised to see their strange activities. Then the slaves went away went away. An old man along with an eight year old boy came and entered the pit.
Ajab was thinking, ‘Who are these people? Why have they come here? What are they doing inside the pit?' While Ajab was thinking about this, the old man came out of the pit, but he did not have the little child with him. He went away without the boy. Before they left they covered the pit. All this made Ajab more suspicious about the intentions of the people. He thought, ‘It appears that these people have buried the child alive.'
He thought of saving the child. So he quickly removed the mud from the pit and descended the steps. There he saw a door. He opened and went inside. Some candles were lit there. He saw baskets full of food items and the boy was playing chess.
Seeing the stranger, the boy was frightened. He hid himself behind the bed and started at Ajab. Seeing the boy frightened, Ajab comforted him, "You need not be afraid of mhttp://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...ith_haroon.jpge. I want to help you. Tell me who these people were and why did they leave you here."
Now the boy felt some relief and said, "My name is Haroon. My father's name is Rashid. He is one of the richest jewelers of Baghdad. I am the only son of my father. I was born by the blessings of Pir Baba. But Pir Baba has told that I will have a short age. The eighth year of my life will prove very dangerous for me. My father consulted a number of fortunetellers and astrologers who all told that my age would be very short. All this has upset my father. He wanted to find a way to save to my life. One of the astrologers told my father, "There is danger to the life of your son from a person named Ajab. If you could save your son during his eighth year from Ajab, your son would have a long life."The boy continued, "My father has hidden me here so that Ajab could not do any harm to me. I am going to complete my eighth year after forty days. Thereafter, I will be able to live longer."
Hearing the boy, Ajab thought, ‘Why would I kill this innocent boy? They boy is so lovely that anybody will love him. The astrologer must be wrong. '
Haroon asked him, "Uncle, you have not yet told about yourself. Who are you? From where have you come?"Ajab said, "I am a cloth merchant. I was going for some business."Thus, Ajab told about himself. But he did not tell his name. He had decided to prove the astrologers wrong.
He said Haroon, "My son! You need not be afraid of anyone. I am here to protect you. Now it is my responsibility to save you from all dangers. So far as I am here, nobody can harm you."
The words of the stranger made Haroon very happy. He became fearless. Soon he mingled with Ajab and started addressing him as his uncle.
Ajab took great care of Haroon too. He played with him and even told him stories to entertain him. They both ate, played and slept together. This way, they spent thirty-nine days happily with each other. Now only the fortieth day was left to pass the deadline of the danger.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti...ved_haroon.jpg
On the fortieth day, Ajab helped Haroon to get ready. Both had breakfast together. They played chess all day. When it was evening, Haroon felt hungry. He asked Ajab to give him something to eat. Ajab said, "Wait, I will bring a watermelon for you."He picked a watermelon from one of the baskets and asked for the knife. Haroon pointed to the shelf near his bed. As Ajab was trying to pick the knife, a scorpion stung in his foot. Out of pain he dwindled and fell on Haroon. The knife struck the palm of Haroon who cried in pain. Ajab quickly got up and bandaged Haroon's wound. Tears welled up in his eyes.
Seeing Ajab weeping, Haroon asked him, "Uncle, I am crying out of pain, but why are you crying?"
Ajab replied, "These are the tears of happiness. I had not told you that I am Ajab. Your father hid you here because of me. But I had decided on that very day to protect you at any cost. Had you been killed by the falling of knife, who would have told your father how we had spent these forty days."
Haroon hugged his uncle and cried in happiness.
At this moment, they heard the sound of steps as if some people were coming there. Soon Haroon's father appeared along the slaves. Haroon rushed to his father and hugged him. He told his father everything about Ajab and his father hugged Ajab and thanked him.

WATER IN DESERT

Once, a child was born in a Vaishya family, who was named Bodhisatva. The family had a flourishing business. When Bodhisatva grew up he began to help in the family business. Sometimes he had to go to other towns for business.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti..._in_desert.jpg
Once, Bodhisatva proceeded on a business trip along with other five hundred businessmen. They all had their bullock carts. The leader cart was leading in front and others were following him.
Slowly, the caravan reached the desert. Everywhere nothing except sandy landscape could be sighted. They all felt very tired after travelling such a long distance in the desert. As the sun was too hot it was difficult to move further.
Seeing all this, the chief of the caravan said, "Let us rest here for the day. We shall resume our journey in the evening. Then the weather will be fairly cool."
All followed the instruction. They parked their bullock carts, gave fodder and water to the bulls and went to take rest.
In the evening the chief of the caravan called out, "O men, get ready for the journey. They city is not too far. We will reach in the morning."
All got ready and bullock carts made a long queue one after the other. To lessen the weight on the bullock carts. They emptied the water vessel with the hope that they would fill the vessels with fresh water in the city. They were hopeful that there would be no desert further.
The caravan of bullock carts proceeded ahead. The carts were closely following one another. The chief was leading the caravan to the city.
They continued with their journey in the dark throughout the night without even realizing whether it was right direction or not.
At the dawn, realized that they had lost the path. They desperately decided to return to the same spot. http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti..._in_desert.jpg
The sun was getting hotter as the caravan was searching for the place. Finally, they reached the same spot where they were the day before. They had already thrown the water they had with them. Now feeling too thirsty they desperately looked for water which was nowhere to be seen. The carts stopped in a circle. They were dying for water.
Seeing no other way, Bodhisatva decided to search water in the desert. He was so determined that he wanted to dig a well for water. But his search went in vain. Then he began to look for a suitable spot where water could be found on digging. He moved further and found some cactus. It occurred to him that it was a suitable spot for digging, as cactus wouldn’t grow without underground water. Then, he asked a cart driver, "Friend, dig over here. Water is likely to be found at this spot."
He started digging. After digging deep his spade struck a rock! He stopped digging and cried out, "There is a rock!"
Bodhisatva heard the digger and descended in the pit. Seeing the rock he went closer to it. Suddenly his eyes shone. He could hear a sound of water beneath the rock.
He came out of the pit and said to his friends, "If we do nothing, we are sure to die of thirst. I have heard water running under the rock. Let us try to break the rock at any cost. We will surely get water. We must have will power and courage. Let us try again with confidence." But the people were too tired and thirsty to muster courage to come forward to make further efforts. Bodhisatva was disappointed to see that none showed courage to come forward for digging.
Suddenly, a youth stood up picked up the spade and descended down the pit. Seeing the youth Bodhisatva was hopeful for water.http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/bedti..._in_desert.jpg
The youth started hitting the rock with all his might and the broken and there came up a fountain of cold, sweet water. Seeing this, the people rushed towards the fountain and began to dance joyfully. They quenched their thirst. Bulls were also given water. All thanked Bodhisatva and proceeded on their journey.
Soon they reached the city. Thus, Bodhisatva with his determination and courage could save the lives of his companions. Moreover, that fountain of water became a place for the travelers to quench their thirst and rest. The will power and courage are key to success.

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Good Topic dear
&
good deed

Good Topic dear
&
good deed