Kumpulan 25 cerita narative bahasa inggris

berikut ini adalah kumpulan cerita pendek bahasa inggris 25
semoga bermanfaat bagi tugas bahasa inggris kalian

1.      The Lazy Owl

Once upon a time there lived a grey Owl in a thick green forest. The Owl was so lazy that she even didn't bother to fly from one tree to another. One warm day she was fast asleep in a larch-tree when a Woodpecker flew up quite near and began pecking this very tree. The Owl woke up, shook her crumpled wings and asked in a sleepy voice: ``Why are you so noisy? You awoke me, wicked Woodpecker!'' ``Can't you see?'' answered the Woodpecker, looking at her in amazement with his eyes, as small as millet grains, ``I am feeding myself.'' ``Can't you find another place? Get lost!'' cried the Owl. ``Everybody has so much to do, only you are idle all the time,'' said the Woodpecker and flew away. The Owl had settled comfortably on her branch and almost fell asleep again when she heard the dreadful noise the Magpie made, chattering just near her. The Owl scolded the Magpie but in vain. The Magpie was not afraid and answered arrogantly: ``Why are you always sleeping? Look around! All the bird are far too busy to sleep. Some are feeding their nestlings, others collecting bedding for their nests.'' Before the Owl had time to answer her, the Magpie flew away to the forest to listen to local gossip which she loved dearly. The Owl was at the point of falling asleep once again when she heard somebody flying just over her head. It turned out to be the small Tomtit who was busy collecting poplar down for her nest. The Owl watched for some time the birds flying, grasshoppers chirping, swarms of midges buzzing, She felt somewhat ashamed and thought: ``I'll get around to building my nest one day.'' Night fell. There was quite a nip in the air. The Owl shivered and tried to get warm pressing her wings tight to her body. She remembered the Tomtit's warm nest. She wished she could sleep in such a nest. The night seemed very long and cold. Even the eyes of hundreds of stars in the sky looked frozen and dim. The Owl felt she would die of cold while waiting for the crack of dawn. The sun rose at last and everything got warm. The Owl felt snug and warm and fell asleep. That is how one day followed the other but the lazy Owl never built her nest.

2.      How the Camel Lost His Good Looks.

They say that long, long ago the Camel used to be one of the most handsome animals. He had a long fluffy tail and nice and mighty horns. All the animals in the forest and the steppe were envious of the Camel. Many of them wanted to have the kind of tail that the Camel had, or the kind of horns he had. The Camel knew of this and said proudly: ``You won't find the kind of tail I have, or the horns, anywhere else in the world!'' But it would have been better if he had not boasted. Once he came up to the river to have a drink of water and there met a Maral. ``I'm invited to a party. Will you lend me your horns, just for a while?'' asked the Maral. The Camel lent him his horns. Later on that very day the Camel met a Horse. ``I'm invited to a party,'' said the Horse, ``will you lend me your tail?'' The Camel agreed and stayed on the bank of the river. The Maral and the Horse ran off. All day long the Camel was drinking water and looking up the road while waiting for them. But there was no sign either of the Maral, or of the Horse. The Maral had deceived the Camel and skipped over to the taiga. He stayed there for ever and never went out into the open steppe. He got accustomed to the horns as if they were his. The Horse never gave back the borrowed tail and when he comes across the Camel, he gets frightened and runs away. That is how the Camel lost his good looks and sweet temper.

3.      Why the Elk Has a Long Muzzle

Once an Elk was arguing with the Squeaky taiga Gopher. The latter said ``Summer should be two times longer than it is now.'' The Elk disagreed very strongly with her. ``Oh, no! I don't like summer at all. It is too hot and there are much too many gnats and midges in summer. There should be no summer at all. It would be much better.'' The Squeaky Gopher answered: ``If winter lasted all year round there would be so much snow that you wouldn't be able to run quickly. And Man would be sure to kill you.'' ``Kill me?! You rascal!'' The indignant Elk trod on the Gopher, but she managed to escape and hide herself in her hole. Only her tail was left under the Elk's hoof. The Elk, sulky and angry stretched his muzzle and fixed his eyes at the hole, but the Gopher never appeared. Summer had passed but the Elk still waited for the Gopher. But the latter didn't want to meet with the Elk any more, so that he wouldn't be able to offend her again. And the Elk kept waiting by the hole. Rainy autumn had ended. Winter came along and covered everything with snow. And now again noisy spring had arrived, and summer was approaching. Only then did the Elk understand that the Gopher wouldn't come out to argue with him. And he left. Since that time the Elk's muzzle is long and silky, while the Squeaky Gopher's tail is short.

4.      The Golden Pitcher

Long ago in Mongolia, there lived an Emperor who was very vain. More than anything else, he loved to stare at his reflection in the mirror. But one day, he saw something that really puzzled him: there was a gray hair on his head! Alarmed, he sent for his Royal Advisor. "I have mouse hair on my head!" he said. "Nonsense", said the Advisor. "You just have gray hair, as many people do when they get older. You will be seeing more and more of it whenever you look in your mirror." mirror The Emperor didn't like this at all. So he decided that the only thing to do was to stop looking in his mirror. Furthermore, he decided that mirrors were a big problem, so he decreed that all mirrors be destroyed, throughout his land. And the next day, there was the sound of mirrors breaking everywhere. After that, the Emperor forgot about the gray hair for a time. But then one day he saw an old man in the streets, a man who was maybe 100 years old, a man with long white hair and beard. Then the Emperor was upset, because he knew that getting rid of mirrors wasn't enough to prevent him from seeing gray hair. He also had to get rid of the older people, so they would not remind him that he was getting older himself. So he banned all the old people from his land. His problem had been solved...or so he thought. There was one young woman in his land who did not want her grandfather to leave. So she devised a plan. She hid her grandfather in a cave, and gave him a regular supply of food and drink. wind But shortly after, a very, very windy storm came. And it wrecked houses. And destroyed buildings. And blew everything out of the Emperor's palace. Of course his advisors searched and scoured the land for the Emperor's items, and they were all found ... except for his most prized possession-a golden pitcher. The Emperor was very angry. He went out and searched the land himself. And he found the pitcher! It had been in one of his lakes. So advisor after advisor dived into the water...and came up empty-handed. "I dived down to the very bottom, but your pitcher wasn't there!" they exclaimed. The Emperor decided that this was nonsense. And he went after it himself. The Emperor swam down. And down. And down. And down. And farther still. And just as he was about to run out of breath...he grabbed the pitcher! ...Or tried to. But it dissolved! So he hurried back to the surface. lake Obviously, there was some very powerful magic at work here. They could see the pitcher very clearly at the bottom of the lake. So why couldn't anyone get it? Nobody knew, but the Emperor did know he had to get it back -- -that pitcher was very valuable, and had been in his family for many generations. So the Emperor made a new decree. "Whoever shall bring me my golden pitcher from the bottom of the lake shall have anything that he-or she-wishes", he proclaimed. The young woman heard about this, and was very excited. It was a great opportunity to have her grandfather leave the cave and live in peace once again-if only she could get the pitcher! She went back to the cave and told her grandfather. He thought about it for a moment, then smiled and told her his plan. She returned to the Emperor and said, "Come with me to the lake, and I will get the pitcher for you." The Emperor scoffed to think that such a young female would try to do what all his wise men had failed to do, but he thought it might be entertaining to watch, so he went along with her. tree But when they got to the lake, she did not dive into the water. Instead, she began climbing a tree. And that's where she found the pitcher-everyone else had seen only its reflection in the water. The Emperor was delighted. "What wish do you wish to have granted?" he asked her. "I wish to have all the gray-haired people come back and live with us", she answered. The Emperor knew that he was beaten, so he granted her request. And from that day on, he learned to see things as they really are, instead of putting so much stock in appearances. And he lived to be a very wise old Emperor indeed, with lots of gray hair on his head.

