Bedtime Stories

Once, there were two brothers who lived at the forest’s edge. The oldest brother was always unkind to his younger brother. The older brother took all the food and snatched all the good clothes.The oldest brother used to go into the forest in search of firewood to sell in the market. As he walked through the forest, he chopped off the branches of every tree, until he came upon a magical tree.The tree stopped him before he chopped its branches and said, ‘Oh, kind sir, please spare my branches. If you spare me, I will provide you with golden apples.’The oldest brother agreed but was feeling disappointed with how many apples the tree gave him.Overcome by greed, the brother threatened to cut the entire tree if it didn’t provide him with more apples. But, instead of giving more apples, the tree showered him with hundreds of tiny needles. The brother fell to the ground, crying in pain as the sun began to set.Soon, the younger brother became worried and went to search for his older brother. He searched until he found him at the trunk of the tree, lying in pain with hundreds of needles on his body.He rushed to him and started to painstakingly remove each needle with love. Once the needles were out, the oldest brother apologized for treating his younger brother so badly. The magical tree saw the change in the older brother’s heart and gifted them with all the golden apples they could need.12. A Glass of Milk

A lone elephant walked through the forest, looking for friends. She soon saw a monkey and proceeded to ask, ‘Can we be friends, monkey?’The monkey quickly replied, ‘You are big and can’t swing on trees like I do, so I cannot be your friend.’Defeated, the elephant continued to search when it stumbled across a rabbit. She proceeded to ask him, ‘Can we be friends, rabbit?’The rabbit looked at the elephant and replied, “You are too big to fit inside my burrow. You cannot be my friend.”Then, the elephant continued until she met a frog. She asked, “Will you be my friend, frog?”The frog replied, “You are too big and heavy; you cannot jump like me. I am sorry, but you can’t be my friend.”The elephant continued to ask the animals she met on her way, but always received the same reply. The following day, the elephant saw all the forest animals run in fear. She stopped a bear to ask what was happening and was told the tiger was attacking all the small animals.The elephant wanted to save the other animals, so she went to the tiger and said, “Please, sir, leave my friends alone. Do not eat them.”The tiger didn’t listen. He merely told the elephant to mind her own business.Seeing no other way, the elephant kicked the tiger and scared him away. Upon hearing of the brave tale, the other animals agreed, “You are just the right size to be our friend.”

The Lion and the MouseA lion was once sleeping in the jungle when a mouse started running up and down his body just for fun. This disturbed the lion’s sleep, and he woke up quite angry. He was about to eat the mouse when the mouse desperately requested the lion to set him free. “I promise you, I will be of great help to you someday if you save me.” The lion laughed at the mouse’s confidence and let him go. One day, a few hunters came into the forest and took the lion with them. They tied him up against a tree. The lion was struggling to get out and started to whimper. Soon, the mouse walked past and noticed the lion in trouble. Quickly, he ran and gnawed on the ropes to set the lion free. Both of them sped off into the jungle.Moral of the StoryA small act of kindness can go a long way.

The Fox and the Grapes is one of Aesop's fables, numbered 15 in the Perry Index. The narration is concise and subsequent retellings have often been equally so. The story concerns a fox that tries to eat grapes from a vine but cannot reach them. Rather than admit defeat, he states they are undesirable.

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