The Brave Little Parrot

Once, long ago, the Buddha was born as a little parrot. One day a storm fell upon his forest home. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed, and a dead tree, struck by lightning, burst into flames. Sparks leapt on the wind and soon the forest was ablaze. Terrified animals ran wildly in all directions, seeking safety from flames and smoke.

The Happy Prince

The statue of the Happy Prince stood high above the city. It was covered all over within the leaves of gold. For the eyes it had two blue jewels, and there was a large red jewel on the top of his sword.

Everyone thought that it was very beautiful.

“Why can’t you be like the Happy Prince?” mothers said to their little boys when they cried.

Called to the Rescue

A young man from Cambridge University, Mr. D- had been studying during the summer at the quiet little town of Exmouth. At this place, as many readers know, the river Exe is crossed by a ferry, which brings passengers near the Starcross station on the Great Western Railway. For this purpose a boat remains ready from sunrise till sunset.

The Treasure Hunt

The school was closed for summer. Tom and Huck met at the same place. It was the end of the village street and the beginning of the forest. Here they played many games; and when they were tired out, they sat down under the shade of the tree and talked. One evening they made up their minds to hunt for a hidden treasure. They had learnt that hidden treasures lay buried at the foot of big, old trees, or in broken-down houses which were haunted by ghosts or spirits.

Birbal goes to Heaven

Birbal was a minister of Akbar the Great who was the emperor of India. He was a very clever man and Akbar was very fond of him. The courtiers could see the emperor walking along the palace gardens with his hand on the shoulders of his minister. Such intimacy and trust on the part of the emperor in Birbal roused jealousy of the court nobles. One day they all got together to find a way to ruin Birbal. After a long time they hit upon a bold plan which they were sure would bring death to their enemy and future glory to them. The man who proposed the devilish plan was Ali who was another minister in the court of Akbar.

Jack One – Step

A boy named Jack was on his way to school, when he heard a tapping noise coming from an old log. He bent down and put his ear to the log. Sure enough, it sounded as if there was something inside it. And then he heard a tiny voice calling out: “Help! Please help!”

“Who’s that?” asked Jack.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Once upon a time in a far away land lived a King, Queen and their beautiful daughter, Snow White. The princess was given that name because her skin was white and soft as driven snow. The king was a very good and kind ruler. The queen too was loved by all their subjects and Snow White was the apple of every one’s eye. She was such a beautiful girl that everybody in the kingdom loved her.

The Prince and the Judge

An Arab prince had heard that in a certain town there was a judge who was very clever in discovering the truth. The Prince wished to test the ability of the judge personally, and so he disguised himself as a merchant and set out for the town on his horse.

Near the town where the judge lived, a beggar came up to the prince and asked him for money. The prince gave him some money, but as he was about to continue on his way the beggar stopped him again.