The Tale of the Cracked Pot and A Lesson

Once upon a time, there lived an elderly man in a small village. Every morning, he would carry a long pole across his shoulders, hang a water pot from each end, and walk several miles to the river to fetch water for his household.

However, the two pots weren't identical. One of them was cracked, causing it to leak.

The man would fill both pots at the river. Yet, by the time he arrived home, the cracked pot would be half empty because it had leaked water during the walk.

The cracked pot used to be ashamed of its inability to perform its job properly. One day, as they were nearing their home, it spoke to the old man.

“I am very sorry. I feel ashamed because I can't do my responsibilities as well as the other."

The old man smiled and said, "Tomorrow, as we walk home, instead of feeling ashamed, please look up at the side of the path.”

The pot hesitated but agreed. As they left the river and started walking on the next day, the pot looked around the path and was amazed. On its side of the path, there was a lovely row of green plants filled with fragrant flowers.

Looking at the cracked pot, the old man explained, “I knew about your cracks, so I planted flower seeds along your side of the path. The leakage from your cracks helps water them each day. And, now, I will pick these flowers to share their beauty with the entire village.”

The lesson from this story is:

"Never be ashamed of your weaknesses and disadvantages. Instead of worrying about them, try to take advantage of them by putting them to some other different uses".

Short Stories - A Rabbit and The Tortoise

 

As you are well aware, rabbits are fast runners. They can run at a speed of 30 to 40 km per hour. On the other hand, a tortoise is a slow-moving animal. Tortoises can cover anywhere between 2 to 4 km in an hour, depending on their age and build. So, tortoises are presumed to be lazy creatures.

Now, I am coming to the story of a rabbit and a tortoise.

Once upon a time, there lived a Rabbit who was very proud of her fast-moving ability. So, when she found a Tortoise that was crawling lazily near a pond, it got disgusted and resorted to shaming her pace.

The Tortoise did not despise her but proposed for a race between them. She told her that it would be of some help in improving her pace if she competed with the Rabbit. She was well aware of the mentality of proud and arrogant over-confident beings.

The Rabbit was quick enough to accept the challenge as she was overwhelmed with the Tortoise's complement.

A woody place adjacent to the pond was selected for the purpose of the race at the proposal of the Rabbit. A lengthy course was decided upon by defining a starting point and the endpoint.

The race began. The Rabbit was in a hurry to complete the task as quickly as possible. So she shot off like an arrow. The Tortoise kept on crawling at her own speed. 

After covering half of the distance, the Rabbit got tired and thought of resting for a while. So, she stopped and looked back. The Tortoise was nowhere to be seen. It settled herself under a tree till the Tortoise could be seen. She kept looking for the Tortoise repeatedly and, in the meantime, began feeling drowsy. What happened next, she had no idea. She must have fallen asleep. But couldn't estimate for how much time she had fallen asleep.

So, She suddenly began galloping to the end point of the race, only to find that the Tortoise was already there. She had to admit her defeat. 

The Tortoise was consistent in her effort to reach her destination point with full determination, and she achieved success.

The Rabbit was proud, arrogant, and overconfident. She did not follow stability in her approach due to which she failed. 

Short Stories - The Fox and The Stork

Once upon a time, there lived a very cunning and jealous Fox. He enjoyed tricking other animals and creatures, thereby harassing them. So, all animals used to maintain distance from him. 

One day, he came across a Stork fishing her food near a pond and got jealous of her long beak. She was able to catch fish easily using her long beak. Moreover, she was clever enough. He noticed her sitting still at the banks like a statue and suddenly protruded her beak into the water and grabbed the fish within its beak. He felt jealous and wanted to harass her in some way or other.

He thought of a plan and invited the stork to dine with him in the evening. The stork was happy to find a friend and accepted the offer. She dressed herself beautifully and reached the place of the fox punctually.

The fox invited her and made her sit comfortably on a bench. He then took two plates and placed them on a table, one for the stork and the other for himself. He brought a pot full of a sweet dish known as kheer and served it with a ladle on the two plates. He asked her to start eating and he began himself eating.

