ADJECTIVES SYNONYMS ANTONYMS

1. Pretty  Beautiful  Ugly

2. Intelligent  Smart  Weak-minded

3. Rich  Wealthy  Poor

4. Happy  Joyful  Sad

5. Honest  Trustworthy  Untruthful

6. Industrious  Hardworking  Lazy

7. Fortunate  Lucky  Unfortunate

8. Angry  Mad  Delighted

9. Big  Huge  Small

10. Brave  Courageous  Coward

11. Calm  Peaceful  Bustle

12. Fast  Quick  Slow

13. Fat  Stout  Thin

14. Neat  Clean  Dirty

15. Quiet  Silent  Noisy

16. Wrong  Incorrect  Right

17. Broad  Wide  Narrow

18. Dangerous  Risky  Safe

19. Difficult  Hard  Easy

20. New  Modern  Old

21. Polite  Courteous  Rude

22. Usual  Normal  Odd

23. Blank  Empty  Full

24. Strong  Powerful  Weak

25. Bright  Radiant  Dim

ADJECTIVES SYNONYMS ANTONYMS

26. Wonderful  Amazing  Terrible

27. Torrid  Hot  Cold

28. Smooth  Suave  Rough

29. Long  Lengthy  Short

30. Ill  Sick  Alright

31. Naughty  Mischievous  Nice

32. Dusty  Powdery  Grainy

33. Hairy  Furred  Hairless

34. Naked  Bare  Clothed

35. Obedient  Amenable  Defiant

36. Exaggerated  Overstated  Understated

37. Enthusiastic  Excited  Apathetic

38. Impressive  Impactful  Unimpressive

39. Acoustic  Audial  Non-auditory

40. Wet  Saturated  Dry

41. Dark  Dusky  Lucent

42. Conscious  Aware  Insensible

43. Amiss  Improper  Appropriate

44. Tardy  Slow  Quick

45. Alert  Attentive  Absent-minded

46. Steady  Constant  Unstable

47. Awkward  Clumsy  Graceful

48. Comfortable  Cozy  Uncomfortable

49. Pathetic  Heart-breaking  Cheery

50. Healthy  Robust  Unhealthy

ADJECTIVES SYNONYMS ANTONYMS

51. Elastic  Stretchy  Stiff

52. Compatible  Congenial  Incompatible

53. Harmonious  Symphonic  Dissonant

54. Frugal  Provident  Prodigal

55. Integral  Essential  Extraneous

56. Keen  Perceptive  Obtuse

57. Clear  Transparent  Opaque

58. Specific  Particular  General

59. Normal  Usual  Strange

60. True  Real  False

61. Heavy  Massive  Light

62. Tidy  Ship-shape  Messy

63. Regular  Habitual  Irregular

64. Humble  Modest  Arrogant

65. Scary  Frightening  Bold

66. Sleepy  Dozy  Wide-Awake

67. Fragrant  Aromatic  Smelly/Stinky

68. Delicious  Dainty  Distasteful

69. Compassionate  Sympathetic  Cold-blooded

70. Tired  Exhausted  Unwearied

71. High  Lofty  Low

72. Thoughtful  Considerate  Inconsiderate

73. Charming  Attractive  Repugnant

74. Gentle  Tender  Harsh

75. Patient  Long-suffering  Impatient

ADJECTIVES SYNONYMS ANTONYMS

76. Simple  Plain  Decorated

77. Hungry  Famished  Satiated

78. Competent  Capable  Incompetent

79. Equal  Fair  Unjust

80. Faithful  Devout  Unfaithful

81. Safe  Secure  Endangered

82. Sensitive  Delicate  Insensitive

83. Foolish  Absurd  Prudent

84. Natural  Congenital  Non-natural

85. Glossy  Lustrous  Matte

86. Adult  Grown-up  Young

87. Abundant  Plentiful  Minimal

88. Expensive  Costly  Cheap

89. Emotional  Impassioned  Impassive

90. Tardy  Late  Early

91. Refreshing  Invigorating  Devitalizing

92. Mighty  Puissant  Impotent

93. Fruitful  Prolific  Unproductive

94. Necessary  Required  Optional

95. Delicate  Fragile  Sturdy

96. Dubious  Doubtful  Sure

97. Permanent  Everlasting  Temporary

98. Silly  Ditsy  Earnest

99. Obese  Over-weight  Skinny

100.Obligatory  Compulsory  Optional

 A Town Mouse and A Country Mouse

A Town Mouse and a Country Mouse were friends. The Country Mouse one day
invited his friend to come and see him at his home in the fields. The Town Mouse
came and they sat down to a dinner of barleycorns and roots the latter of which had a