5.      Seven Suns

Long ago, when the earth was new there was not one sun, but seven suns, and it was daylight all the time. Sometimes it got too warm, and animals had to run into their burrows to protect themselves. At that time there was a great archer, his name was Erhii Mergen (Wise Thumb). The animals came to him and complained that they were suffering, that because there were so many suns it was too hot all the time. Would he please kill a few of the suns so that the earth would not be so hot? Erhii Mergen agreed to help and so he mounted his horse with his bow and a full quiver of arrows. Very quickly he shot down one, two, three suns, and kept on going until there was only one left. The last sun was frightened, and ran away across the sky, and Erhii Mergen chased it and chased it but could never get close enough to shoot it down. For this reason the sun got into the habit of traveling across the sky and then disappearing during the night, for even to this day Erhii Mergen continues to chase it. However, after so many years of chasing the sun he and his horse have become very tiny, and have turned into the kangaroo rat, which hops around like a horse and rider.

6.      The First Shamans

Long ago, when Ulgen Tenger created mankind people were very happy and lived without any trouble or disease. His brother, Erleg Khan, chief of the spirits of the eastern direction, was unhappy with this situation, and sent disease and unhappiness to human beings. Suddenly people started becoming ill and dying, and Ulgen and the spirits of the western direction were troubled and met together in the Pleiades to discuss how to correct this problem. They decided to send Eagle to be a shaman to mankind. When Eagle came down to earth from the upper world, he tried to communicate with humans and tell them that he had come to be a shaman for them. But because he had originally been created by the spirits of the eastern direction he did not know the human language, and, discouraged, he returned to the upper world and told the western sky spirits he could not help humankind. They told him to return, but this time to find a woman, mate with her, and the child would be the first shaman. So Eagle, flying back to earth, saw a beautiful woman sleeping under a tree, mated with her, and then her son became the first shaman. Even today shamans remember the flight of the eagle in their dances and fly up to heaven when they shamanize. In those days, shamans were very powerful, and could travel about the earth with the speed of lightning, and perform the most amazing tasks. One of the most famous shamans was Hara-Gyrgen, and Ulgen Tenger, seeing the arrogance of this shaman, decided to test him. Tenger took away the soul of the daughter from Hara-Gyrgen's clan, and the girl became like dead. When the shaman arrived he saw at once that the girl's soul was lost, and he shamanized and flew up to the upper world. He came to the dwelling place of Tenger and saw that the girl's soul was in a bottle and Tenger was holding it closed with his thumb. Hara-Gyrgen turned himself into a bee, stung Tenger on the cheek, and when Tenger dropped the bottle to slap the bee, the shaman grabbed the girl's soul and flew back to the earth. Ulgen Tenger was angry and punished the shaman for being too powerful. He made Hara-Gyrgen jump up and down on a mountain forever, and when the mountain has worn down shamans will no longer have their powers. After hundreds of years of jumping on the mountain, Hara-Gyrgen is becoming tired, so now shamans are not as strong as they used to be, and people no longer understand many of the shaman songs.

7.      Creation of the Middle World

Long ago Father Heaven had two sons, Ulgen Tenger and Erleg Khan, Ulgen became the lord of the upper world and Erleg Khan became the lord of the lower world. At that time the earth was covered with water, there was no land. Ulgen Tenger asked the loon to bring up mud from below the water to create land, he was not able to do so, and he was punished by having his legs broken so he could not walk, and the goldeneye duck was called next to bring up land. The duck created a small piece of land that Ulgen was able to lay on. Erleg Khan seeing that his brother had fallen asleep on the new land, tried to pull the land out from under him, but instead the land stretched out in all directions as he pulled it. Next, Ulgen Tenger created animals and humans out of mud and he spread them out to dry. He created the dog to keep watch over the bodies of the new humans while he was gone. Erleg Khan, unhappy to see that his brother was creating humans, came to see the new bodies. The dog would not let him come close, at that time the dog could talk but had no fur. It was cold, and snowing, so Erleg Khan tempted him, saying that if the dog allowed him to see the humans' bodies he would give him a beautiful fur coat. The dog agreed, and was given a shiny beautiful coat. Erleg Khan then spat on the bodies so that humans would have diseases and not be immortal. When Ulgen returned he saw that the dog had fur and that the humans had been damaged, so he punished the dog by making his coat smelly, taking away his voice, and by making the dog follow humans in order to get its food.

8.      The Tree, the Silver Girl, and the Sun and Moon

Long ago, the sun, moon, and the silver girl were three women living together on the new earth, and the tree was their servant. One man fell in love with the silver girl and wanted to marry her. One day, however, when he came, the silver girl was gone, and the tree put on the silver girl's clothing and went away with the man and married him. When the silver girl returned and found out what happened, she was very angry and chased after the man and the tree until she found them. She made the man catch a deer and tie the tree-girl to the deer. The deer ran back and forth across the earth, and the seeds which fell from the tree-girl fell on the ground and the forests sprang up from them. The silver girl then married the man, but after a while the man became tired of her. The sun and moon girls had gone to live in a different place, and the man's wife forbade him to go see her two sisters. However, the man went to the dwelling of the sun and moon, fell in love with the moon and took her as his wife. The silver girl flew into a rage, turned herself into a hawk, and attacked her sisters. The man tried to defend the sisters, and they ran about trying to avoid the attacks. The man's arrows struck the talons of the hawk, for this reason there is a red spot on the hawk's foot. The ruler of the upper world intervened and took the two sisters to the upper world and made them lights for the day and the night and they never met their sister or brother in law again.

9.      The Swan People of Lake Baikal

Long ago, a hunter was walking through the woods near Lake Baikal when he saw a swan fly down and land on the lake. The swan swam to shore, and walked up on the beach. Suddenly, the swan took off its skin, and underneath was a beautiful woman. She set the skin aside, and then went into the lake to bathe. The hunter immediately desired to make the woman his wife so he stole her swan-clothing and hid it. When the woman came out of the water he took her home and married her and they had many, many children. Even though they loved each other, as time went by the wife longed more and more to return to her own people. Finally, after 20 years had passed, she begged her husband to let her return to the swan nation, and so he reluctantly returned her swan clothing. After putting her swan-skin back on, she flew up through the smoke hole of their dwelling and went back to the swan people, never to be seen in human form again. Her children, and all of her descendants among the Buryats who live on Lake Baikal, continue to remember their swan heritage, and for this reason greet the return of the swans every year with songs, offerings, and shamanist ceremonies.