Now, the stark had a problem with eating. She was accustomed to eating from a long jar, and squeezing food from a jar using her beak was easier. So, she could not squeeze from a plate, as it was flat. She could grab only one grain from the plate at a time.

The fox, on the other hand, used its tongue to squeeze the food and was able to eat quickly. He emptied his plate within seconds and added more food to it. He continued eating until the pot was empty and felt very satisfied as he had managed to outsmart the stork. Outwardly, he pretended to be very sorry that the stork could not eat even a quarter plate of the kheer served to her. He made excuses for not having any jar with him. 

The stork was unpleasant and angry. But, she does not show it outwardly. She thanked the fox and went away. Inwardly, she was planning to punish the fox for his malicious behavior. 

One Sunday, the Stork visited the Fox's home and invited him to dinner. The Fox was delighted and accepted the invitation. He put on a handsome suit, tied a stylish tie, sprinkled perfume over himself, and arrived at the Stork's home on time.

The Stork greeted him and made him sit on a chair at the dining table. She told him that she had prepared a juicy pudding with fish. The Fox was eager to enjoy the taste of fish, and she knew it very well. So, she brought two long jars and the pudding without delay. She filled the jars with the pudding, placed one in front of the Fox, and requested him to start enjoying the food. She settled into the other chair, dipping her long beak into her jar and began squeezing the pudding merrily.

The fox was wondering how to eat his food. The jar was long, and its mouth was narrow. To reach it, he had to stand up on his front legs placed on the table. He could reach the mouth of the jar but could not insert his tongue into it. Unless his tongue reached the food, he could not swallow. So, he was making various futile efforts to get to the food, all in vain. He climbed onto the table itself, but even then, he could not succeed in reaching the food.

The Stork, on the other hand, was enjoying her food as her legs and beak were very long and could easily reach to the bottommost part of the jar. She also poured the remaining pudding into her jar and swallowed it within minutes. She found the Fox unable to eat even a small bit of his food. So, she took his jar also and emptied it immediately while the Fox was shivering with shame and anger.

The Stork told him that it was a Tit for Tat. She had to teach him a lesson for all his cunning deeds he played on others.

Short Stories - A Travel Horror and One More Scary Story

A Travel Horror

I was traveling in a vehicle. Probably a flying bus.

 

A few seconds before, I was still deciding about stepping into it. And so, wandering around it. Suddenly everything seems active with lots of noise. Somebody thrust me onto the bus shouting "Get in, get in'. I barely stepped into it when it started flying. 

All the vehicles around are moving with great speed. It seems everybody is banging.

"Hey you, Mister, keep to your left. Else, you will be crashed off".

I bent to my left within a scratch of a second. Otherwise, my left shoulder could have been ripped off.

"Hey, you, are you not seeing. Your right side is going to be crushed now".

A bus passed smashing my bus from the right and I escaped within a fraction of a second as I bent toward my left.

"Hey, you! Bend, bend, bend. Your head is going to be ripped off now."

I realized that some strange machine was flying over my vehicle's top banging it heavily. I bent down and saved myself by opening my eyes!!!




Another Scary Story

I was wandering with some people through some unhygienic locality in a strange place.

Suddenly, I found myself amid hills, valleys, and dark burnt furnaces. And, I realized that my co-travelers were all strangers.

Making my way through the narrow paths in their midst, I found myself alone and scared of my surroundings.

 

At one point, I find myself needing a path to proceed further. Someone told me to slide down a steep valley to reach my further path. It is deep below and very frightful. I can lose my grip and fall into it anytime. I get much trembling at the sight. Some person offers to help me.

And, then, I find myself sleeping on my bed.

Short Stories- The Story of A Dog and The Meat

All of us know that Dogs are fond of meat of dead animals. They do not leave even the bones of them. They want to taste to the last bit of it.

A very hungry Dog was once wandering in search of food all through the day and found a piece of dry

meat at some corner of a lane. It picked it up and began to lick it very satisfactorily. Other dogs were watching everything from another corner of the lane and they began running towards our Dog barking loudly. 