distinctly earthy flavour.

The flavour was not much to the taste of the guest and presently he broke out
with “My poor dear friend, you live here no better than the ants. Now, you should
just see how I fare! My larder is a regular horn of plenty. You must come and stay
with me and I promise you shall live on the fat of the land."

So when he returned to town he took the Country Mouse with him and showed
him into a larder containing flour and oatmeal and figs and honey and dates.

The Country Mouse had never seen anything like it and sat down to enjoy the
luxuries his friend provided. But before they had well begun, the door of the larder
opened and some one came in. The two Mice scampered off and hid themselves in a
narrow and exceedingly uncomfortable hole. Presently, when all was quiet, they
ventured out again. But some one else came in, and off they scuttled again. This was
too much for the visitor. "Good bye," said he, "I'm off. You live in the lap of luxury, I
can see, but you are surrounded by dangers whereas at home I can enjoy my simple
dinner of roots and corn in peace."

Moral : Safety is the first importance.

 The Crow and The Eagle:

It was a bright spring day. The sun was high in the blue sky. A herd of sheep was
grazing contentedly on the hillside. The little lambs with their soft white coats and
curly tails were playing among themselves. The Shepherd, seeing that his flock was
safe and happy, had fallen asleep under the spreading branches of a large old tree.

Suddenly an Eagle swooped down from the sky. It pounced on a little lamb and
carried it off so swiftly that none of the other lambs even had the time to bleat. The
sleeping Shepherd heard nothing.

A Crow was sitting on the tree under which the Shepherd lay asleep. He had seen
how the Eagle had caught the lamb and carried it off to his nest.

‘What a wonderful way to get dinner!’ he thought. 'Why do crows look for old smelly
food?’

The Crow decided to do exactly as the Eagle had done. It had looked easy enough.
All he had to do was to decide which sheep he wanted, swoop down upon it, hold it
as firmly as he could in his claws and fly off with it… Easy!

If the Eagle could do it, then so could he!

The Crow looked down at the flock of sheep to decide which sheep he wanted.

Just below the tree, by the Shepherd, a big, old Ram was grazing. He had curling
horns and a thick heavy fleece.

'Aha! He should be a good meal for me!' thought the Crow greedily. He was very
hungry and the thought of a large juicy ram for lunch made his mouth water.

The Crow swooped silently and swiftly down onto the Ram, just as he had seen the
Eagle do and grasped it firmly by its fleece.

‘And now to fly off with it to my nest,' said the Crow to himself. He flapped his
wings with all his strength, but could not lift the Ram.
 The Ram was large. He was much too heavy for the Crow to carry. The Crow tried
again and again, but without success.

The Ram felt the Crow on its back and was most annoyed. Just what do you think
you are doing, you pesky bird?' he snapped, glaring at him over his shoulder.

The Crow flapped harder still, trying to carry the Ram away.

‘Now stop that!' cried the Ram. ‘Go away! Shoo! Leave me in peace!’ He jumped
and bucked and tried to shake the Crow off his back.

‘Oh oh!' thought the Crow, alarmed at the Ram’s fierce antics. ‘Maybe this wasn't
such a good idea after all! Perhaps I should look for my dinner somewhere else! I had
better let the Ram be!'