10.  Story of Morin-Khuur

Long time ago, a young man named Sükhe was living in the steppes far far away. One winter night, he was awakened by a awful whining of a horse and he found a dying white mare with a snow-white newborn foal on her side in the pale light of the winter moon. He raised the white foal with great care and the foal also had become very fond of him. A few years later, the white foal became a handsome white racing horse by Sükhe's excellent taming skills.One day, he heard there would be a Naadam (traditional sport game of the Mongols, including horse racing, wrestling and archery) in the Khushuu (administrative unit, equal to a County) and he went to the Naadam to try his luck. At the same time, the governor of the Khushuu was a very bad man at the time and had many nice racing horses to win in the Naadam. Miracle happened, Sükhe's white horse defeated all the nice racing horses of the governor and won the Naadam. However, this was also the beginning of the sad story. In the very next night, Sükhe was awakened by a heartbreaking whining sound In the very next night, Sükhe was awakened by a heartbreaking whining sound of a horse. He rushed out of his Ger (yurt of the Mongols) and found out his dearly loved white horse was lying on the ground with arrows all over his body in the pale light of the full moon. Sükhe burst into tears and with his great grief, he suddenly lost his consciousness. However, in his dream, he was able to meet his horse again. the horse said to Sükhe: " Don't feel sorry, my master, I know you are going to miss me very much, so I give you a instrument, please use my tail hair as the string and when you are missing me, play it." Sükhe woke up and made the instrument, known as the Morin-Khuur [Image] later, according to what the white horse had told him. You can still feel the heart-touching tone of this wonderful instrument which have accompanied the Mongols for many hundred years.

