Collection of short stories
A Wise Counting

Let us enjoy reading this story of A Wise Counting.

Emperor Akbar was in the habit of putting riddles and puzzles to his courtiers. He often asked questions which were strange and witty. It took much wisdom to answer these questions.

Once he asked a very strange question. The courtiers were dumb folded by his question.

Akbar glanced at his courtiers. As he looked, one by one the heads began to hang low in search of an answer. It was at this moment that Birbal entered the courtyard. Birbal who knew the nature of the emperor quickly grasped the situation and asked, "May I know the question so that I can try for an answer".

Akbar said, "How many crows are there in this city?"

Without even a moment's thought, Birbal replied "There are fifty thousand five hundred and eighty nine crows, my lord".

"How can you be so sure?” asked Akbar.

Birbal said, "Make you men count, My lord. If you find more crows it means some have come to visit their relatives here. If you find less number of crows it means some have gone to visit their relatives elsewhere".

Akbar was pleased very much by Birbal's wit.

MORAL : A witty answer will serve its purpose.

http://www.kidsgen.com/moral_stories/images/fox1.jpg

A fox was once caught in a trap. It was only after a tough struggle that she could get free. But, to her
sorrow, her beautiful tail had been cut off and left in the trap.

"How ugly I shall look!" moaned the fox, " won't the other foxes laugh at me ?"
Thinking hard, the fox hit upon a plan to save herself from being laughed at

http://www.kidsgen.com/moral_stories/images/fox2.jpg


. She called a meeting of his friends and said, "Brothers! have you ever

wondered why after all, we carry these long tails?" Let us cut them off and be free from their nuisance."

But the other foxes had noticed her cut-off tail. They laughed aloud and replied, "You used to say that tails looked very fine when your own was all right. Now that you have lost yours, you want us to lose ours too."
MORAL : Dirty tricks seldom work.

"I would like that," said the boy, "help me up father."
http://www.kidsgen.com/moral_stories/images/please2.jpg

So, the boy got onto the ass too. As they went on, they met some travellers.
http://www.kidsgen.com/moral_stories/images/please3.jpg

The laughter frightened the ass. It broke free and galloped away.
MORAL: You can not please everyone

Selfish Friendship.

Once a cat was caught in a hunter's net. A mouse used to live in a nearby hole. The mouse seeing the cat in the net started playing around the cat. Soon a mongoose came there. He wanted to kill the mouse. As he lifted his head, he saw an owl sitting on a tree trying to catch him. The mongoose went very near the cat's net to save himself. The mouse thought "When the hunter takes away the cat, the mongoose will not spare me and the owl is there to enjoy both of us."

The Mouse went to the cat and said, "I can cut the net if you promise to save my life from the mongoose and the owl." The cat agreed. The mouse started cutting the net slowly and freed the cat only when the hunter was just near the cat. The cat took to heels and so ran the mongoose too. The owl was very much disappointed to see even the mouse running away to safety.

A few days later, the cat being hungry, went to the hole of the mouse and requested him to come out for a game. The mouse replied, "I sought friendship and saved you to save my life." Now you can go home.

MORAL : Don’t nurture friendship with selfish people.

Good Company and Bad Company
.

Two parrots had built their nest on a banyan tree. The female parrot laid two eggs in the nest. After sometime, the eggs latched. Two chicks came out of them. The parent birds took good care of them. After few weeks, the young birds were able to fly for some distances. The father bird said, “We have taken good care of our young ones. We have fed them well too. They have played together. They have learned to fly. Now they can take care of themselves. Let us slowly leave them to decide on their own.”

Every morning the parent birds flew out to fetch food for the young birds. Then they returned in the evening with food for their young children. This was their lives went on for a while.

A hunter saw this behavior of these birds. He learned that the old birds went out in the morning. He decided to catch the young birds after the old birds would go away in the morning. As planned he caught the young birds. The young birds struggled their best to free themselves from the clutches of the hunter. One of the two young birds escaped from the hunter. The other bird was taken in a cage by the hunter to his house.

“I caught tow birds. But I lost one parrot,” said the hunter to his children. And he further added to his children, “Keep this parrot safely in the cage and play with this parrot.”

The hunter’s children played with the parrot. Very soon the parrot in the house of the hunter learnt to speak few words. The children said to their father, “Dad, our parrot has learnt to say a few words.”

