The North Wind's Gifts

Once upon a time there was a woman who had one son. As she was old and feeble, her son had to go to the store-house to fetch the meal for their porridge.

As he was leaving the store-house with a bag of meal on his back, up came the North Wind puffing and blowing. He caught up the meal and away he went with it through the air.

The lad went back into the store-house for more; but when he came out again on the steps, the North Wind carried off the meal as he had done before. More than that, he did so the third time.

At this the lad became very angry and made up his mind to go and see the Nor Wind, so that he might ask him to give bad the meal.

The way was long and he walked and walked but at last he came to the North Wind's house ' Good-day,' said the lad, 'and thank you for coming to see us yesterday.'

Good-day,' answered the North Wind. and his voice was loud and gruff. ' Thanks for coming to see me. What do you want? '

'Oh,' replied the lad, ' I only wished to ask you to give me back the meal which you took from me yesterday. You see we haven't much to live on, and if you snap up the little that we have, we shall starve without a doubt.'

I haven't got your meal,' declared the North Wind. ' However, if you are in such need, here is a cloth which will provide everything you want if you only say, " Cloth, spread yourself, and serve up all kinds of good dishes! "

The lad was very well pleased at this. As the way home was long and he could not reach there in one day, he turned into an inn for the night. When he was going to sit down the supper, he laid the cloth on a table in the cornea and said, ' Cloth, spread yourself and serve up all kinds of good dishes! '

He had scarcely spoken when the cloth did as it was bidden. The table was covered wit splendid food of every kind.

All who stood by thought what a fine clot this was, but most of all the inn-keeper's wife So in the middle of the night when everyone was fast asleep, she took the lad's cloth an put another just like it in its place. Yet the cloth could not serve up so much as a bit of dry bread.

When the lad woke he took the cloth an went off with it, and that day he reached his mother's home.

' Now,' said he, ' I've been to the North Wind's house. A good fellow he is too, for he gave me this cloth. When I say to it, " Cloth, spread yourself and serve up all kinds of goo dishes! " it provides any sort of food I want,

' All very true I dare say,' said his mother but I shall not believe it till I see it.'

So the lad made haste, laid the cloth on the table and said, ' Cloth, spread yourself an serve up all kinds of good dishes! ' Yet never a bit of dry bread did the cloth serve up.

' Did I not say that seeing is believing said the boy's mother.

' Well, there's no help for it but to go to the North Wind again,' said the lad; and away he went.

1. Why did the boy visit the North Wind?

2. What gift did the North Wind give him?

3. What happened to this gift?

A Monkey and Two Cats

Once a cake was stolen by two cats from a house. But they did not want to share it.

Each of the cats claimed that it was his earning and that he was not prepared to give a share to the other. When their quarrel reached the climax, a monkey appeared on the scene. He offered himself to solve the dispute. He heard the case and opined that as they were good friends, they should share the cake equally. And he offered himself to divide the cake into two equal parts for them.

Somehow the cats agreed to his suggestion. Then the monkey took and 'divided the cake into two parts. He weighed each of the parts separately, and found that one was heavier than the other. So he gave a good bite to the heavier piece to make it of lesser weight, and weighed it again. Now he found the other part heavier. So again, he gave a good bite to the heavier piece and put it one the scale. Now it appeared to be of lesser weight. Again, he gave a good bite to the presently heavier piece to make it equal in weight to the other. But none of the two pieces appeared to be perfectly equal in weight.

Now the cake was almost eaten up by the clever monkey this Way. So the cats wanted the remaining parts back from the monkey. At this, the monkey said that they cannot get them back, because he claims them as remuneration for his service to them. So saying, the monkey swallowed the tuning two small pieces of the cake and jumped high to of a tree, beyond the reach of the cats.

Grapes Are Sour

Once a hungry fox went about in search of food and reached a vineyard. He stopped near one of the trees that bore beautiful ripe grapes which were hang­ing in bunches. His mouth watered. He thought that he would eat the ripe grapes to satisfy his hunger.

So he tried to catch hold of the grapes. He jumped as high as possible to hold at least one of the bunches which was not so high. But still it was beyond his reach. When his repeated efforts failed to get even a single grape, he was upset.

So he consoled himself by thinking that these grapes must be sour, which he should not taste. And it is better to leave the vineyard and look for food somewhere else. So the fox went away.

Lion and the Mouse

Part of a story is given below: you have to complete it. Once a lion was sleeping in a jungle. He was woken up by a mouse. The lion became angry. The mouse pleaded for his life. He promised to help the lion. The lion let it go. Once the lion got caught in a trap.

Once there lived a lion. He was sleeping under a shady tree. A mouse lived in a hole nearby. It came out of its hole. It began to move up and down on the body of the lion. The lion woke up from his sleep. He was very angry. He wanted to kill the mouse. The mouse prayed for its life. It said, "Please spare my life. I will pay back your kindness". The lion took pity and set the mouse free.

One day, the lion was caught in a net. He began to roar. The little mouse heard his roar and came there. It saw the lion caught in a net. It cut the net with its sharp teeth. The lion was free. He thanked the little mouse for its timely help.

Moral: Do well and have well.

The Farm Dog and the Wolf

The dog replied that he kept watch over the farm and his master fed him well. The dog advised him, "Do work honestly and the master will feed you well". The wolf agreed.

The wolf noticed some marks round the dog's neck. He asked the dog about it. The dog replied that during the day he had to wear the chain round his neck. The wolf was shocked to hear this. He said, "I would rather be free and starve than be a slave to anybody".

Moral: Better be hungry than in chains.

Two Friends and the Bear

Once there were two fast friends in a village. Their names were Raju and Ramu. One day both of them set out on a journey.

They-promised to help each other in trouble. Their way lay through a forest. As they were passing through a forest, they saw a big bear. The bear was coming towards them. They were much frightened to see such a deadly sight.

Ramu at once climbed up a nearby tree to save his life. He was unaware of his friend's safety. Raju did not know how to climb up a tree.

But he was wise and intelligent. He had heard that bears do not touch the dead. So he lay on the ground, held his breath and appeared to be dead. The bear came near him and sniffed the whole body of Raju. Thinking him dead, he went away.

When the bear had gone quite far Raju got on his feet. Ramu also came down the tree. He asked Raju to tell him what the bear had whis­pered in his ear. Raju said that the bear had advised him to beware of false friends like him.

Moral:

Beware of false friends or do not lose your wits.

The Hidden Treasure

There lived a farmer in the village. He had five sons. They were all idlers and never helped their father.

They always quarreled among them­selves. The father was very much sad and worried. He tried his level best to mend their habits but all in vain. Once he was taken ill.

He called his sons. All of them reached there. He asked them to sit down and listen to him carefully.

The old father said, "My dear sons, I am weak and ill. I may die any moment. There is a lot of money hidden in our fields but I have forgotten where I had buried it. Dig that treasure out after my death."

The farmer died after two days. The sons dug every inch of the tend but could not find anything.

As the field was well ploughed some old man advised them to sow wheat in that. They had a very good crop. By selling the wheat they got a lot of money. Now they understood what their father meant. It was really the hidden treasure. From that day they worked hard and lived a happy life.

Moral:

No pains, no gains.