BELLING THE CAT

In a certain house which was infested with mice,the cat found easy prey. The mice were very unhappy. The cat killed so many of them that they were all in great fear. At last they held a meeting to discuss how they could get rid of nasty cat.One mouse said this, another said that,but none of the plans was of any use.then a young mouse stood up and said, the best things we can do is to tie a bell round the cat's neck. Then when the cat comes,we will hear the bell and get out of the way? All the mice shouted, "Good! Admirable! Simple! Easy!". They all thought it was a very good  plan, indeed. But now an old mouse, who had all the while been listening to the proposal quietly, stood up and said, "Yes, it is a very good plan, no doubt, but will tie the bell round the cat's neck. No one came forward to say that he would. Soon the cat came there and they all ran away into their holes.

             Moral-It is easy to advise but difficult to practise.  

TWO POOR BOYS

In New York there were Joe and Bill. Joe and Bill were close friends. But they were very poor. They did odd deeds to earn money. They swept and cleaned the streets for their living.

       

One cold morning, Joe was wandering along the streets  of New York. He picked up the apple from the ground.

He asked his friend Bill, "What did you find today for our night food?"

"I got  nothing today," replied bill in anguish. Joe gave his apple to bill and said,"Bill...you eat this apple."

Bit Bit a small piece of the apple. Joe said,"No.Bite off more.Eat more. I am strong. I can bear hunger. You are weak. You can not bear hunger."

By these words of Joe,Bill was satisfied and he remained  good friend of Joe forever. Thereafter they remained good friends.  

The Moneylender and his Purse

Once a village moneylender lost his purse. He announced a reward of hundred rupees to the person who found it and returned it to him. A poor farmer who found it and returned it to him. A poor farmer found it. It contained one thousand rupees. The farmer was poor and needy but, at the same time, he was a  honest man. He went to the moneylender and returned the purse to him.

                  The moneylender opened the purse  and counted the money in it. It was one thousand rupees. Then he said to the farmer,"You are a smart fellow.You have taken your reward beforehand."

              The farmer angrily asked,"What do you mean?"

 The moneylender said," I mean what I say. The purse contained eleven hundred rupees.But now there are one thousand rupees in it. This means that you have already taken the reward money from purse."

 The farmer said," I have not taken any money from the purse. Let us go to the Sarpanch and settle the matter."

So they went to the Sarpanch. The Sarpanch heard both the parties. He felt sure that the moneylender was dishonest.

  He asked the moneylender," Are you sure that your purse contained eleven hundred rupees?"

The moneylender said,"Yes, sir."

The Sarpanch said,"Then this purse is not yours."

And the Sarpanch gave away the purse to the farmer.

 A WRONGDOER HAS TO PAY A HEAVY PRICE FOR HIS WRONG ACT

The Donkey and the Dog

A dog and a donkey worked for a potter. The dog guarded the master's pottery and house which stood close to each other in a big compound. The donkey carried heavy loads for the master.

    The donkey felt very jealous of the dog. He thought ,"What an easy and comfortable life the dog lives! His only duty is to stroll about in the compound and bark at strangers. And yet, the master pats him lovingly and gives him nice food to eat. And  look at poor me! I slog all through the day under heavy loads. And what do I get from the master? Hard blows on my back and wretched leftovers my belly. This is very unfair. Very,very unfair, of course."

                               One day the donkey was thinking," i must try the dog's tricks to please the master. When the master comes home, he barks a little welcome him. He runs to him wagging his tail. He raises his front legs and puts them on the master's body."

Just then, the donkey saw the master entering the house. So he brayed a little to welcome him. Then 

  he ran to him wagging his tail. He raised his front legs to rest them on the master's body.

                The donkey's unusual behavior frightened the master. He thought the donkey had gone crazy. He picked up a big stick and rained heavy  blows on the donkey.

              Poor donkey! He tried to please the master and received hard blows in return.

NEVER FEEL JEALOUS OF ANYBODY'S GOOD POSITION.

Chintu and the Vendor

Chintu was a very clever and bold boy. Once he bought berries from a vendor. The vendor gave him the berries less in weight. As Chintu was watchful, the vendor could not outsmart him. The boy immediately pointed out,"why are you giving me less berries?"

                          The vendor cunningly said,"Because the less will be easier for you to carry."

                     Chintu quickly put some money in the vendor's hand and walked off. The vendor counted the money. He found it short. He called Chintu  back and said," You have given me less money."

              Chintu sharply replied,"Isn't it easy to count, sir?"

THOSE WHO PLAY SMART ARE LIKELY TO BE OUTSMARTED BY SMARTER PEOPLE

THE TWO POTS

There was a heavy flood in a river. After three days the flood subsided. Among many other things, a copper pot and earthen pot were floating side by side in the river.

                                       The copper pot saw the earthen pot and said," My friend, you are made of soft mud, and are weak. Come closer to me, if you wish. I will protect you from harm."

             "Thanks for your good feelings for me," said the earthen pot."But I dare not come closer to you. You are so strong and sturdy. I am so weak and fragile. By chance, if we crash into each other, I will shatter into a thousand tiny bits. If you are really my well-wisher, please keep away from me."

                      Saying so, the earthen pot smoothly floated away from copper pot.

 

KEEP OVER-POWERFUL NEIGHBOURS AT A SAFE DISTANCE

The Villager and spectacles

There was a villager. He was illiterate. He did not know how to read and write. He often  saw people wearing spectacles for reading books or papers. He thought ," If I have spectacles, I can also read like these people. I must go to a town and buy a pair of spectacles for me."

                 So one day he went to a town. He entered a spectacles shop. He asked the shopkeeper  for  a pair of spectacles for reading. The shopkeeper gave him various pairs of spectacles and a book. The villager tried all the spectacles one by one. But he could not read  anything. He told the shopkeeper that all those spectacles were useless for him. The shopkeeper gave him a doubtful look. Then he looked at the book. It was upside down. The shopkeeper said,"Perhaps you don't know how to read." 

The villager said ,"No , I don't. I want to buy spectacles so that  I can read like others. But I can't read with any of these spectacles."

                  The shopkeeper suppressed his laughter with great difficulty when he learnt the real difficulty of his illiterate customer.

                        He explained to the villager,"My dear friend, you are very simple and ignorant. Spectacles don't help to read and write. They merely help you to see better. First of all you must learn to  read and write."

                          IGNORANCE IS BLINDNESS