The other parrot flew away. It had escaped from the hunter. It flew for some time. Then it came to a hermitage. Some holy men lived in the hermitage. They did not do any harm to the young parrot. The young parrot stayed there. It listened to their talk. It learnt to say a few words.

A certain traveler was walking near the hunter’s hut. He was tires. He sat nest the hut. He heard the parrot speak. It said, “Fool, why have you come here? I will cut your throat.”

The traveler was very sorry to hear such bad words. He got up immediately. He left the place in a hurry. Then he walked for some time and reached the hermitage. The parrot was sitting on a tree near the hermitage.

The parrot spoke, “Welcome, traveler. Welcome to this hermitage. We have a lot of good fruits in this forest. Eat whatever you like. The holy men will treat you well.”

The traveler was surprised. He said to the parrot. “I met a young parrot near a hunter’s hut. It spoke badly. I left the place immediately. Now I have met you. You speak so well. Your words are kind and gentle. Both you and the other birds are parrots. Then why this difference in your language is there?”

By this statement, the parrot in the hermitage guessed that the other parrot was none other than its brother. The hermitage parrot said, “Traveler, the other parrot is my brother. But we have lived in two different places. My brother has learnt the hunter’s language. But I have learnt the language of holy people. It is the company that shapes your words and deeds.”

Good company helps you learn good things. Bad company makes you lean bad things.

Ali and Abraham were brothers. Their mother died very early. Their father also died after some time. He left for his sons a cow and a date-tree.

Ali was cunning. He was greedy too. Abraham was kind and honest. He trusted his elder brother. They wanted to divide their father’s property. Ali said, “I will be very fair with you, Abraham. You take the front portion of the cow as your share. I will take the hind side of the cow. Each one gets his profit only from his share.” In the same way the tree was also divided. The upper part of the tree went to Ali. And the lower part of the tree went to Abraham.

Abraham fed the cow very well fresh grass and water. The cow became healthy. It gave lot of milk. Ali got the milk. He sold the milk and got a lot of money. But he did not hare the money with Abraham. Abraham asked his brother about his share of money. Ali replied, “I got the milk from my portion of our cow. Hind part is mine as per the agreement. Each of us gets the benefits only from his part.” Abraham said nothing.

A wise man advised Abraham. He said some thing in the ear of Abraham. The next day Ali was milking the cow. Then Abraham beat the cow in the front portion. The cow started kicking. Ali shouted at Abraham. “You fool! Why do you beat the cow? Do not see me milking the cow?”

“The front portion of the cow is mine. I can do anything. That is our agreement,” said Abraham.

Ali could not say anything. Finally he agreed to share the money. Abraham said, “Not just money. You must also share the work of feeding and taking care of the cow too.” Ali agreed.

With regard to the tree, Ali had taken upper part of the tree. He made holes on the upper part of the tree. A kind of sweet-smelling juice came out of these holes. The juice was collected in pots. These pots were kept near the holes. Ali sold the juice for money. But he did not share either the money or the juice with his brother.

Again the wise man advised Abraham. The next day Ali was on the top of the tree. He was fixing pots near the holes. At that time Abraham was cutting the lower part of the tree. Ali shouted at Abraham. But Abraham reminded Ali about the agreement. He said, “I can do anything with my part. You can not question or stop me.”

Ali now realized his mistakes. He said, “Abraham, I have been a bad brother to you. I feel ashamed of my selfishness. I ask your pardon. I promise to look after you well hereafter.”

And so he did. Both the brothers lived happily. They shared the profit.

There was once a kind of misunderstanding between the Sun and the Wind. The wind boates itself, “I am the mosty powerful of all natural forces. I can uproot trees. I can sweep away houses. I can even reshape the mountains by corroding them. You can only next to me in powers.”


The Sun was all the time smiling. This enraged the wind further.


“Can we have a competition to prove our strength?” asked the wind.


There came an old man clutching his overcoat in the cold. The wind took its chance said, “Okay. Here is the competition. The one who is able to make this old man remove his overcoat is the most powerful of us. What do you say?”


The Sun also accepted to this competition.


The wind was forst to go. It started to blow. The old man clutched his overcoat a bit tighter. The wind blew harder. The old man clutched still harder. The enraged wind blew with a howling sound. “Ooo…Ooo…Ooo…”


The old man grumbled to himself, “What a nasty wind!” and clutched his overcoat even tighter.


Thye disappointed wind gave up and said, “The Sun….This is your turn.”