Sensing danger, this Dog began running quickly to escape from them. But they did not leave. They wanted to grab the piece from his mouth and so chased for a long time. Our Dog was very fast and reached a far away canal and started running on its bridge to reach the other side. He stopped for a while and looked back. He found no chasers behind and their barks were fading away. He got much relieved.

Now, he was walking slowly looking hither thither. He looked down to the river. The water was very pure and standstill. Suddenly he got a glimpse of a dog in it. He looked again into the water to confirm. There he found a dog with a piece of meat in its mouth just like him. Seeing it, he got greedy and jealous. He wanted to grab that piece of meat also from that dog. He once again looked at it and found that dog also looking at him. He lost his senses and became very angry and shouted at the dog. Immediately, the piece of meat in his mouth lost the hold and fell into the waters of the canal and disappeared into the deep waters.

Our Dog was shocked at this happening. He lost even the one that he was having till now due to his greed.

So, one should not be greedy and behave senseless. This is the moral that we learn from this story.  

Short Stories- The story of an Arrogant Lion and The Clever Rabbit

Once upon a time, there lived a very proud and arrogant Lion in a forest (even now there are lions in forests). He used to hunt and kill animals irrespective of his hunger to spread fear among them and establish his supremacy and authority over them. All the animals were so much afraid of his tyranny and cruelty. They used to shiver on seeing him and escape from his sight. But often, they were unable to escape and fell prey to his clutches. They tried to request him many times not to kill them like that astray but in vain. They kept worrying how to get rid of him.

There was one clever Rabbit among them who used to give them good tips in all their bad times to solve their problems. All of the animals approached her and asked her help in getting rid of the Lion. The Rabbit told them not to worry as she would do something very soon to get rid of the Lion.

The next day, the Rabbit approached the Lion along with some other animals and put before him the reality that if he continued to kill all animals like this, one day he will be left with no animals to satisfy his hunger. The Lion realised this fact and began to think over it. Slowly, the Rabbit advised him that daily one animal will reach to him to be consumed as his food and requested him to keep satisfied with that one animal for the entire day and not to go to others' lives. She also made it clear that there will be no need for him to hunt and kill his prey. This appeared to be a very good suggestion and the Lion immediately agreed to it.

So, from that day onwards, one animal used to go to the Lion daily to satisfy his hunger and thereby save other animals from being killed unnecessarily. The Lion was very happy as he was not required to hunt for his prey and enjoyed the life joyfully for some days.

After a couple of days, the Rabbit's turn came to become his prey. The Rabbit was very happy to have his turn. She planned everything in advance and was in a very restful mood. She passed the time intentionally for sometime, so that the Lion may become restless and angry. Then slowly, she reached the Lion's den and pretended to be very weary and tense. The Lion was much impatient and angry.

"Where have you been all this time? Don't you know that I am getting hungry?" roared the Lion fiercely.

Rabbit replied pretending to be shivering " I started from house very early than others. But, midway, I was stopped by another Lion near an old well. He wanted to catch me and eat up. I requested him to leave me as I am going to satisfy the hunger of my king Lion who will be waiting for me with empty stomach. But he did not want to listen to me and tried to catch me. I managed to escape from him anyhow and all this late coming is the result of that incident. So, forgive me as it is not my fault."

The Lion got too much angry and shouted with terrible roaring "What? Do you say there is another Lion in this forest and he stopped you from coming to me? How could it be possible without my knowledge and how dare he stop you knowing that you are my food?"

Rabbit answered "Yes, my king. It is true. A Lion stopped me and he even tried to belittle you. But I told him that you are very powerful and will definitely kill him. But he only laughed and ridiculed."

"Show me that traitor immediately. I can't control my anger any more. I want to teach him a lesson just now. Lead me to him immediately" the Lion ordered the Rabbit.

So the Rabbit took the Lion with her to an old well which was very deep and had enough water in it and told him that the other Lion is presently inside that well.

The Lion immediately peeped into the well and found a lion just like him in that well. He was unable to know that it was only his image in the water.

Immediately he got fired up at the existence of a rival to him and jumped into the well without thinking any more to pounce upon his rival and kill him.

