A TO Z IN THE WORLD

  The Fisherman and His Flute The Fisherman and His Flute : There was once a fisherman who was also an excellent flute player. One day he took his flute and a fish basket, jumped up on a rock and began to play his flute, convinced, the fish would be enchanted by his music and leap into the basket willingly. Unfortunately, he did not catch a single fish, so went home, collected his net and threw it into the water. He caught so many fish that his basket overflowed. 'Stupid creatures!' he exclaimed, as he watched the fish twist and jump in his net. 'You would not dance, when I played my flute, but when I'm not playing, you can not stop dancing!'

  The Fearful Hunter and The Woodcutter The Fearful Hunter and The Woodcutter : Do you know that many men are very brave while they are talking and are very scared when the time comes to act? There was once a hunter who was going through the woods in search of a bear. He met a woodcutter and asked: 'My good man, do you happen to have seen the footprints of a bear?' 'Yes, I have seen them,' said the woodcutter, setting down his axe, 'and I will take you to its den.' The hunter went pale with fear and started to shake. 'Thank you, but that won't be necessary,' he stammered. 'I am looking for tracks, not for the bears themselves!'

  The Father and His Daughters The Father and His Daughters : Aman had two daughters. One was married to a poor farmer. The other was married to a potter. Once the father went to visit each of them and asked: 'How the business is going on?' 'Very well,' replied the first daughter, 'but we could use more water to irrigate the land. We pray every night that God will send us rain!' When he asked the second daughter, she replied: 'Business is going on well, but we pray to God for dry weather to harden our pots!'

  The Faithful Mongoose The Faithful Mongoose : Indu and Lav were a young Indian couple and they had a beautiful baby boy. One day, Indu said to her husband: 'You must look after the baby, while I go down to the river.' Lav sat down beside the pram and the baby fell asleep at once. A short time later, a messenger arrived from the royal palace and ordered Lav to follow him there to speak on behalf of a friend. Lav had to entrust the baby to the pet mongoose which the young couple kept in the house. In India, people keep mongoose rather to keep cats. But where cats hunt mice, a mongoose does not hesitate to confront a snake. What is more, mongooses are more loyal than cats. The mongoose at once sat down to guard the baby. When a huge python entered by the window and approached the pram, the mongoose was ready for it and killed the python. When Lav came back and found the mongoose, mouth and paws dripping with blood, he immediately thought the worst and beat the f...

  The Eagle and The Woodcutter The Eagle and The Woodcutter : Once, a woodcutter found an eagle which was caught in a trap. He was so taken with the beauty and the majesty of the bird that he let it go free. Some time later, the woodcutter sat down on a rock on the very top of a steep hill. While he was having his lunch, the eagle dropped like lightning from the sky and flew away with his hat. The man automatically ran down the hill after the bird, just as the rock on which he had been sitting gave way with a loud crash. Thus the grateful eagle had repaid its benefactor.

  The Donkey in The Lion's Skin The Donkey in The Lion's Skin : A donkey disguised itself by dressing up as a lion and then went around spreading terror amongst the other animals. Some time later, when it encountered a fox, the donkey roared as fiercely as it could, but the fox just burst out laughing. 'If I hadn't heard you braying, I might also have been scared by that lion's skin.' There are a lot of stupid people, who, like the donkey would like to dress up in fine clothes and pretend they are important, but they betray themselves.