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Panchatantra 0009 - The Fall of the Camel, The Lapwings vs. The Sea, The Foolish Turtle, The Caution of the Three Fishes, and The Sparrow's Fight Against the Elephant

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In a jungle lived a lion king. His followers included a jackal and a crow. One day, they came across a camel. That camel had separated from its caravan and had lost its way. The lion had never seen a camel before in his life. After all, camels did not roam around in the jungle. He asked the jackal and the crow, “What kind of an animal is this? Go find out and let me know.“ The crow said, “It’s a camel. Kill him and eat him.” The lion said, “He has taken refuge in the forest and is a guest. Tell him to come to me without any fear. I will not harm him.“ The jackal and the crow went and spoke to the camel, then brought him to the lion. The camel went and met the lion. He told the lion how he had lost his way and had ended up in the jungle. The lion asked the camel to live there without fear for as long as he wanted. One day, an elephant came to the forest and started creating havoc. The lion, seeing this, went and fought with the elephant. While he managed to defeat the elephant, he was b...
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Panchatantra 0008 - The Flea, The Bedbug, and the Indigo Jackal

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 There was once a great king. This king had a beautiful palace and, in that, a wonderfully decorated bedroom. In that bedroom was a magnificent cot. It had layers of mattresses, on which beautiful, soft bedsheets had been spread. In the gaps between the mattresses lived a flea. This flea would softly bite the king and suck his blood. The king never realised this, and the flea was also happy. One day, a bedbug came there. It met the flea. The flea was shocked. “ Where did this come from? “ The flea asked the bedbug to leave. The bedbug was very offended. “ Is this a way to treat a guest? You need to welcome guests, not drive them away! “ The flea said, “ I suck the king’s blood only when he is fast asleep. I bite him softly; he never realises. Your bite is sharp. If you promise to bite the king only when he is fast asleep, then only I will allow you to stay. “ The bedbug agreed. While they were talking, the king climbed up on his bed. As soon as the king was on the bed, the bedbug,...
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Panchatantra 0007 - The lion and the hare

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 The story starts in a jungle. A jungle that was ruled by a merciless, powerful lion. All were scared of him. One day, the animals got together and asked him why he was randomly killing animals. They said that just one animal a day was enough for him. If he promised not to kill any more, the group would send one animal to him every day as his meal. The lion said he was fine with this, but if on any one day, an animal did not come to him, he would then kill all the animals. The animals promised him this would not happen. One animal would be sent to him, every day. Animals started going to him, one a day. One day it was the turn of a hare. He was reluctant. Who would want to go and become a meal of a lion? Much against his will, he went to the lion, thinking how he could possibly trick the lion. The hare had an idea. He roamed around and went to the lion when the sun was about to set. The lion, in his den, was getting furious. He thought: "The animals broke their promise. Tomorrow I...
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Panchatantra 0006 - The Golden Chain and the Cunning Crab: How to Conquer a Stronger Enemy

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 “Somewhere in India, in a large tree lived a pair of crows. Now, whenever the female crow laid eggs, a black cobra would come and gobble up the eggs. Nearby was a jackal. The crows knew the jackal well. The jackal was also seeing this, every time it happened. As soon as the female crow had laid eggs, the cobra would climb up the tree and eat up the eggs. The crows were afraid that the next time the cobra would eat them up. One day the crows went to him, and complained to him. The jackal asked them not to worry. The jackal said - When the enemy becomes strong, it needs to be tricked into submission. Ordinary ones can escape the enemy by their presence of mind. Act the way the crab did and see how he overpowered a heron. The crows wanted to know about that. The jackal began telling them that story. Let me tell you about this lake. It was a place far away, and the lake was huge. It was home to all kinds of aquatic creatures, and many water birds lived around it, among them was a hero...
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Panchatantra 0005 - How an Ascetic Lost Everything through Misplaced Trust

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  The story of the ascetic starts somewhere in India, in a place, far away. In that city, there was an old monastery. In that monastery lived an ascetic. This ascetic was a learned person and used to give discourses and advise people. Over time, he had gained many devotees. They would come, visit him, listen to him and take his blessings. In return, they would give the ascetic expensive gifts. The ascetic would take the gifts and sell them off in the market. In return he would get money. By doing this, he ended up accumulating a lot of wealth. With wealth, came fear and distrust. He trusted no one and kept all his money in bags, and those bags he tied around himself. His habits of moving around with money bags tied around him, were noticed by robbers. One robber made it his objective to rob the ascetic. He had a problem though. The walls of the monastery were very difficult to climb, and the gates were very high and next to impossible to climb and cross. He decided to please the as...
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Panchatantra 0004 - The merchant and the king

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 There was a beautiful city, somewhere in India. This city was literally governed by a rich merchant. No, he was not the ruler there. There was a king there, and the merchant ensured that everyone, the people, the king - all were pleased. Once this merchant’s daughter was getting married. The merchant had invited most of the city’s people to attend the wedding. He treated them to lavish meals and gave them gifts. He then invited the king and his family and gave them special respect and gifts. A sweeper of the palace heard about this and wanted to try his luck. He had unfortunately, not been invited. Even then, the sweeper went and sat there. The merchant saw this and had the sweeper thrown out. The sweeper felt extremely insulted. The merchant could have been polite and a small meal and gift would not have hurt the merchant. The sweeper went home and lay awake the whole night, thinking of ways to have the merchant fall in the eyes of the king. An idea struck him. He thought over it...
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Panchatantra 0003 - The Jackal, the Drum, and the Scared Lion

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 In a place, far far away, lived a jackal. Always hungry, the jackal was always in the lookout for a proper meal. His hunger took him all over the land. Wherever he found food, was home for him. Wandering like this he came across a battlefield. The battle was over for the day. It was evening and the armies had retired. There were many things scattered on the ground. The jackal, seeing an empty field, began sniffing around. Among many things lying there was a drum. The drum was lying near some bushes. Incidentally, that day, there was a strong wind blowing, and this wind was making the branches of the bushes hit against the drum. This was creating a strange noise. Imagine branches of bushes beating drums. And a deserted battlefield. Sounds eerie. This was a sound that the jackal was unfamiliar with. He got scared and decided to immediately leave the place. He was about to turn back, when he suddenly thought it would be foolish not to see what was causing the sound. At least he could...
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