Now the sun looked at the old man and started to spread its smiling rays. The old man said to himself,”Hmmm….! Now I am feeling better.” And he loosened his grip over his overcoat. The Sun smiled still some more. The old man was felling warmth within and slowly removed hios overcoat. The sun turned and said to the wind, “My dear wind….sometimes gentleness proves more powerful than harshness.”


The wind admitted its failure and learned avaluable lesson from The Sun.

Hercules was a strong and brave man. He lived in Greece. The King was jealous of Hercules. People might make Hercules the King. Therefore he wanted to get rid of Hercules. He set difficult tasks for Hercules to keep him away from the country so that he would not be a possible threat to him (the King).

Once he asked Hercules to get three golden apples. Some trees were said to bear golden apples. These trees were said to be in a place called Hesperides. But no one knew the way to Hesperides. So the King thought of Hesperides. Hercules would be away for a longer period.

Hercules set out on the journey. At first he met three maidens during the journey. Hercules asked them the way to Hesperides. They told him to ask the old man of the sea. But they also warned him, “Hold the old man of the sea tightly. Otherwise he will escape. No one else knows the way.”

Hercules saw the old man. He was sleeping on the shore. He was looking strange. He had long hair and a beard. Hercules walked to him without making any noise. Then he seized him very firmly.

Mary had just returned from her school. She was thirsty. “Mary, you can have a cup of milk,” called her mother. Mary went into the dinning hall. “Mummy, the milk is spoilt,” she cried out. Her mother came in. “Let me see. Yes. This milk is spoilt,” her mother said. She took out a sachet from the cupboard. “See, Mary, the milk in the sachet is alright,” she said. Mary could not understand. The milk got from the milk vendor in the morning got spoilt. But the sachet got from the supermarket was still good. How is that? She asked her mother the reason for this. Her mother explained, “The sachet milk is pasteurized. The milk got from the milk vendor is not pasteurized one.”

“But what is the meaning of pasteurized,” asked Mary. “Pasteurizing is a scientific method. Fresh milk is boiled to a high degree. Then it is cooled rapidly. In this process the germs in the milk get killed. This was first done by Louis Pasteur. His name is given to this process.”

Who is Louis Pasteur? Louis Pasteur was a chemist. He was born in 1822 in a town in France. His parents were not rich. But they gave him a good education. He secured a degree in science. His marks in Chemistry were not high. But his interest in Chemistry made him continue his studies in Chemistry. He spent lot of time in the laboratory. He was continually looking through a microscope at the germs. His professor made a fun of him. “They are useless to man. You are wasting your time,” he said. But Pasteur replied, “Sir, the germs cause sickness. I must find out which germs cause which disease?”

“Where do germs come from?” asked his professor.

“Sir, that I must find out” replied Pasteur.

And Pasteur found out after a long and patient work. The germs are present in water, earth, dust and even in the air we breathe. These germs turn milk sour. Milk is a carrier of germs. These germs can cause diseases like tuberculosis and typhoid. He made many experiments. Finally he found out the method to kill the germs in the milk.

Pasteur did not stop with milk. He continued his research. Anthrax, diphtheria and rabies were terrible diseases. Pasteur found out certain vaccines. These vaccines can prevent and cure these terrible diseases.

One day a mother brought her son, Joseph, to Pasteur. Joseph had been bitten by a mad dog. He had been fourteen wound all over his body. The dog had rabies. Every one felt sorry for the boy. They said, “The child is sure to die.” Even Pasteur had no hopes. But he had decided to save the boy.

Pasteur had prepared a serum from a rabbit. The rabbit had died of rabies. He injected the serum into the boy’s body, at first small quantities. Slowly, he increased the dosage. On the ninth day Joseph showed improvement. He was out of danger. In three months time, Joseph walked out of the hospital. He then became a perfectly healthy child. The year was 1885. Many had been bitten by mad dogs. But no one had escaped death.

Since 1885, thousands of lives have been saved by anti-rabies treatment. The world has to thank Louis Pasteur. Louis Pasteur is considered to be the greatest scientist of France, by the people of France.

It was a dense forest. Trees were found in all kinds. There were big trees and small trees, thick trees and thin trees and tall trees and short trees. There was this one tree which was a crooked one. The trunk was bent in all directions. It was a bit funny to look at. The crooked tree turned around and had a look at all other trees. There were all very up-right. They were standing straight. “See how ugly I am. I am good for nothing. All these fellow trees are straight and beautiful. I am not even one bit amicable.” It lamented.