But LOL!!! It was only an image of himself in waters and as he jumped, it appeared as if that lion also was pouncing toward him. But, alas, finally he got no lion there and found himself drowned in the waters and unable to climb up. He roared for some time and then lost his life and died.

Hearing the news of their Lion's death, all the animals rejoiced and thanked the Rabbit for saving their lives. And the Rabbit was also happy to have saved their lives. Since then, they lived happily ever after.

Now, can you tell the moral of this story?

"It is not the size or strength of the body which matters. The strength of the mind matters".

Cleverness is greater than physical body strength.

Short Stories- The Story of A Lion and The Rat

Hi, guys!
Do you know that rats are very tiny but clever and mischievous?

Here's a story to support this fact. You might have come across it in Panchatantra or Aesop's Fables.

One day, a lion was sleeping being much tired after tedious hunting. A rat thought of doing some mischief by running over the lion in a playful mood. It was enjoyed very much, but it was careless. The lion's sleep broke out and he got much disturbed and angry with the rat. So he caught hold of the tiny rat and looked at it very angrily.

"How dare you run over my body and disturb my sleep?"- the Lion roared.

"Sorry, sorry. I was simply playing and enjoying and not thought of disturbing or awakening you" Rat replied.

"I am not going to leave you. I will kill you and eat up" the Lion roared again.

Rat was much frightened at this.
"Sorry, sorry, forgive me this one time" it prayed.

"No, why should I forgive you?" the Lion roared.

"Please, leave me this time. I promise I shall be much grateful to you and help you when time comes" the Rat requested with much fear and respect.

The Lion laughed  "You tell me you will help me when the time comes!!! Very fantastic".

"No, I am serious" the Rat replied.

"Okay, Let me see. I am leaving you for now. But next time I will not spare you" told the Lion and released the Rat to go.

The Rat thanked him again and again and went away.

After some days, the Lion was looking for his prey and wandering around. Suddenly he felt trapped in a net on the ground. He tried much to get himself out of it. But it was so strong a net weaved by some hunters to catch the Lion that he could not escape from it. He felt helpless and started roaring with pain and disgust.

The Rat happened to hear the sounds and sensed something wrong. It immediately ran in the direction of the sounds and found the Lion entangled in a trap.

The Lion saw the Rat and asked it to help him somehow. The Rat said, "Don't worry. I will set you free within minutes".

Then, it went nearer to the net and began cutting the net into pieces quickly with its sharp teeth. Within minutes, the whole net was cut into tiny pieces and the Lion was released from the trap before the hunters could return to catch the Lion.

The Lion thanked the Rat and they became good friends since that day. He allowed the Rat to play on him daily and both of them used to enjoy the days hunting and sharing their food. together.

So what we learn from this story is that we should not underestimate others by their size or physique. All are powered with some skills in their own way and can be of much use when the time comes.

Short Stories- The Demon, A Smart Boy, and Mango Pickle

Hi, guys! Come on, let me tell you a story that I used to hear from my father when I was a child.

It is the story of a fearful demon and a clever child, and how he saved his sister from the demon's captivity.

Once upon a time, there was a family living on the outskirts of a village closer to the forest. The family had five members: a father, a mother, a daughter, and two sons. The older son was 7 years old, and the younger was about 3 years old, with the daughter being the oldest at 12 years. Since they lived in that small village, they had to travel to a nearby town each month to buy essential household items.


Now, in the nearby forest, there lived a demon who often entered the village at midday when all were out on duty, and used to catch the children from the place.


One day, the family went shopping, leaving the girl alone at home. Before leaving, they instructed her to keep all doors shut and not to open them to anyone until they returned. They also told her to keep the food prepared, as they might be late in the evening. She agreed, kept the doors shut, and continued with her studies along with some kitchen work.


At midday, the Demon comes out of the forest as usual and wanders into the village. He finds the girl alone through the window, which was left open by mistake. Immediately, he breaks the window, enters the house, grabs the girl, and runs into the forest. She screams for help, but there is nobody nearby to hear her. He takes her to his house in the forest and forces her to work for him, ordering her to prepare food and do all the chores. He threatens to eat her if she disobeys his orders or tries to run away. The girl becomes frightened and agrees to do all his work.