11.  THE TWIN BOYS, ALTIN SHAGOY AND MUNGUN SHAGOY VERY,

very long ago lived Hodoy Shon Mergen Khan. He had a wife named Agwi Nogón; he had also a sister, whose name we do not know. Hodoy Khan said one day, "I will build a great white, square roomy yurta." And he built for himself an immense house, in the upper part of which he made many windows, and in the lower part many doors. The main building was gold on the outside and silver inside. The wings and rear buildings were silver. Hodoy Khan made bazaars, he made thirty-three of them, and thrice daily at each of these were exchanged gold and silver for furs of all sorts; sable, beaver, and ermine were offered for sale in them. He sold to twelve other khans, and to peoples of seventy-three languages. South of his golden yurta ten thousand cattle were at pasture; thousands and thousands of people were under his hand, and obeyed him. Hodoy loved his one sister very greatly, so he built a splendid yurta for her, with many windows in the upper part and many doors in the lower. She was not living long in this splendid new yurta when the wife of a Mangathai came to her. This woman was a lying, deceitful, old flat-nose, who began to persuade the khan's sister to marry her son, a hundred and eight headed Mangathai. "My brother is very stern," said Hodoy's sister. "He is chief of the thirteen khans; I do not wish to disobey him. He will not let me marry; he wants me to live in this house where I am, and be near him." The mother went away after these words. "I will put an end to Hodoy Khan," said she in her own mind. She went out to the broad steppe, the open country, and got a plant which makes all people who eat of it swell up, but does not otherwise injure them. p. 293 "Eat this," said she to the khan's sister; and foolishly she ate it. Then she began to swell up, and was terribly frightened. "Nothing can cure you, or save you," said the Mangathai woman, "but the liver of Shara Nagóy (Yellow Dog). Tell your brother to go for it." She went then to her brother, and said: "I am sick, very sick." "What hast thou seen in dreams?" asked Hodoy Khan. "I saw in a dream that Yellow Dog lives beyond nine mountain ranges, and that if I eat his liver I shall be well; if not, I shall continue to swell and shall die surely." "I have always told thee," said the brother, "that Shara Nagóy is a great friend of mine; how canst thou eat my friend's liver?" "I tell thee my dream," replied the sister. The sister went home. Hodoy Khan saddled a red horse that was ninety fathoms long and had ears three ells high; he mounted, took his bow with its quiver, and rode away with all swiftness. He rode and rode, but still he was far from Yellow Dog's kingdom. Then he made his horse into a flint chip, put the chip in his pocket, made himself into a wolf, ran on and on, but the wolf could not reach Yellow Dog's kingdom. He traveled till a great swamp was before him, then he turned himself into a falcon, flew and flew far; flew over the great swamp and over a wet meadow. After that he turned himself into a fox, and raced on, raced far beyond that. Still the fox could not go to Yellow Dog's kingdom. Now Hodoy took his own form again and went toward Ulan Hada, a mountain which seemed to touch the sky. He could not pass over that mountain, so he tried to go around it, but found at one side a stream of blood flowing down straight in front of him. This blood was from people who had fallen and killed themselves while trying to climb that mountain. "How are we to pass this mountain?" asked Hodoy of his horse. "We must go back eighty versts," said the horse. "Then I will rush forward with all my might. But hold thou to me firmly." They went back; the horse rushed forward, sprang, reached the top, crossed the mountain, went down on the other side, and p. 294 went farther, but could not reach Yellow Dog's land for a long time. They came to the boundary at last, and crossed it. Yellow Dog heard them approaching, and began to call to them, to attract, and to draw them on by his magic. When Yellow Dog called Hodoy's horse stuck his feet in the earth and resisted, held back with all his strength. The wind made by Yellow Dog raised Hodoy's skirts above his head and was dragging them off. The power that drew him on was tearing the clothes from his body. Now on his horse he rose to the sky to get nails there. The seven sky smiths gave him the nails, and he nailed his skirts to the saddle behind and in front. Yellow Dog then began to howl, and all the nails were drawn and dropped out of the saddle. All the trees in the forest round about fell to the earth from the howling. The horse could resist no longer. It rushed forward swiftly till Hodoy saw Yellow Dog's open mouth before him; the upper jaw touching the sky, the lower jaw on the earth; he moved not. Hodoy was pulled off his horse and drawn into the mouth. He grasped an upper tooth with one hand and pushed a lower tooth with his foot. "Why come to fight me?" inquired Yellow Dog. "We were friends, thou and I; for that reason I will leave thee alive." He placed Hodoy in a deep pit, poured living water upon him, that he might live and not die there. "Remain here," said Yellow Dog, "till a son of thine comes to rescue thee." Then he placed a great heavy stone over the pit and left Hodoy covered there, safely. Next he turned to the horse, put all Hodoy's things on his back, and said: "If thy master has sons, or daughters, take these things to them." The horse went home, but found no one there except Hodoy's wife. The sister was gone; the houses had vanished; all was gone. The young Mangathai had taken sister, houses, cattle, people, and had left nothing behind but a poor little yurta, and Hodoy's wife, living in it. Soon after twins were born to her; their backs were of gold and their hearts were of silver. They grew so fast that three days after their birth the skin of a sheep three years old was too narrow to wrap around them. p. 295 The Mangathai by his magic knew that Hodoy's wife had twins, and he said: "We must kill those two children." A magpie flew into the yurta, and told the poor mother that the wicked Mangathai was coming to kill her two children. She took the boys, put them on the red horse, with provisions, and rode away to a mountain. She left the boys on that mountain and went home again quickly. Soon after the Mangathai came to her wretched little yurta. "Thou hast two young sons," said he. "Where are they? Where hast thou put them?" One ewe with twin lambs was left to the woman. This ewe was the last of her flock. She had taken the twin lambs and burned them. "Tell me where thy two boys are!" screamed the Mangathai. "I threw them into the fire," said the mother, "because they were shapeless, born prematurely." "If they were thrown into the fire there must be bones left. Where are their bones?" "Here they are," said she, showing the bones of the little twin lambs. The Mangathai looked at them. "These are the bones of a beast," said he, "not the bones of children," and he fell to beating her with a club very cruelly. She would tell nothing about her sons, except that the charred bones were theirs. The Mangathai went home; then he sent seven hundred men quickly to search in all places, to hunt for the children and find them at any cost. The men searched three days for the children. On the fourth day the whole company was at the foot of the mountain and the boys on the summit. "Let us go down," said one boy to the other at midnight. "Let us take provisions from those men who are hunting for us." When the boys reached the foot of the mountain the seven hundred were sleeping. The brothers took two saddled horses and two baskets of bomshoy (cream mixed with rye flour) and went back to the mountain top. They sent home the red horse, ate bomshoy, and started; rode away southward; escaped p. 296 on the two small horses. The seven hundred could not find them, and went back empty handed. The brothers rode on and on till they reached a broad meadow. At one side of the meadow was a poor little hut with a big smoke rising out of it. They tied their horses to the hitching-post and went into the hut. There they saw a gray old man, and a little old woman sitting by the fire, but no child was there. "We are childless," said the man and the woman; "be our children. Whose sons are ye? Where is your birthplace?" "We were born on Ulan Hada. We know not our father or mother. We are willing to be your children." The boys let out their horses and sat down to eat. The next morning they went off with the old man to herd sheep. While following the sheep they saw wild goats racing around through the forest. "What beasts are those?" asked the brothers. "If a man is a master at shooting he kills them; they are good to eat," said the old man. "If he is not a master he looks at them, and does nothing." The next day the old man made bows and arrows, and gave them to the twin brothers. "Shoot," said he. They shot, and killed many goats. The old man and woman dressed and cooked the flesh gladly. Farther on in the forest was a house. "What is that?" asked the boys of the old man and woman. "Small boys like you must not look into that house," said the old people. "Why not?" asked they. "Any man may look in, or he may enter." The next day, when out herding, they left the sheep, and went into the house. Inside were two hundred men, one half of them crying, the other half laughing. "Why are ye shut up here?" asked the brothers. "Why are some of you laughing, while others are crying?" "Those who are crying will be eaten to-day by the Mangathai; those who are laughing will be eaten to-morrow. The Mangathai comes every day to eat people. Do ye go away quickly." p. 297 "We have no fear of that Mangathai," said the boys. "What will ye give us if we kill him?" "One half of our gold and one half of our cattle." "When the Mangathai comes we will be here. Shut the door, and bar it firmly. Do not let him enter." The two boys turned into two bees, one above the door, and one at the side of it. When the Mangathai knocked the people answered, "We'll not let you in!" "Who taught you to keep me out?" "No one." "If you do not let me in at the door, I'll come down through the smoke-hole!" said the Mangathai in a rage, and he started to climb to the smoke-hole, then the two bees went one into one ear, the other into the other ear of the Mangathai, and stung the brain in him till he died in great torment. The two hundred men gathered wood, burned the Mangathai, and scattered his ashes; then they brought meat with tarasun, and feasted the brothers. The next day they gave half their gold and half their cattle to the boys, who sent all this wealth to their mother's yurta. They went back then to the old man and woman, and said this to them: "We are the sons of Hodoy Khan. We must go to our parents. We can live with you no longer." The old people cried, and begged, but the brothers went home in spite of their tears. They found the gold in their mother's yurta, and the cattle at pasture near by. "Where is our father?" asked they. "Thy father was killed long ago while away from home fighting," said the mother. "Where was he killed?" "I will not tell, for you are too young yet to hear of this." After that she boiled milk for them. When it was boiling they seized her, thrust her hands into the milk, and said: "Tell us now where our father is." Then she told all that the red horse had told her. "He is in Yellow Dog's kingdom where a great stone confines him," said Agwi Nogón. The two brothers mounted their horses straightway and rode to Yellow Dog's kingdom. When they were near that great p. 298 kingdom Yellow Dog heard them coming and pulled them in by his magic, and when they were close enough, he asked: "Whose sons are ye?" They told him. "I was always a friend of your father," said Yellow Dog, "but his sister forced him to come here to kill me, so I put him in a pit, and placed a heavy stone over him. Draw him out of that pit, and take him home to his own place." The stone was very heavy. The elder of the twins raised it a little, the younger raised it higher, with great effort, and then they rolled it to one side completely. Their father was wondrous to look at. His hair had grown out through his cap; his toe-nails had gone through his boots, and his finger-nails through his gloves. He was barely alive when they freed him. A raven was flying from the north, it was flying toward them with great speed. When she came near, they called out to her: "Bring the Water of Life. Bring it quickly!" The raven flew away, and wherever she found that water, she brought back her beak full, and poured it over Hodoy. He revived at once, became youthful, shook himself and stood up. "How long I have slept!" said he. He begged Yellow Dog then to go with him and his two sons to punish the Mangathai, and kill him. Yellow Dog agreed and they started off together. When Hodoy was near home he sent his sons to their mother, and went with his friend to meet the Mangathai. Not far from the Mangathai's house Hodoy Khan saw his own cattle, and among them a bull that in fighting had lost one horn and one eye. They met two herdsmen and asked: "Have ye not seen any strange cattle? Ours ran away from us." The herdsmen gave no answer. Hodoy and Yellow Dog broke the necks of those herdsmen. The two friends went on farther, and saw Hodoy's horses. Again they met two herdsmen, and Hodoy asked: "Have ye seen my horses?" They gave no answer, and received the same death as the other two. Next they met two women driving seventy small calves. These women did not answer questions put to them, and they were killed also. p. 299 When the friends were near the house of the Mangathai they turned into two immense dogs of great strength, and became of the very same age. Everything was bright at the Mangathai's yurta, gleaming. Guards would not let in the strange, dreadful dogs; the dogs tore the heads off those guards, and then walked into the yurta very boldly. The Mangathai was sitting at the left side of the room, his wife was at the side opposite, and was kneading a rawhide. The dogs began smelling around. "Such immense dogs," said the Mangathai, "must belong to a very rich man; give them something to eat. It may serve us to feed them." When food was given the dogs fought for it savagely. The Mangathai tried to quiet them. The dogs fell on him. He rushed from the house, and ran off to save himself. The two dogs followed and attacked him outside. Yellow Dog tore him to pieces, ate him up where he killed him, devoured every bit of his body. When Yellow Dog had finished the Mangathai, the two friends took their own forms immediately. "Now," asked they of the Mangathai's wife, "which wilt thou have as a present, seventy horse tails, or seventy sharp stakes?" She answered not a word. They took her by the hair then, and dragged her to a place where three roads met, nailed her alive to a very great larch tree, poured the Water of Life on her so that she might survive every torment, and live on for countless years, unable to die. Then they put in front of the tree two casks, on one was a blunt knife, on the other a pair of dull scissors. On the tree they wrote this inscription: "When a man passes here he must cut, with the knife, a piece of flesh from this woman's body; when a woman goes by she must use the dull scissors in cutting." Each time that flesh was cut from the woman a new piece grew quickly, taking the place of the old one cut off by the knife or the scissors. Hodoy now drove home all his cattle. Yellow Dog went with him, and they had a great feast; a sea of drink and a mountain of meat for all present. Then he gave half of his p. 300 cattle and riches to Yellow Dog, and conducted him homeward with honor. "We shall be friends," said he, "from this day forth, and forever." The next day Hodoy summoned all his people and said: "I have conquered the Mangathai, and these are my two sons." Among the guests was one old man, white bearded to the knees. "I will give names to thy sons if thou wish," said this old man. Hodoy gave permission. "The elder will be called Altin Shagoy, Gold Knee Cap, the younger Mungun Shagoy, Silver Knee Cap," and so it was.