There came a hyeavy thunder storm. It started raining heavily. Strong winds started blowing. The wind gushed through the forest and water flushed away everything that lay on the ground. The soil all over was eroded. Trees fell one by one. First the thin ones fell, then small ones. Not only that, while the huge ones fell they cut-off the nearby trees also. Soo there were trees lying all over the place. All this time crooked tree shut its eyes and braced firmly biting its roots firm in the ground.

Slowly the storm subdued and there was silence. The crooked tree opened its eyes and alas, the whole place was a graveyard. All the beautiful trees were dead now. This crooked tree was one among the few survivors. Now this crooked tree understood the meaning of real strength.

On a mango tree in a jungle, there lived many birds. They were happy in their small nests. Before the onset of the rainy season, all the animal of the jungle repaired their homes. The birds also made their homes more secure.

Many birds brought twigs and leaves and others wove their nests. “We should also store some food for our children,” chirped one of the birds. And they collected food, until they had enough to see them through the rainy season. They kept themselves busy preparing for the tough times.

Soon the rains came. It was followed by thunder and lighting. All the animals and birds stayed in their homes.

It continued raining for many days. One day, a monkey wet in the rain came into the forest. He sat on a branch, shivering with cold, water dripping from its body.

The poor monkey tried his best to get shelter, but in vain. The leaves were not enough to save him from the rains. “Brrr! It is so cold!” said the monkey.

The birds were watching all this. They felt sorry for the monkey but there was little they could do for him. One of them said, “Brother! Our small nests are not enough to give you shelter.”

Another bird said, “All of us prepared for the rainy season. If you had, you would not be in this piteous situation.”

“How dare you tell me what to do?” said the monkey, growling at the bird. The monkey angrily pounced on the bird’s nest, tore it and threw it on the ground. The bird and her chicks were helpless.

The poor bird thought, “Fools never value good advice. It is better not to advise them.”

Long ago, a hawk lived on the top of a hill. At the foot of the hill there was a banyan tree on which a crow used to perch everyday. The crow was very foolish. He would imitate everyone.

The hawk atop the hill would fly down everyday in search of food. The crow watched the hawk circling in the air for long hours and swooping down when he saw his prey. The hawk gifted with eyes that could see long distances would spot his prey from the hill top and then fly down to pounce upon the prey.

The crow watched the hawk thinking, “Hunh! If the hawk can do that, I too can. What does he think? One day, I will show the hawk that I can do the same thing.”

A few days later, as the hawk was circling in the air, the crow decided to do the same. Suddenly a baby rabbit came out of the bushes. The hawk saw it and the crow too saw the rabbit.

Before the crow could move, the hawk swooped down, caught hold of the rabbit in his strong sharp talons and flew away. “Swoosh!” was all the crow heard as the hawk disappeared in the sky with his prey. “Hmmph! That is no great skill,” thought the crow, angrily.

Next moment he spotted a big fat mouse coming out of a hole. Without wasting time, the crow swooped down. Like the hawk he tried to catch the mouse in his claws.

But the mouse saw the crow and moved away, the crow crashed against the hill. “Eeeaaa!” cried the crow in pain.

Just then the hawk came flying down. “I hope, now you know it is not easy to hunt and it is not easy to imitate, either,” said the hawk and flew away.

There after, the crow never imitated any one in its life. It lived happily with the god-given abilities.

Once upon a time, there lived two pigeons. They were husband and wife. They spend their day looking for food. In the evening they would come and rest on their favorite tree in the forest.

One evening, the wife returned home early. A usual she was waiting for her husband, when suddenly it started raining. She strated to worry. “Where are you, my dear? You never get so late,” she whispered to herself.

Just then she saw a bird-catcher coming towards her. In a cage he had a pigeon. It was her husband. “OH no, what shall I do now” I wish I can help my husband,” she said. She desperately tried to distract the bird-catcher by flapping her wings, but all in vain.

Soon, it stopped raining. “Brrr! It is so cold,” said the bird-catcher. His clothes were wet. He decided to sit under the same tree where the two pigeons lived.

The poor wife sat by her husband’s cage. And she started to cry. The husband said. “Do not feel sad, dear. We now have a guest. This man is shivering and hungry. He needs your help.” Hearing this, the wife flew around getting dry twigs. She made a fire for the bird-catcher. Then she looked at the bird-catcher and said, “You are our guest, since I have no food to offer, I will jump into this fire. In few minutes I will become an edible item for you. You can eat me.”