Meanwhile, the family returns home in the evening and finds the doors open. Immediately, they rush into the house and shout for the girl. The boys also shouted for their sister but could not find her. They start weeping. The mother also weeps and asks her husband to go into the village and enquire about the girl. When the husband runs across the lanes shouting for the girl, somebody tells him that he heard his daughter's screams and saw the demon carrying her away from a great distance. The man gets frightened and reveals the fact to his wife. She begins weeping loudly, banging her head. The little boy tells her that he will go into the forest and bring his sister back, and asks her not to weep.


The parents get agitated with his words and tell the child that the Demon is dreadful, giant in size, and very powerful and cruel. They disapprove of his going there. But the little child insists on his going, saying that he and his elder brother will go to him and bring their sister back. The brother also agrees with his younger one. So the mother had to agree unwillingly and give them food to eat on the way, as it would soon be night. They take the food in their lunch boxes and leave home.


On the way to the forest, they enjoy the scenery around. The small child was very new to all this. So he kept asking many questions in his quest for knowledge about various things. Soon they entered the forest, and the sun was setting. The little boy gets very hungry and wants to eat the food. So both of them sit under a tree and open their boxes to eat.


When they opened the boxes, the boys found one filled with curd rice and a mango pickle meant for the younger one, and the other with buttermilk rice mixed with a little salt, and there was no pickle in that box for the elder one. So, the elder brother asks the younger one to give him the pickle, saying that it will be very hot because it is made with red chili powder, and that the curd rice will be very tasty without any pickle. He also tells him that it is very hard to eat buttermilk rice without some pickle. The younger one agrees and gives him the mango pickle. Then, both of them eat and continue their journey toward the demon's house.


Now, they come across some small piglets in the forest. The clever child asks his brother, "What are they, brother?" The brother tells him they are piglets. The boy says he wants them. When his brother refuses to catch them, he cries and demands his mango pickle back. The brother scolds him, saying how could he return the pickle that was already eaten. But the younger one does not accept this and demands either to catch the piglets or get his pickle back. So, the brother had to catch the piglets. He ties them with a towel and gives them to the child.


They proceed some distance where they find black, large-sized ants. Again, he asks his brother: "Brother, what are they?" Brother replies: "They are ants. If they bite, you can not bear the pain." But the younger one was determined. He demands to catch them in his empty lunch box or else return his pickle. So the elder one catches them carefully using a cloth and puts them into the box.


They set out again and traveled some distance. There, they come across a well. A jute rope hangs from the well, tied to a bucket. The boy asks what it is. The brother explains that it is a rope used for drawing water from the well. The boy says he wants the rope. The brother scolds him angrily, asking what he would do with it. But the child insists that he needs it or he will not give back his mango pickle. The elder becomes very angry but controls himself, then quietly goes to the well and brings back the rope.


They resumed the journey and were getting tired by now. Just then, an ass goes that way. The small boy again asks his brother what it is. Brother says it is an ass, and if it kicks, the bones will get fractured. The little boy says it is needed by him as he is tired and can't walk anymore. The brother again scolds him. But he would not listen and demanded the ass, or else return his mango pickle. The elder gets very irritated and shouts angrily. But the child was adamant and kept on demanding. So he has to catch the ass. Then the small boy climbs on it and asks his brother to sit on it. He sits unwillingly, and they proceed towards the demon's house.


After passing some more distance, they come across a woman selling curd in a pot. The small boy again asks his brother for the curd. They purchase the whole curd along with the pot. They keep the pot on the back of the ass, holding it carefully, and at last, they see some light burning from a house. They reached it and found it to be the demon's house.


They enter the house. The demon was out at that time, and their sister was cooking food in the kitchen. Seeing her brothers there, she becomes terribly afraid and asks them why they came. The small one tells her that they came to take her home. She becomes more alarmed and tells them that if the demon sees them, he will eat them instantly. She asks them to hide immediately in the attic of the room because the demon will be there in a few moments. So they climb up with their donkey and all their belongings and hide in a dark place.