12.  The Story of Ogedei

In the spring of the year 1222 a child was born unto Bolor Uker and Tansung Cecelg and the shores of the River Kerulem. Bolor Uker. His father was freshly returned from the battle against the Chin after their general had died. In 1226 the Khan and his generals returned victorious from his eastern campaigns. It is said that the Tanguts failed to supply the Khan with troops and so needed to feel the justice of the Khan and so in 1226 his father joined back with the great army and marched on these infidels. During this campaign his father was wounded and died on the field. It is of note that Ghengis Khan has also fallen in battle and died. The soldiers learning of this razed the Tangut capital to the ground. The child was named Ogedei in reverence to the Ghengis Khan’s third son who would later become Khan over us and the lands we live on. The campaigns continued as Ogedei grew up under his mothers instruction. He began to learn the arts of horsemanship at an early age and at the age of eight received his first horse, Cakilgan. He spent many afternoons riding Cakilgan across the open steppe with the other boys of his camp, racing and playing as boys should knowing his people were destined to conquer the world. He often played games with the other boys with the ankle bones of animals. At these he proved most excellent showing a sharp mind and a good grasp of strategy. Sometimes they would just try and shoot the bones off a log with their bows and arrows. Their favorite pastime was wrestling and when not on their horses you almost always found them struggling to be the strongest . Our games were preparing us for the hard military life ahead. When Ogedei reached the age of ten his mother gave to him his fathers saddle and he captured a wild steppe pony. After many throws he finally managed to break this noble animal. Soon he would come to know him as Bilig, because as mean tempered as he could be, he could also show amazing intelligence and wisdom. As winter approached on his tenth year the boys of the camp began to go out and hunt small animals like foxes and rabbits. Often after they had caught several of these they would light a fire on the steppe and cook some of them in a celebratory feast before returning home with their catch. These games continued soon the older boys of the village had become men and were going off to war to join the army and our glorious cause in some far away land. Soon Ogedeis turn came and in the year 1239, his 17th year an emissary from the Khan arrived and Ogedei and several of his friends were ordered to the west to join a great army that was about to attack a strange people. In the year 1241 he arrived with the army and was assigned to his place and went there without question eager to further the Khans vision.

13.  THE JACKAL AND THE DRUM

Once upon a time, in a jungle there lived a jackal by the name of Gomaya. One day, he was very hungry and was wandering in search of food. While wandering, he came across a battle field. There he saw a big drum lying under a tree. When the wind blew, a tender branch grown at the root of the tree struck the drum producing sound of a drum beat. The jackal examined the drum from all sides and then beat the drum with his front paws. The drum made a sound. Now the jackal thought that there might be some other small animal inside the drum and that would make a very tasty meal for him. But he found the top of the drum too tough to tear off. The jackal thought of a plan and began to beat the drum with both his front paws.The sound of drumbeat filled the whole jungle. A leopard who was attracted towards the sound of the drum, came near it. The jackal said to the leopard, "Your Majesty, there is some animal hiding inside the drum. Since you have sharp claws and strong teeth, you can tear off the top of the drum and catch your prey inside the drum. The leopard was himself hungry So he hit the top of the drum with his heavy paws. The drum burst with a sound, but there was no animal inside. The drum was empty. Seeing the empty drum, the leopard became very angry and said to the jackal, "You have wasted my time. There is no food inside the drum. So I will kill and eat you." The leopard pounced upon the jackal and killed and ate him.

14.  THE FOUR FRIENDS AND THE HUNTER

Long, long ago, there lived three friends in a jungle. They were-a deer, a crow and a mouse. They used to share their meals together. One day, a turtle came to them and said, "I also want to join your company and become your friend. I'm all alone. " "You're most welcome," said the crow. "But what about your personal safety. There are many hunters around. They visit this jungle regularly. Suppose, a hunter comes, how will you save yourself?" "That is the reason why I want to join your group," said the turtle No sooner had they talked about it than a hunter appeared on the scene. Seeing the hunter, the deer darted away; the crow flew in the sky and the mouse ran into a hole. The turtle tried to crawl away fast, but he was caught by the hunter. The hunter tied him up in the net. He was sad to lose the deer. But he thought, it was better to feast on the turtle rather than to go hungry. The turtle's three friends became much worried to see his friend trapped by the hunter. They sat together to think of some plan to free his friend from the hunter's snare. The crow then flew high up in the sky and spotted the hunter walking along the river bank. As per the plan the deer ran ahead of the hunter unnoticed and lay on the hunter's path as if dead. The hunter saw the deer from a distance, lying on the ground. He was very happy to have found it again. "Now I'll have a good feast on it and sell its beautiful skin in the market," thought the hunter to himself. He put down the turtle on to the ground and ran to pick up the deer. In the meantime, as planned, the rat gnawed through the net and freed the turtle. The turtle hurriedly crawled away into the river water. Unaware of the plot of these friends, the hunter went to fetch the dear for its tasty flesh and beautiful skin. But, what he saw with his mouth agape was that, when he reached near, the deer suddenly sprang up to its feet and darted away in the jungle. Before he could understand anything, the deer had disappeared. Dejected, the hunter turned back to collect the turtle he had left behind on the ground in the snare. But he was shocked to see the snare lying nibbled at and the turtle missing. For a moment, the hunter thought that he was dreaming. But the damaged snare lying on the ground was proof enough to confirm that he was very much awake and he was compelled to believe that some miracle had taken place. The hunter got frightened on account of these happenings and ran out of the jungle. The four friends once again started living happily.

15.  THE TALKATIVE TORTOISE

Once upon a time, two geese by the names of Sankata and Vikata and a tortoise by the name of Kambugriva lived near a river. They were good friends. Once, due to drought in the region, all the rivers, lakes and ponds went dry. There was not a drop of water to drink for the birds and animals. They began to die of thirst. The three friends talked among themselves to find a solution to this problem and go out in search of water. But despite their best efforts they could not find water anywhere around. Having no alternative the three friends decided to go to some distant lake, full of water, to settle down there forever. But there was a problem in shifting to so distant a place. While it was easy for the geese to fly, it was difficult for the tortoise to cover that distance on foot. So the tortoise put up a bright idea. He said, "Why not bring a strong stick? I will hold the stick in the middle with my teeth and you two hold both the ends of the stick in your beaks. In this manner, I can also travel with you." Hearing the suggestion of the tortoise, the geese cautioned him, "It's a very good idea. We will do as you say. But you will have to be very careful. The problem with you is that you are very talkative. And if you open your mouth to say something, while we are flying, it will definitely prove to be detrimental to you. So, don't talk while you are dangling by the stick, otherwise you will lose your hold and go crashing down on the ground and die." The tortoise understood the logic and promised not to open his mouth during the entire journey. So the geese held the stick ends in their beaks and the tortoise held the stick in the middle with his teeth and thus, they began their long journey. They flew over hills, valleys, villages, forests and finally came over a town. While they were flying over the town, men, women and children came out of their houses to see this strange sight. The children began shouting and clapping. The foolish tortoise forgot that he was hanging precariously. He became so curious to know the reason behind these clappings that he opened his mouth to ask his friends-"Friends, what is this all about?" But as soon as he opened his, mouth to utter these words, he loosened his hold on the stick and fell down on the ground and died instantaneously.