By now, the bird-catcher was overwhelmed by the hospitality of the humble pigeon couple. He at once stopped the wife jumping into the fire.

He opened the cage and set the husband free. “I have been cruel and selfish. I will never trap any bird in my net again,” said the bird-catcher and went away. The two pigeons were happy to be reunited.

King John was the King of England. He did not like anyone else to look ricer than himself. The Abbot of Canterbury was rich. He was enjoying luxurious life. The King did not like the Abbot. He was in great anger. He sent his soldiers to bring the Abbot. The soldiers brought him before the King. The King asked, “Who is greater? The King or an Abbot? Then how bold of you to enjoy much better than the king? You are plotting to become the King of England. It is a crime. Therefore you must die.”

The Abbot was greatly frightened. He said very humbly. “Your Majesty, I have never used others’ money for my use. Is it a crime to spend my own money for my needs?”

“Yes,” replied the King. Then he added, “It is a crime to live grander than the King.”

The Abbot trembled in fear.

The King continued. “But I shall give you a chance to get pardon. Answer my three questions correctly to my satisfaction.”

Then he gave out the three questions.


1. Tell me how much I am worth.
2. How long will it take for me to go around the world?
3. What I am thinking now?


The Abbot listened. His confusion and fear increased rapidly. He could not speak. Finally he begged for time to answer. Three weeks were given. The Abbot left the palace in a dejected mood.

On the way, he went into Oxford University and Cambridge University. He met great professors and learned men. He asked them for answers to these three questions. They were not able to find the suitable answers. He was returning home safely. On the way he met his shepherd boy.

The shepherd asked the Abbot, “Why are you looking so sad, my master?”

“My dear shepherd, the King has set three questions for me. I have to find answers to his satisfaction, or else die for plotting against the King. The questions are difficult. I have only three days more,” replied the Abbot.

The shepherd said, “My Lord, let me go in your place. I shall meet the King. I shall answer the three questions to his satisfaction.” Then he added, “People say I look very much like you. Therefore permit me to wear your dress. The king will not be able to find out.”

The Abbot agreed.

Immediately the shepherd put on the Abbot’s dress. He exactly looked like the Abbot. He then went to meet the King.

The King had not expected the Abbot so soon. He was not able to find the difference. He said, “I am happy, Abbot. You have kept your promises. Now are ready with the answers?”

The shepherd in the Abbot’s dress replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. I shall try to answer to the best of my ability.”

The King asked, “What am I worth? I am the King of England.”

“Your Majesty,” replied the shepherd, “according to the Bible, Jesus, the King of Heaven and Earth, was sold for thirty pence. Your worth must be one pence less. It should be twenty nine pence.”

The King had a sense of humor. He started laughing. After some time, he gave out second question. “How soon can I ride around the world?”

The shepherd said, “Your Majesty, you must rise with the Sun, ride with it the whole night. In this way, you will be able to go round the world in twenty four hours.”

Again the King had a merry laugh. Then he looks seriously at the shepherd. He said, “Tell me quickly. What am I thinking now?”

“Sire, you are thinking I am the Abbot. But I am not the Abbot. I am only his poor shepherd. I have come to ask pardon for the Abbot and for myself.” Then he quickly removed the Abbot’s dress. Now he looked like a shepherd. He knelt down before the King for pardon.

The King was not at all angry. He started laughing. And he laughed for a long time. Finally he said, “I am pleased with your intelligence. I shall make you the Abbot.”

But the shepherd said, “Your Majesty. I can not read and write. I can not become an Abbot.”

The King said, “Then you shall receive a pound a week as long as you live. Go home and tell the Abbot. I have forgiven him.”

A jackal once got a thorn in his paw. "Oh, Oh!" he cried as he walked along a road in the forest. "What shall I do? What shall I do?"


Then he met an old woman: "Please, dear granny," he said, "Pull the thorn out of my paw."


The old woman pulled it out. The jackal thanked her and went away.


But in a minute he came back and asked: "Where is my thorn, Granny?"


"I don't know," answered the old woman. "Who needs a thorn?"


Then the jackal began to cry, "Oh, where is my thorn?" He cried. "I need it. I need it very much."


The old woman was sorry for the jackal and said, "Don't cry. Here is an egg for you."


The jackal took the egg and ran away with it. He came to a village and knocked at the door of the first house. A man opened it.


