151 Panchatantra Tales

Once, there lived a merchant in a village. One day, he left for the town to start a new business. Before leaving, he requested his friend to keep a heavy iron balance until he returned. After a year, the merchant visited his friend and asked for his iron balance. The friend said, “There are many […]

Once, there lived a mouse in a village. His friend, the town mouse, had come to visit him. The town mouse complained about the boring village life. “There are big houses and many things to eat in the town,” he boasted. Before leaving, the town mouse invited his friend to visit him and see his

There were four Brahmin friends. After finishing their education in the gurukul, they were ready to go back home. On their way, they had to pass through a forest. After walking a distance, they saw a pile of bones on the ground. They wanted to test their knowledge. The first Brahmin chanted a mantra and

Once, there lived a colony of mice in a ruined village. Daily, a herd of elephants would visit the lake in the village. On their way, the elephants would crush hundreds of mice under their feet. King Mouse met King Elephant and said, “Sir, kindly change your path. Every time your herd crosses the village,

Once, there was a farmer. His horse had grown old, so he asked him to leave. The horse said, “Master, let me stay.” The farmer said, “I will, but only if you bring me a lion’s skin.” The horse went deep into the jungle. There, he met a fox, who offered to help him. The

Once upon a time, a washerman had a donkey. He would make him carry loads of clothes, but never gave him enough food. At night, the donkey would roam around, eating whatever he could find. One night, the donkey met a jackal, who took him to a field of watermelons. The donkey was happy to

Once, a sage lived in a dense forest. He had divine powers by praying to God for many years. One day, a mouse was wandering in the forest for food, when he was attacked by a fox. The mouse ran to the sage to save his life and the fox followed him. The sage transformed

Two swans and a talkative turtle lived in a lake. They were close friends. In the summer, when the lake began to dry up, the swans decided to move to another lake. But the turtle could not fly. So he asked the swans to find a strong wooden stick. He said, “You hold the stick

A jackal lived in a cave deep in the forest. Every morning, he would go out looking for food and would return in the evening. One day, an old lion hid in the cave. He thought, ‘Some animal lives here and is sure to return. I will eat him up.’ In the evening, when the

A crow was flying in search of water on a hot summer afternoon. He couldn’t find a single drop. Thirsty and tired, the crow sat on the branch of a banyan tree. Suddenly, he saw a pitcher on the other side of the tree. Delighted, the crow flew to the pitcher and saw there was

In a huge lake, there lived three big fish. They were close friends. The first one believed in fate. The second one was intelligent and knew there’s a solution to every problem. The third one was wise and could anticipate trouble beforehand. One day, the wise fish overheard a fisherman talking to another. “This lake

One day, a fox was roaming in search of food. After a while, he saw a peacock perched high on a tree. “How can I have this peacock for lunch? I cannot climb up the tree,” he thought. The fox was cunning. He said to the peacock, “Don’t you know there was a meeting of

Once, there was a washerman, who had a dog and a donkey. The washerman loved them both. But every evening, he would play with his dog. Seeing this, the donkey wondered why he was not his master’s favourite even though he carried huge loads on his back. One day, the donkey observed the dog. When

Once, a group of rats lived in a grocery shop. They would eat whatever they saw. The grocer was unhappy that the rats were creating havoc in the store every day. One day, he brought a cat to his shop. The cat began to kill the rats one by one. The rats were scared of

Once upon a time, there lived a cunning wolf in a jungle. One day, while wandering in the forest, he found a dead lamb. While he was eating it, a bone got stuck in his throat. The wolf thought, “I need somebody’s help, or I will die.” He went to the crane and said, “My