16.  THE SAGE AND THE MOUSE

There lived a famous sage in a dense forest. Everyday, the animals of the forest came to him to listen to his spiritual preachings. They would gather around the meditating sage and the sage would tell them the good things of life. There was also a little mouse living in the same forest. He too used to go to the sage daily to listen to his preachings. One day, while he was roaming in the forest to collect berries for the sage, he was attacked by a big cat, who was watching him from behind the thick bushes. The mouse was scared. He ran straight to the ashram of the sage. There he lay prostrate before the sage and narrated to him the whole story in a trembling voice. In the meantime, the cat also arrived there and requested the sage to allow him to take his prey. The sage was in a fix. He thought for a moment and then with his divine powers transformed the mouse into a bigger cat. Seeing a huge cat before him the other cat ran away. Now the mouse was carefree. He began to roam about in the forest like a big cat. He meowed loudly to frighten other animals. He fought with other cats to take revenge on them and in this way killed many of them. The mouse had hardly enjoyed a few carefree days of his life, when one day, a fox pounced upon him. This was a new problem. He had never taken into acount that there were yet bigger animals who could easily maul him and tear him into pieces. He,ran for his life,- He, somehow, saved himself from the fox and ran straight to the sage for help. The fox too was in his hot persuit. Soon both of them stood before the sage. The sage seeing the plight of the mouse this time, transformed the mouse into a bigger fox. Seeing a big fox before him the other fox ran away. The mouse became more carefree and began roaming about in the forest more freely with his newly acquired status of a big fox. But, his happiness was short-lived. One day, while he was moving around in the forest freely, a tiger pounced upon him. The mouse, somehow, managed to save his life and as usual ran to take shelter in the ashram of the sage. The sage, once again, took pity on the mouse and transformed him into a tiger. Now, the mouse, after acquiring the. status of a tiger, roamed fearlessly in the forest. He killed many animals in the forest unnecessarily. After having been transformed into a tiger, the mouse had become all-powerful for the -forest animals. He behaved like a king and commanded his subjects. But one thing always bothered his mind and kept him worried; and that was, the divine powers of the sage. "What, if, one day for some reason or the other, the sage becomes angry with me and brings me back to my original status," he would think worriedly. Ultimately, he decided something and one day, he came to the sage roaring loudly. He said to the sage, "I'm hungry. I want to eat you, so that I could enjoy all those divine powers, which you do. Allow me to kill you." Hearing these words the sage became very angry. Sensing tiger's evil designs, he immediately transformed the tiger back into the mouse. The worst had happened. Now the mouse realised his folly. He apologised to the saint for his evil actions and requested him to change him again into a tiger. But the sage drove the mouse away by beating him with a stick.

17.  BEWARE OF MEAN FRIENDS

There in a deep jungle, lived a lion by the name of Madotkata. He had three selfish friends-a jackal, a crow and a wolf. They had become friendly with the lion, because he was the king of the forest. They were always at the service of the lion and obeyed him to meet their selfish ends. Once, a camel got disorientated in the jungle while grazing and went astray. He tried hard to find his way out, but could not succeed. In the meantime, these three friends of the lion saw the camel, wandering in a confused manner. "He doesn't seem to come from our forest", said the jackal to his friends. "Let's kill and eat him." "No", said the wolf. "It's a big animal. Let's go and inform our king, the lion." "Yes, this is a good idea", said the crow. "We can have our share of flesh after the king kills the came. "Having decided upon this the three went to meet the lion. "Your Majesty", said the jackal, "a camel from some other forest has entered into your kingdom without your permission. His body is full of delicious flesh. He may prove to be our best meal. Let's kill him". Hearing the advice of his friends, the lion roared in anger and said, "What're you talking about? The camel has walked into my kingdom for the sake of his safety. We should give him shelter and not kill him. Go and bring him to me." The three became very disheartened to hear the lion's words. But they were helpless. So having no alternative, they went to the camel and told him about the wishes of the lion who wanted to meet him and have dinner with him. The camel was terribly frightened to learn the awkward proposal. Thinking that his last moment had arrived and soon he would be killed by the king of the forest, he resigned himself to the mercy of his fate and went to see the lion in his den. However, the lion was very happy to see him. He talked to him sweetly and assured him of all the safety in the forest, so long as he stayed there. The camel was simply astonished and was very happy to hear the lion's words. He began living with the jackal, the wolf and the crow. But once, bad luck struck the lion. One day, while he was hunting for food with his friends, he had a fight with a huge elephant. The fight was so fierce that all his three friends fled the spot in panic. The lion was' badly wounded in the fight. Although, he killed the elephant, but he himself became incapable of hunting for his food. Day after day, he had to go without food. His friends too had to starve for days together as they depended entirely on the lion's prey for their food. But the camel grazed around happily. One day the three friends-the jackal, the wolf and the crow approached the lion and said, "Your Majesty, you're becoming weak day after day. We can't see you in this pitiable condition. Why don't you kill the camel and eat him?" "No", roared the lion, "he is our guest. We can't kill him. Don't make such suggestions to me in future." But the jackal, the wolf and the crow had set their evil eyes on the camel. They met together once again and hatched a plan to kill the camel. They went to the camel and said, "My dear friend, you know our king has had nothing to eat for the last so many days. He cannot go hunting due to his wounds and physical infirmity. Under these circumstances, it becomes our duty to sacrifice ourselves to save the life of our king. Come, let us go to our king and offer our bodies for his food." Innocent camel didn't understand their plot. He nodded and consented in favour of their proposal. All the four reached the den of the lion. The jackal said to the lion, "Your Majesty, despite our best of efforts, we couldn't find a prey." First, the crow came forward and offered himself for the noble cause. "So, you can eat me and assuage your hunger", said the crow to the lion. "Your body is too small", said the jackal. "How can the king assuage his hunger by eating you?" The jackal offered his own body to the lion for food. He said, "Your Majesty, I offer myself. It's my solemn duty to save your life." "No", said the wolf, "you too are too small to assuage the hunger of our King. I offer myself for this noble task. Kill me and eat me, Your Majesty," he said lying prostrate before the lion. But the lion didn't kill any of them. The camel was standing nearby and watching all that was going on there. He also decided to go forward and fulfil the formality. He stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, why not me! You're my friend. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Please kill me and eat my flesh to assuage your hunger." The lion liked the camel's idea. Since, the camel himself had offered his body for food, his conscience won't prick and the jackal had already told the lion about the intense desire of the camel to sacrifice himself for the welfare of the king. He immediately pounced upon the camel and tore him into pieces. The lion and his friends had a good and sumptuous meal for days together.