The Crow tried to fly away, but he found he could not move. His claws were caught
in the Ram’s thick fleece! The Crow pulled his feet this way and that. He flapped his
wings as hard as he could. But no matter what he did, he only seemed to get stuck
more firmly.

Oh, how was he ever going to get free? The Crow squawked loudly in fear and
despair. The Ram started running around the tree, bellowing with rage. The Shepherd
woke up with a start. Who was making that horrible noise? Were his sheep in danger?
He sat up.

What a sight met his eyes! The Ram was running round and round the tree. On his
back was the Crow, squawking and trying to rise into the air.

The Shepherd began to laugh. At last, wiping his eyes, the Shepherd stood up. He
stopped the Ram as he ran by and calmed him with gentle words.

When the Ram was still, the Shepherd took a pair of shears from his sack. Holding
the Crow with one hand, he deftly snipped the fleece until the Crow was free.

‘What did you think you were doing, my fine friend'' asked the Shepherd, looking at
the Crow. ‘Playing at being an Eagle, were you?'

The Shepherd burst out laughing again.

The Crow was too embarrassed even to croak. He wished only that the Shepherd
would let him go so he could fly away to his nest and hide his foolish head.

Finally, when the Shepherd let the Crow go, the Crow flapped his wings and flew off
as fast as he could.
‘And the next time you want to be an Eagle, make sure you pick an animal your size!'
called the Shepherd after him.

The Crow, feeling silly and foolish, promised himself that from now on he would
only do as other crows did!

Final Punishment

Once, a rich and greedy man fell seriously ill. He called many learned doctors to treat
him but no one could give him proper medicines to cure his ailment. In desperation,
the ill-man prayed to the God, "God, if you save me from death due to this illness, I
will sacrifice a hundred bulls at your altar."

God heard his prayers and cured him. Once the rich man regained his health, his
greed overcame him. So, to save his money, he had a hundred tiny idols of bulls
made and offered them to the temple fire and said, "God please accept my gift of
thanks."

God grew angry that the man had broken his promise and had not offered live bulls to
him. So God decided to punish him. God appeared in his dream and said, "Go to the
seashore in the morning. You will get a hundred gold coins for yourself."

The greedy man went to the seashore next happily. There a ship of pirates had arrived.
The pirates imprisoned the greedy man. They went to another country and sold him
as a slave. So they got a hundred gold coins for him.
 Fruits of Labour

Once, a group of fishermen went out to sea. Their leader was an old, intelligent and
wise fisherman. He always guided them well.

At sea the fishermen spread their large net in water. When they pulled out the net, it
was empty. This happened about two or three times and the fishermen lost heart, but
their leader advised them to keep trying.

Once again, the fishermen threw in the net. It felt heavy when they pulled it out. But
some small fish, logs from wreckage and seaweeds were all that it had. They were
about to sink the net back into water but the old fisherman said, "Pull out the net and
empty it in the boat. Throw the empty net and try once again."

When the fishermen emptied the net in the boat, they found a box in it. It had gold
coins and gems in it. The leader divided it equally among all the fishermen and
everyone went home happily. It is truly said that one must not leave any work
unfinished if one wants to enjoy the fruits of labour.

The Unfaithful Friend

There was a large berry tree on the bank of a river. On this tree lived a monkey called
Rhesa. He was a clever and good hearted monkey. He offered berries to all the
animals and birds who came to the river to quench their thirst. In the river, there lived
a crocodile named Magar. He lived with his wife in a cave at the bottom of the river.

One day Magar the crocodile came to the river bank to catch his prey. It was a hot
and sunny day and Magar had not caught any thing the whole day. Tired and hot, he
dragged himself to the shade of the berry tree for some rest. He had hardly closed his
eyes when he heard somebody calling out to him. “Hello friend. I am up here."

