1. The
Musical Donkey
Once
upon a time, there was an old thin donkey who used to carry clothes and other burdens for
his master. At night he was free to wander as
he liked.
One
night, he met a jackal and they both went out in search of food. They
found a garden filled with cucumbers and helped themselves to a
delicious meal. After that they returned every night to the garden to
eat cucumbers. And so the donkey started looking healthy and fat.
One
night, after a particularly tasty meal, the donkey was overwhelmed with
happiness and he told the jackal he wanted to sing a song. The jackal
immediately told him not to do any such thing! He warned the donkey that
they were thieves so it was not a good idea to make noise and attract
the farmers attention. If they were caught, they would be
beaten.
But
the donkey insisted on singing. The jackal told the donkey
that his voice was not sweet. The donkey was upset and thought that the
jackal was jealous of him. The jackal warned the donkey again that if he
did sing, the farmers would come and reward him in a way that he would
not like.
But
the donkey started singing, and the jackal decided to wait outside the
garden. When the farmers heard the donkey braying, they rushed out to
beat him. The donkey fell down and the farmers tied a heavy stone around
his neck.
Somehow
the donkey dragged himself out to the waiting jackal. The jackal
congratulated him on his reward. The donkey realised his mistake and
apologised to the jackal for not listening to the good
advice.
'He who has no wits of his own
Or does not heed advice of good friends
Perishes like the
donkey.'
2.
The Turtle and The
Geese
Once upon a time
there lived a pair of geese and a tortoise, all three of whom where great friends.
Once they faced a huge
drought and the lake in which they lived was drying up. So they decide
to leave that lake and look for a new one. But since the turtle could
not fly, the geese thought of a plan, where by the turtle would have to
hold a piece of stick by its mouth which would be carried by the two
geese. The only condition was that the turtle should not speak or it
will fall from the stick to death.
The three set
on their journey to new lake with the turtle hanging on a stick carried
bt the geese. On seeing this strange arrangement, people on their way
started laughing at the turtle. Unable to control his anxiety, he spoke
out,” What are they laughing about?”. And so he fell to his death. If he
had kept quit he could have saved his own life.
' Sometimes silence is
precious '
Panchatantra Stories 
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