18.  THE LION AND THE HARE

There lived a lion by the name of Bhasuraka, in a dense jungle. He was very powerful, cruel and arrogant. He used to kill the animals of the jungle unnecessarily. He even killed the human beings, who travelled through the jungle. This became a cause of worry for all the animals. They discussed this problem among themselves and ultimately came upon a decision to hold a meeting with the lion and make an amicable settlement with him and put an end to this ongoing trauma. So, one day, all the animals of the jungle assembled under a big tree. They also invited king lion to attend the- meeting. In the meeting the animals said to king lion, "Your Majesty, we are happy that you are our king. We are all-the-more happy that you are presiding over the meeting." King lion thanked them and asked, "Why is it that we have gathered here?" All the animals began looking at each other. They had to muster enough courage to broach the topic. "Sir," said one of the animals, "Its natural that you kill us for food. But, killing more than what is required is a positive vice and unnecessary. If you go on killing the animals without any purpose, soon a day will come, when there will be no animals left in the jungle." "So what do you want?" roared king lion. "Your Majesty, we have already discussed the problem among ourselves and have come upon a solution. We have decided to send one animal a day to your den. You can kill and eat it. This will save you from the trouble of hunting and you will not have to kill a number of animals unnecessarily for your meals." "Good," the lion roared back. "I agree to this proposal, but the animals must reach to me in time, otherwise, I'll kill all the animals of the jungle." The animals agreed to this proposal. Everyday one animal walked into the lion's den to become his feast. The lion too was very happy to have his food right before him. He stopped hunting for his prey. One day, it was the turn of a hare to go into the lion's den. The little hare was unwilling to go and become a meal of the lion, but the other animals forced him to go to the lion's den. Having no alternative, the hare began thinking quickly. He thought of a plan. He began wandering around and made a deliberate delay, and reached the lion's den a little late than the lion's meal time. By now, the lion had already lost his patience and seeing the hare coming slowly, he became furious and demanded for an explanation. "Your Majesty", the hare said with folded hands, "I am not to be blamed for that. I have come late because another lion began chasing me and wanted to eat me. He said that he too was the king of the jiungle." The king lion roared in great anger and said, "Impossible, there cannot exist another king in this jungle. Who is he? I'll kill him. Show me where he lives." The lion and the hare set out to face the other lion. The hare took the lion to a deep well, full of water. When they reached near the well, the hare said to the lion, "This is the place where he lives. He might be hiding inside." The lion again roared in great anger; climbed up the puteal of the well and peeped in. He saw his own reflection in the water and thought that the other lion was challenging his authority. He lost his temper. "I must kill him", said the lion unto himself and jumped into the well. He was soon drowned. The hare was happy. He went back to other animals and narrated the whole story. All the animals took a sigh of relief and praised him for his cleverness. They all lived happily thereafter.

19.  THE BIRD WITH TWO HEADS

Long, long ago, there lived a strange bird in a huge banyan tree. The tree stood beside a river. The strange bird had two heads, but only one stomach. Once, while the bird was flying high in the sky, he saw an apple shaped fruit lying on the bank of the river. The bird swooped down, picked up the fruit and began to eat it. This was the most delicious fruit the bird had ever eaten. As the bird had two heads, the other head protested, "I'm your brother head. Why don't you let me also eat this tasty fruit?" The first head of the bird replied, "Shut up.You know that we've only one stomach. Whichever head eats, the fruit will go to the same stomach. So it doesn't matter as to which head eats it. Moreover, I'm the one who found this fruit. So I've the first right to eat it." Hearing this, the other head became silent. But this kind of selfishness on the part of the first head pinched him very much. One day, while flying, the other head spotted a tree bearing poisonous fruits. The other head immediately descended upon the tree and plucked a fruit from it. "Please don't eat this poisonous fruit," cried the first head. "If you eat it, both of us will die, because we've a common stomach to digest it." "Shut up!" shouted the other head. "Since I've plucked this fruit, I've every right to eat it." The first head began to weep, but the other head didn't care. He wanted to take revenge. He ate the poisonous fruit. As a result both of them died.

20.  THE SHEPHERD AND THE WOLF

There lived a shepherd in a village. He had many sheep. He took them out every morning for grazing. One day, his wife fell ill and he had to go to the city to purchase some medicines for his ailing wife. 'There will be no one to take care of the sheep', he thought to himself. Then he called his son and told him, "Ramu, I'm going to the city to purchase some medicines for your mother. It will take me two or three days to come back. So take care of the sheep. Save them from being attacked by the tigers and wolves. There are many wild animals in the nearby forest. They might kill our sheep." Ramu listened to his father's advice carefully and the next day, he left for the nearby hillside with his flock of sheep. But Ramu was a mischievous boy. He was feeling lonely. So he wanted to have some fun. He stood on a high rock and began shouting "Wolf! wolf!, help." The villagers heard Ramu crying for help. They ran towards the hillside to help the boy, carrying big sticks in their hands. When they reached there they found that there was no wolf. The sheep were grazing happily and the shepherd boy was playing on a flute. "Where is the wolf?" the villagers asked the boy. "There is no wolf here. I was joking," the boy said and laughed. The villagers became very angry and returned to their work in the village. Next day, the boy played the same trick. The villagers again reached there to help the boy. But when they came to know that the boy was lying, they felt highly annoyed and went back to the village cursing the boy. But on the third day, a wolf really came there. The boy got frightened to see his red eyes. The wolf was huffing and growling. He began advancing towards the flock of sheep, gnashing his teeth and lolling his tongue. The boy lost his courage and began trembling with fear. He shouted, "Wolf, wolf, please help!" But to no avail. This time no one came to help him. The villagers thought that Ramu was upto his old tricks. The wolf killed many sheep of Ramu. Ramu returned home weeping.

21.  THE MONKEY AND THE CROCODILE

Long, long ago, there lived a huge crocodile in the river Ganges. The river flowed through a dense jungle. On both sides of the river there stood tall jamun and other fruit trees. In one such tree there lived a big monkey by the name of Raktamukha. He ate fruits from the tree and passed his days happily jumping from one tree to another. Sometimes, he climbed down the tree; took a bath in the river and rested for a while on its bank. One day, the crocodile came out of the river and sat under the big jamun tree in which the monkey lived. The monkey who was sitting high on a branch saw the crocodile taking rest under the tree. He became very eager to talk to the crocodile and cultivate a friendship with him. "Since you're taking rest under the tree", said the moneky, "you're my guest. It's my duty to offer you food." The monkey gave jamuns and other fruits to the crocodile to eat. The crocodile ate them and thanked the monkey for his hospitality. The monkey and the crocodile talked together for hours and soon they became friends. They developed such friendship that neither of the two was happy to miss each other's company even for a single day. Early since morning, the monkey would start looking for the crocodile, and the crocodile would also swim up to the jamun tree as early as possible. They would sit together, have a hearty chat and the monkey would offer him the delicious jamuns. This became their daily routine. One day, the monkey gave some fruits to the crocodile for his wife, as well. The crocodile took the fruits happily to his wife and also narrated the whole story to her. The next day, the crocodile's wife said to her husband, "Dear, if these fruits are so tasty, then the monkey who eats these fruits must be ten times more tasty. Why don't you bring the heart of this monkey for my meals?" The crocodile was shocked to hear these words from his wife. He said, "Darling, the monkey is my friend. It would not be fair to take his heart away from him." "That means, you don't love me", said the crocodile's wife and began to weep. "Don't weep, dear", said the crocodile. "I'll bring the monkey's heart for you." The crocodile swiftly swam to the other bank of the river and reached the tree where the monkey lived. "My wife and I invite you to our home for a dinner. My wife is very angry with me for not having invited you earlier," the crocodile said in a sad tone. "But how will I go with you?" asked the monkey. I don't know how to swim." "Don't worry", said the crocodile. "Just ride on my back. I'll take you to my house." The monkey happily sat on the back of the crocodile and the crocodile started his journey in the water. While in mid stream, the monkey became frightened to see the water all around him and asked the crocodile to swim at a slow speed so that he did not fall into the river. The crocodile thought that he could reveal his real intentions to the monkey, since it was impossible for him to escape from the middle of the river. So he said to the monkey, I am taking you to my home to please my wife. She wants to eat your heart. She says that since you eat tasty fruits day and night, your heart must be ten times more tasty than those fruits." The monkey was taken aback to hear these words. He had never expected this type of a request from a friend. He kept his mental cool and said wittingly, "Very well friend. It would be my privilege to offer my heart to your charming wife. But alas! you didn't inform me earlier, otherwise, I'd have carried my heart with me. Which I usually keep in the hollow of the tree." "Oh!" said the crocodile, "I didn't think of it earlier. Now we'll have to go back to the tree." The crocodile turned and swam back to the bank of the river where the monkey lived. Upon reaching the bank the monkey jumped off the crocodile's back and quickly climbed up his home tree. The crocodile waited for hours together for the monkey to return carrying his heart. When the crocodile realised that the monkey was taking too long searching for his heart, he called him from the ground and said, "Friend, I believe, you must have found your heart by now. Now, please come down. My wife must be waiting for us and getting worried." But the monkey laughed and said sitting at the top of the tree, "My dear foolish friend. You've deceived me as a friend. Can any one take out his heart and keep that in a hollow. It was all a trick to save my life and teach a lesson to a treacherous friend like you. Now get lost." The crocodile returned home with his head bent down.