Magar looked up to find Rhesa the monkey smiling down at him. The monkey
plucked a handful of juicy berries and threw them down to Magar.
 “Eat these. They will quench your thirst."

“Thank you," said Magar and ate the delicious berries.

From then on, everyday, Magar would come to the river’s bank and eat the berries
dropped by Rhesa. Both of them became good friends.

One day Magar took some berries home to his wife. She found them delicious.
“Mmm... If the berries are so tasty, how delicious would the monkey’s heart be that
ate these berries," she said. “I want to eat the heart of this monkey."

“How can I do that?" replied Magar.

“He is my friend. How can I kill him?" But his wife would not accept no for an
answer. “If you don’t bring me his heart, I will starve myself to death,’’she cried.

So Magar went to meet Rhesa the monkey. “My wife liked the berries you sent her
very much. She wants to meet you. She has invited you home for dinner,"said Magar
to Rhesa.

“I would surely come," said Rhesa, “but I cannot swim and you live in the river."

“Do not worry," said Magar, “I will carry you on my back."

Rhesa readily jumped on to Magar’s back. Magar began to swim away from the bank.
On reaching the middle of the river, the crocodile began to dive under water.

“Hey! What are you doing?" panicked Rhesa. “I told you I cannot swim."

“Sorry my friend," replied Magar. “My wife wants to eat your heart. So I have to kill
you," said Magar.

Rhesa realised that he was in grave danger. “Is it my heart you want?" he asked in an
undisturbed voice. “Why did you not say so before? I would have gladly given it to
you. We will have to go back because I usually leave my heart back at home when I
go out."

The foolish crocodile immediately turned around and swam back towards the bank.

Rhesa immediately jumped down from Magar’s back and bounced up the berry tree.
“You are a fool Magar. How could I be alive if I left my heart behind? You have
been an unfaithful friend. Our friendship is over," said Rhesa.
 The Lion and The Woodcutter

There once lived a lion, the king of the forest. He was always accompanied by a
jackal and a crow. They followed him every where and lived on the remains of his
food.

In a village close to the forest there lived a woodcutter. Everyday, he would go into
the forest with his axe to chop wood.

One day as the woodcutter was busy chopping a tree, he heard a noise behind him.
Turning around, he saw the lion looking straight at him, ready to pounce. The
woodcutter was a clever man. He quickly said, “Greetings… King of this forest. It is
a pleasure to meet you."

The lion was surprised. “A pleasure to meet me? Are you not afraid of me?"

“I respect you a lot…lion. I was hoping to meet you. You see, my wife is an excellent
cook. I wanted you to taste her dal and vegetables."

“Dal? Vegetables? Don’t you know that I eat only flesh?" asked the lion in surprise.

“If you taste my wife’s cooking, you will stop eating flesh," said the woodcutter
proudly.

The lion was very hungry and he accepted the woodcutter’s food.

“Good that the Jackal and the crow are not with me today," thought the lion. “They
would laugh at me."

The lion was surprised to find that the food was indeed very tasty. “I have never
eaten such good food," he said.

“You are welcome to share my food everyday, O king. But no one should ever know
 about our friendship. You must come alone."

The lion promised. Everyday, the lion would eat lunch brought by the woodcutter and
their unusual friendship grew to be stronger day by day.

The crow and the jackal were anxious to know why the lion had stopped hunting.
“We are going to starve to death if the lion does not hunt anymore," whined the
jackal.

“You are right," said the crow. “Let us try to find out what has happened to the lion."
The next day they followed the lion from a safe distance and saw him eating the
lunch the woodcutter brought for him.

“So this is why the lion does not hunt anymore," said the jackal to the crow. “We
have to get the lion to share his food with us. Then may be we can break his
friendship with the woodcutter and the lion will start hunting his prey again."

When the lion came back to his den that evening, the crow and the jackal were
waiting for him. “My lord, why have you forgotten us? Please let us all go hunting
like we used to," pleaded the crow and the jackal.