The Demon soon arrived and demanded food. The girl immediately makes him sit under the attic, serving the food on a large plate from big giant bowls. Her brothers view the demon and those giant heaps of food from their hideout with astonishment. Meanwhile, the demon smells something wrong. He complains of a human smell touching his nose. The girl immediately replies that she is a human being, and he might be getting her smell. He thinks she is right and starts eating.


Meanwhile, the small boy in the attic tells his brother that he has to pass number one. The brother asks him to hold on for some time till the demon leaves. But he could not withhold, and it fell onto the demon's plate. He asks the girl what it was that was falling from above. She trembles for some time but immediately replies that it might be the oil placed in the attic that some mouse could have spilled. So he eats silently.


After some time, the small boy tells his brother that he can't keep silent for so long and wants to sing. The brother asks him to sing quietly inside himself. But the child starts singing loudly, and the demon shouts and asks who it is. Immediately, the boy shouts even louder, asking the demon who he is to ask such a question. The demon replies, "I am a Demon." The boy quickly responds in an even louder and harsher voice that he is a "Super Demon." Now the demon gets confused and begins wondering what a Super Demon could be.


The smart boy throws the baby pigs at the demon and shouts, 'See these lice from my hair." The demon is stunned by the size of the lice. Then the boy throws a rope at him and shouts, "See my hair." The demon becomes frightened by the length and strength of his hair. The boy then shouts again, "I want to spit on you," and empties curd from the pot onto his head. The demon starts trembling at this. Next, the clever boy puts ants into the donkey's ear, causing it to make a very loud noise due to the pain from the bites. Unable to bear the noise, the demon fears that this super demon must be very powerful and will surely kill him. Immediately, he starts running without looking back and leaves the forest forever.


Now the boys get down from the attic, and their sister embraces them and pats the little boy with gratitude and love. Then they return home, and the girl tells their parents all that happened. All of them are pleased at the little boy's cleverness and give him plenty of love and blessings and lots of gifts.

 All of them lived happily thereafter.


From this story, we can learn that wisdom and smartness are more powerful than physical strength. That is why even a small boy succeeded in driving away a giant and strong-bodied demon.


The mango pickle was simply a tool he adopted to tease his brother and get all the requirements for his smart idea of driving away the demon. Otherwise, the elder brother would not have helped him in getting all those pig babies, rope, curd, ants, and ass for his plan. Cleverness can solve any kind of problem. This is the essence of this story.


I hope all of you enjoyed this story. Kindly leave your comments below.

Short Stories- A Tale of Cunning Fox and A Clever Crow

Once there lived a Fox who was cunning and duped all others.

One day, he saw a Crow sitting on the branch of a tree and eating something, very joyfully enjoying the taste of it. The Fox grew jealous and thought of snatching it from the crow. So he planned something.

He moved closer to the tree and, looking up at the Crow, began praising her. 

He said she was very beautiful and that he had heard everyone talking about her voice being very sweet and melodious. So he asked the Crow to sing a song for him so he could also enjoy her sweet voice.

Now the Crow comes to know of the intentions of the Fox as she had heard many times from her mother of the tale of a Fox duping her by praising her in just the same way thereby inducing her open her mouth for singing a song and how the piece of bread slipped from her mouth and how the Fox caught it and swallowed it immediately fooling her.

But this Crow is not like her mother, but very clever, having been brought up in this new age, cunning world. So she thinks of teaching a lesson to that Fox so that nobody will dare to dupe others. The Fox was unable to imagine the smartness of the Crow.

The Crow takes out the cheese from her mouth and holds it tightly against a branch of the tree with her legs, then opens her mouth and begins cawing very harshly and terrifically in a loud voice. The Fox below the tree, waiting for the cheese to fall into his mouth, gets bewildered by this sudden harsh voice of the Crow and starts shivering because he cannot understand what is happening. The Crow continues her singing and cawing, and the Fox can't bear it anymore. So, he runs away from there as fast as he can, full of fear, without looking back, and never returns to that place.

From this story, you can learn that if one tries to deceive or dupe others, there will be more cunning and smarter people to teach him lessons.