22.  THE BRAHMIN AND THE THREE THUGS

Long, long ago, there lived a Brahmin in a small village. His name was Mitra Sharma. Once his father told him to sacrifice a goat according to some ancient Hindu rites. He asked him to visit the cattle fair in a nearby village and purchase a healthy goat for that purpose. The Brahmin visited the cattle fair and bought a healthy and fat goat. He slung the goat over his shoulder and headed back for his home. There were three thugs also roaming in the fair, with the sole intention of cheating the shopkeepers and other customers there. When they saw the Brahmin going back to his home with the goat, they thought of a plan to get the goat by employing the methods of thugery. "This goat will make a delicious meal for all of us. Let's somehow get it. "The three thugs discussed the matter amongst themselves. Then they separated from one another and took hiding positions at three different places on the path of the Brahmin. As soon as the Brahmin reached a lonely spot, one of the thugs came out of his hiding place and said to the Brahmin in a surprised tone, "Sir, what's this? I don't understand why a pious man like you should carry a dog on his shoulders!" The Brahmin was shocked to hear these words. He shouted back, "Can't you see? It's not a dog but a goat, you fool." "I beg for your apology, sir. I told you what I saw. I am sorry if you don't believe it," said the thug and went away. The Brahmin had hardly walked a hundred yards when another thug came out of his hiding place and said to the Brahmin, "Sir, why do you carry a dead calf on your shoulders? You seem to be a wise person. Such an act is sheer foolishness on your part." "What!" the Brahmin shouted. "How do you mistake a living goat for a dead calf?" "Sir," the second thug replied, "you seem to be highly mistaken in this respect yourself. Either you come from such a country where goats are not found, or you do it knowingly. I just told you what I saw. Thank you." The second thug went away laughing. The Brahmin walked further. But again, he had hardly covered a little distance when the third thug confronted him laughing. "Sir, why do you carry a donkey on your shoulders? It makes you a laughing stock", said the thug and began to laugh again. The Brahmin hearing the words of the third thug became highly worried. 'Is it really not a goat!' He began to think. "Is it some kind of a ghost!" The Brahmin got frightened. He thought to himself that the animal he was carrying on his shoulders might certainly be some sort of a ghost, because, it transformed itself from goat into a dog, from dog into a dead calf and from dead calf into a donkey. The Brahmin was then terrified to such an extent that he flung the goat on to the roadside and fled. The thugs caught the goat and feasted on it happily.

23.  THE LITTLE MICE AND THE BIG ELEPHANTS

Once upon a time a village was devastated by a strong earthquake. Damaged houses and roads could be seen everywhere. The village was, as a matter of fact, in a total ruin. The villagers had abandoned their houses and had settled in a nearby village. Finding the place totally devoid of residents, the mice began to live in the ruined houses. Soon their number grew into thousands and millions. There was also a big lake situated near the ruined village. A herd of elephants used to visit the lake for drinking water. The herd had no other way but to pass through the ruins of the village to reach the lake. While on their way, the elephants trampled hundreds of mice daily under their heavy feet. This made all the mice very sad. Many of them were killed while a large number of them were maimed. In order to find a solution to this problem, the mice held a meeting.In the meeting, it was decided that a request should be made to the king of elephants to this effect. The king of mice met the king of elephants and said to him, "Your Majesty, we live in the ruins of the village, but everytime your herd crosses the village, thousands of my subjects get trampled under the massive feet of your herd. Kindly change your route. If you do so, we promise to help you in the hour of your need." Hearing this the king of elephants laughed. "You rats are so tiny to be of any help to giants like us. But in any case, we would do a favour to all of you by changing our route to reach the lake and to make you more safe." The king of mice thanked the king elephant and returned home. After sometime, the king of a nearby kingdom thought of increasing the number of elephants in his army. He ordered his soldiers to catch more elephants for this purpose. The king's soldiers saw this herd and put a strong net around the elephants. The elephants got trapped. They struggled hard to free themselves, but in vain. Suddenly, the king of elephants recollected the promise of the king of mice, who had earlier talked about helping the elephants when needed. So he trumpeted loudly to call the king of mice. The king of mice hearing the voice of the king of elephants immediately rushed along with his followers to rescue the herd. There he found the elephants trapped in a thick net. The mice set themselves on the task. They bit off the thick net at thousands of spots making it loose. The elephants broke the loose net and freed themselves. They thanked the mice for their great help and extended their hands of friendship to them forever.

24.  THE WOLF AND THE CRANE

Once, there lived a greedy and cunning wolf in a dense forest. One day, while he was having his dinner, a bone got stuck into his throat. He tried hard to take it out, but couldn't succeed in his effort. The wolf began whining with pain. The pain was unbearable. The wolf got worried and began thinking, "The pain will subside in due course. But, what will happen if the bone doesn't come out. I won't be able to eat anything. I will starve to death." The wolf began thinking of some possible remedy to overcome theproblem. Suddenly he recalled that there was a crane who lived on the banks of a nearby lake. He immediately went to the crane and said, "My friend, I've a bone stuck deep into my throat. If you could please pull it out of my throat with your long beak, I shall pay you suitably for your help and remain ever-grateful to you." The crane saw his pitiable condition and agreed to help him. He put him long beak, and in the process, half of his neck also, deep into the throat of the wolf and pulled the bone out. The wolf was very happy to have the bone pulled out of his throat. "Now pay me my fees, please," The crane requested. "What fees?", said the wolf. "You put your head into my mouth and I let it out safely. That's enough of my kindness. Now get lost, otherwise, I'll kill you and eat your flesh."

25.  WHO WILL BELL THE CAT?

Once upon a time, there lived many mice in a grocer’s shop. There in the shop, they ate delicious wheat and rice, pulses and nuts, bread and butter and biscuits. They grew fat day by day. One day, the grocer thought about the heavy losses that he had to suffer because of the menace of the mice. This angered him so much, that the next day, he brought a big fat cat to his shop. The big fat cat began to catch and kill the fat mice everyday. The mice became worried. They called a meeting to discuss the problem. "Let's get rid of this cruel fat cat," the leader of the mice said. "But how?" the other mice asked. All of them began to think. Then one mouse said, "We should tie a bell round the neck of the fat cat. So, whenever she would move towards us, the bell would ring and we will run into our holes immediately." All the mice became very happy to hear this. They began dancing with joy. But their joy was short-lived. An old and experienced mouse interrupted their merry-making and shouted, “Fools, stop it and tell me, who’ll bell the cat?” No mouse had the answer to this big question.