“No! I have given up eating flesh, ever since I met a friend who changed me from my
old ways," said the lion.

“We would also like to meet your friend," said the crow.

On the following day, the wood cutter was as usual waiting for his friend the lion.
Suddenly, he heard voices. The woodcutter was a very careful and clever man. He
immediately climbed a tall tree. In the distance, he could see the lion approaching.
With him were a crow and a jackal. “With those two around, my friendship with the
lion will not last very long," he said to himself.

The lion came over to the tree and called out to the woodcutter, “Come down and
join us. It is me your friend."

“That may be so," called out the woodcutter. “But you have broken your promise to
me. If those two can make you break a promise, then they can make you kill me also.
You can forget our friendship."
 The Frog and The Ox

On a lily pad in the little stream that flowed at the bottom of the meadow, there lived
an old Frog. He was a big frog and he was very proud of his size. All the other frogs
were in awe of him and treated him with the greatest respect.

So did all the other creatures. The shining blue dragonflies that hovered over the
stream during the day took great care to keep far out of the reach of his long sticky
tongue. So did the little midges that fluttered by in a soft cloud in the evenings. Even
the fishes in the stream were careful not to annoy him. The Frog ruled his watery
kingdom unchallenged.
 The Farmer who owned the meadow by the stream also had an old Ox. The Ox had
worked hard for the Farmer all his life. He had helped him plough his fields. Yoked
to an old wooden cart, he had carried his crops to market and his children to school.
But now the Ox was growing old. He no longer had the strength to work as hard as he
used to.

The Farmer was fond of his old Ox and grateful for all the hard work he had done
over the years. He did not want to sell him. Instead, he decided to let the Ox spend
his old age in peace, in the meadow by the stream.

One fine morning, the Ox moved into the meadow. He wandered around the meadow,
surveying his new home. The grass was soft and green and wildflowers dotted the
ground. The Ox was happy. He planned to spend his days grazing on the sweet juicy
grass and basking in the sun.

The little creatures of the meadow stared at the Ox in fear and awe. The butterflies
flew hurriedly out of his way. The hardworking ants and the busy bees stopped their
work as the Ox walked slowly by. They had never seen any creature as big as the Ox.
Not even the old Frog on the lily pad in the stream was quite this big! The Ox
munched happily on the sweet grass. He did not even notice the tiny creatures.

The Frog heard the dragonflies chattering excitedly among themselves about the huge
monster who had come to live in the meadow. The dragonflies had heard it from the
bumblebee who had heard it from the ladybird who had heard it from the ants who
had almost been trampled on by the monster as it stomped by.

'It is the largest, biggest, most enormous creature you ever saw!' cried the dragonflies.
It has huge curving horns on its head and a tail so long and so strong that one whisk
of it is enough to blow us all away!"

The Frog did not believe a word that the dragonflies said. 'Ha! This monster of yours
cannot be bigger than I am!’ he cried. ‘And horns and a tail, bah! They cannot be
more fearsome than my long sticky tongue!'

How could any creature be bigger than him? Was he not the largest, most
magnificent frog in the world? The dragonflies were just being rude!

The Frog stuck out his long sticky tongue and would have caught at least a dozen of
the dragonflies had they not dodged in time.

Just then the Ox strolled down to the stream. He was thirsty and wanted a drink.

The dragonflies trembled in fear and rose up in a great shining cloud far above the
reach of the Ox's curving horns and long tail.
 The Ox drank his fill and walking away from the stream, settled down for a nap.

The old Frog on his lily pad saw the Ox and wondered what all the fuss was about.
The terrible monster was nothing but a silly old Ox! And not a very large one either!
When the Ox had walked away, he called out. ‘Hey. dragonflies, was this your
terrible monster?’

The dragonflies rustled their shining wings and replied. ‘Yes, yes. Frog! Did you see
how big he is?’

The Frog laughed scornfully. 'Big? You call that big? Why, I can be twice as big as
that if I want to! Watch!"