"Please, my good man," said the jackal, "May I stay the night with you? It is late and cold."


"Please come in," answered the man.


The jackal came in. "May I put my egg on this plate?" he asked.


"Yes, of course, you may."


In the night the jackal got up, ate up the egg and put the shell back on the plate. In the morning the jackal asked the man: "Where is my egg?"


"I don't know," was the answer.


Then the jackal began to cry, "Oh, my big, big egg!" he said. "Your cat ate it in the night. I am sure!" The man was sorry for the jackal and gave him a hen instead of the egg.


The jackal took the hen and ran away with it. He ran and ran and came to the next village in the evening. There he knocked at the first door and asked the woman who opened the door.


"May I stay the night with you, please? It is so cold outside!"


"Please, come in, little jackal," said the woman.


"And where can I put my hen?" the jackal asked.


"Let the hen stay with our goat," the woman said.


In the night the jackal got up, went to the place where the goat was and ate up the hen. In the morning he said to the woman, "Let us go and get my hen."


But there was no hen, of course. There were only feathers and bones on the ground. The jackal began to cry, "Oh, my hen, my beautiful grey hen! Your goat ate it up in the night!"


The woman was sorry for the jackal and gave him one of the goat's kids instead of the hen. The jackal thanked the woman and ran away.


He ran and ran and he came to another village. It was all most evening and he knocked at the first house, "May I stay the night in your house?" he asked the man who opened the door. "I am very, very tired."


"Please come in," the man said.


"Where may I put my little kid?" the jackal asked.


"Tie it to the end of my son's bed," the man said.


At night the jackal ate up the kid and put its bones on the boy's bed.


In the morning he asked the man. "Where is my little kid?"


They went up to the boy's bed. But there were only horns and bones instead of the kid.


"Oh, my little kid, my dear little kid! Your son ate it in the night, I am sure," said the jackal and began to cry.


The man said, "Don't cry. I shall give you a big goat instead of your little kid."


"No, No, I don't want the goat! Give me your son!"


"All right, go out and wait a little at the door," said the man.


Then the man brought him a big bag and said: "Here is the boy. He is in the bag. Good bye!"


The jackal took the bag and went away quickly. He tried to run. But he couldn't run. The bag was very heavy.


"This is a very big boy," the jackal thought. "Or perhaps it is not a boy. Perhaps the man put stones into the bag! I shall open it and see.' He opened the bag and two big dogs jumped out of it! In a minute they tore the jackal to pieces.”

There was a village in a kingdom. There was living a milkman. His name was Deenu. He had built his hut far away from his village, in the woods. He loved the quietness of the woods rather than the noisy atmosphere of the village. He lived in his hut with his two cows. He fed them well and took proper care of them. Everyday he took the two cows to a nearby lake to bath them. The two cows gave more milk. With the milk that the two cows gave, he earned enough money to live happily.

Deenu was an honest man. Though he was content, at times he would be restless. “There is so much wrong and evil in this world. Is there nobody to guide the people?” this thought made his sad every now and then.

One evening, the ignorant man, Deenu was returning home after selling milk in the village. He saw a saint sitting under a tree and meditating. He slowly walked up to him and waited for the saint to open his eyes. He was happy to be with the saint for some time. He decided to wait there itself till the saint opened his eyes.

After a while, the saint slowly opened his eyes. He was surprised to see a man patiently sitting beside him.

“What do you want?” asked the saint humbly.

“I want to know what the path to Truth and Piety is? Where shall I find Honesty?” asked Deenu.

The saint smiled and said, “Go to the pond nearby and ask the fish the same question. She will give you the answer.”

Then as asked to do, the ignorant man, Deenu went to the nearby pond and asked the same question to the fish. The fish said, “O kind man! First, bring me some water to drink.” Deny was surprised. He said, “You live in water. But you still want water to drink? How strange!”

At this moment, the fish replied, “You are right. And that gives you the answer to your question as well. Truth, Piety and honesty are inside the heart of a man. But being ignorant, he searches for them in the outer world. Instead of wandering here and there, look within yourself and you will find them.”

This gave an immense satisfaction to Deenu. He thanked the fish and walked home a wiser man. He changed the way in which he saw this world as well as himself. From that day, Deenu never felt restless.

He took his best to carry this massage to the rest of his fellow human beings. All his friends accepted him as their master and consulted him to overcome their mental problems. He led them properly.