And the Frog took a deep breath, huffed and puffed and swelled up like a balloon.

'There! Am I not as big as him now?' he asked the watching dragonflies, speaking
with a little difficulty.

'Oh no. Frog, not yet!' cried the dragonflies. 'The monster is MUCH bigger. Look at
him sleeping in the grass! He looks huge!'

‘Well, then. Watch me!' said the Frog. He took a deep breath, huffed and puffed and
swelled up some more. ‘I must be bigger than him now!' he gasped.

‘Ah no, Frog.’ Cried the dragonflies.

‘The monster is MUCH bigger!’

The Frog was quite irritated with the dragonflies. His skin was feeling tight and
stretched. It was difficult to sit As he felt he would roll over any moment and his
cheeks were so puffed that his eyes were almost squeezed shut. He could barely see
over his huge belly. He was sure he must be at least as big as the Ox by now! He
decided to make one more attempt. He would show the dragonflies who was bigger!

“Watch me,' he squeaked with great difficulty.

He took as deep a breath as he could manage, huffed and puffed and swelled. He
blew and he blew and he blew and he grew larger and larger and larger till suddenly.

POP!

The Frog had burst!

The Donkey and The Load of Salt

Once, there lived a peddler. The peddler sold all sorts of goods….sturdy shoes for the
farmers and pretty trinkets for their sweethearts, warm, woolly shawls to keep the
women warm and sweet, sticky toffees for the children to munch on their way back
from school.

Some days he sold fruits and on other days, kettles. To carry all his wares, the
peddler had a donkey. Every morning, the peddler loaded the donkey with his wares.
The two would set out and walk from farmhouse to farmhouse, from village to
village and from market to market.

The peddler always walked ahead, whistling merrily as he went. The poor donkey
followed, trying as hard as he could to keep up with his master and groaning under
the weight of his load.

Every evening, their wares sold, the peddler and his donkey would wend their way
home. The peddler, pleased with the day's takings, would walk ahead, jingling the
pennies in his pocket. The poor old donkey would follow, foot sore and weary from
carrying the heavy sacks all day long.

“Ah! My poor feet! Oooh! My aching back!" the donkey moaned every night as he
collapsed wearily onto the hay in his stable.

The old grey cat who shared the stable with the donkey, would shake her head and
sigh. 'Poor old donkey,' she would say to herself, and slink off into the night.

One morning, the peddler loaded the poor donkey with a dozen sacks. The sacks
were full of salt and much heavier than the donkey’s usual load. The donkey groaned
under the weight, but bore it patiently, as he had always done.

“I shall make a tidy profit today on this salt.' said the peddler to the donkey, as they
set off. 'There is not a woman who does not need to buy salt for her cooking and they
will pay me well for this. I shall be a rich man tonight!'

And the peddler danced a little jig in the middle of the road. The donkey could only
think of the heavy load on his back and the long day ahead.

The donkey plodded along behind the peddler. The sun was now high in the sky. The
donkey was hot and tired and longing for a drink of water. Up ahead, he knew, there
flowed a stream of cool, sweet water. The donkey hurried towards the stream as fast
as his tired legs and the heavy load on his back would allow and leaned over for a
drink. The edge of the stream was slippery with mud and slush. The donkey, with the
heavy sacks of salt on his back, slipped and fell into the water.

“Oooh, help! Help!' brayed the donkey in terror, his legs flailing madly in the water.
‘I will surely drown with this terrible load on my back!'

But suddenly, the donkey felt himself floating, the load on his back gone as if by
 magic. He clambered out on to the bank and shook himself. Yes! The weight on his
back had vanished!

Of course the sacks were lighter, for the salt had dissolved in the water. But the
donkey did not know that. 'At last! A way to rid myself of my burdens,' he thought
and brayed with joy at his great discovery.

That night he told the grey cat all about how he had slipped and fallen into the stream
and how, when he had climbed out, his load had become so much lighter.

“No more heavy loads for me,' declared the donkey, feeling very pleased.

‘Every time it gets too much for me, all I have to do is to pretend to fall into a stream
and my load will lessen by magic!'

The grey cat shook her head and sighed. 'Poor old donkey.' she said and slunk off into
the night.

Next morning the peddler loaded the monkey again, this time with bales of cloth that
he wanted to sell at the next village. Be careful today, old donkey,’ he said as they set
off. ‘I did not earn penny yesterday. I must earn double today or we go to bed hungry
tonight.'

The donkey plodded along behind the peddler and groaned under the weight of the
cloth. His back ached more than ever and his feet were killing him. He resolved to
find a stream as quickly as he could. As luck would have it, the peddler took the same
path he had taken the previous day and very soon they came to the same stream. The
donkey hurried ahead as though very thirsty and pretending to slip, fell in. He kicked
his legs about, making sure the bundle on his back was properly soaked.

In a moment my burden will vanish." he told himself and kicked about some more.

But what was happening? Something was wrong! His load, in stead of becoming
lighter, had become much heavier and was slowly pulling him deeper into the stream.
Of course his burden was heavier, for the water had soaked into the bales of cloth.
The poor donkey thrashed about in the water and brayed in terror.

“Help! Help!' he cried.

Meanwhile, the peddler had rushed to the stream and bracing himself on the bank,
helped the frightened donkey out of the water.

That night, the donkey was a sad and subdued creature. He had had to carry the much
heavier, soaked and dripping bales of cloth all the way home again. His back was
truly aching and what was worse, he had caught a cold. He sneezed miserably into
 the straw. The old grey cat looked at him and sighed. 'Poor old donkey,' he said and
slunk off into the night.

The Lazy Dreamer

Once, in a small village, there lived a poor Brahmin. He was very learned, but did
nothing all day. He lived on the alms the villagers gave him every day.

One day, as usual, the Brahmin got up in the morning, performed his morning rituals
and set out to beg for alms. As he went from door to door, people gave him several
things. Some gave dal. Others gave him rice and yet others gave him vegetables. But
one generous lady gave the Brahmin a large measure of flour.

“Ah! What good luck. I will not have to beg for alms for a long time," thought the
Brahmin to himself.

He went home and cooked his lunch. After he had eaten, the Brahmin put the flour
into a large mud pot and hung it near his bed. “Now, it will be safe from rats," he said
to himself as he lay down in his cot for an afternoon nap.

He began to think, “I will save this flour until there is a famine. Then I will sell it at a
very good price. With that, I will buy a pair of goats. Very soon, I will have a large
flock of goats. With their milk, I will make more money. Then I will buy a cow and a
bull. Very soon I will also have a large herd of cows. Their milk will fetch me a lot of
money. I will become very wealthy. I will build for myself, a huge palace and get
married to a beautiful woman... Then we will have a little son. I will be a proud father.
In a few months my son will start crawling. He will be mischievous and I will be
very worried that he may come to some harm. 1 will call out to my wife to take care
of him. But she will be busy with house work and will ignore my call. I will get so
angry. I will kick her to teach her a lesson like this..."

The Brahmin threw out his leg up. His foot hit the pot of flour hanging overhead and
it came down with a resounding crash, spilling the flour all over the dirty floor. The
lazy Brahmin realised that his foolishness and vanity had cost him a precious
measure of flour. The laziness and foolishness taught him a lesson. Thereafter he
lived an active life which took to heights.
 Tomtom Said It

There lived a barber in a village. Shaving the people was his job. He had a bad habit.
He could not keep any secret. Whatever he heard here he would tell it there.

Once the royal barber fell ill. The king called him to do the job. He went to the palace
and started cutting the hair of the king as it was the day for the king’s hair cut as well.
The barber discovered that the king had ears like that of an ass which normally were
invisible being covered by the turban or the crown.

Afterwards the king gave him money and warned, ‘What you have seen here, you
shall tell no one. You know the secret of my ears. If you reveal this secret to anyone,
I will get your tongue cut off and you shall be whipped naked. Take this precious
necklace as a reward for keeping the secret.’

When the barber reached home he was having butterflies in his stomach. He wanted
to tell about the king's ears to his wife. But the fear of losing tongue made him keep
quiet. All night he tossed in bed restlessly.

The wife wanted to know why he was so restless. He didn't answer. Next day, one of
his friends came to his shop for a shave.

He wished to tell the secret to his friend. But the king's warning frightened him. He
didn't want his tongue cut off and getting whipped.

But he was getting very restless. He must tell it to someone. The barber visited one of
his relatives and tried to whisper the secret in his ears. But the fear didn't let words
come out of his mouth.

The loose tongue barber was feeling sick with a secret in his chest. He was sick. His
stomach churned and ached. His stomachache was gradually increasing. Tears were
coming to his eyes as he gritted his teeth. He didn't know what to do.

In confusion he ran to the jungle. He thought that the trees and plants were dumb.
 Therefore there was no harm in telling them the secret. After some thought he went
to a tree and said in a low voice, “The king has donkey ears' The king has donkey
ears!'

The barber felt great relief. His stomach no more ached. He came back home. The
same day, a woodcutter came to that jungle. Incidentally, he decided to cut a big
branch of the same tree the barber had talked to.

He brought the wood home and a tom-tom was made out of it. The first use the
tom-tom was put to was at a marriage ceremony where woman sang songs. But the
tom-tom was not making the sound a drum should make when played. It was
sounding, 'The king's donkey ears' The king's donkey ears!'

The people were puzzled. But the tom-tom went on repeating it.

The rumour spread that the king had donkey ears. The people would hire that
tom-tom just to hear it say, "The king's donkey ears1’

The king learnt about the news. The king knew that the culprit was no one else but
the barber. The barber was summoned. He came frightened to death. The king said,
'You have violated my order. You will be punished. Your tongue will be cut off.’

The barber fell at the feet of the king and begged, 'Please don't cut off my tongue. I
just told it to a tree.'

The king took mercy at him. He asked the soldiers to spare his tongue but asked them
to give him whipping to make him learn a lesson.

The barber was lashed 100 times and he took a vow that he would no more be a loose
tongue.
 Magic of Flute

Mohanpur was ruled by king Madho Singh. He had a daughter named Mohini whom
he loved like his own life.

Once Mohini fell ill. The royal physician's treatment was failing to work. She had
become so weak that she could not talk or eat. She would just lie like a skeleton. No
one ever saw smile on her face. The king announced rewards for anyone who could
get the smile back on the face of Mohini. It was said that the smile would begin the
process of her recovery from the mysterious illness.
 One day, soft flute music waves wafted into the palace. Then Mohini was sleeping.
The tune was mesmerizing. The sound of the flute tune gradually rose filling the air
with melody. Mohini opened her eyes and spoke after months, “Who's playing that?"

The news of Mohini speaking again brought king and queen to her chamber. They
saw a faint smile on the face of Mohini. The king wanted the soldiers to bring the
flute players to the palace. Mohini objected to it. She didn't want the music
interrupted. All of them walked towards the direction music was coming from. Far
away from the palace they found a boy sitting under a tree lost in playing on his flute.
Some wild creatures were around him frozen in the trance of his music.

The sound of footsteps woke up the boy from his musical dream. He opened his eyes
and found the king and soldiers around. He looked frightened. The flute fell off his
hands.

The king said, “Don't panic boy. We are very pleased with you. Your flute music has
cured our princess. Who are you? We want to reward you?

The boy said, "My name is Chandu. I am an orphan. I need some job and want to
study."

The king brought Chandu to the palace. Everyday he played on his flute for the
princess who regained her health fast. The king arranged tutors for Chandu who later
became an advisor to the king after getting education.