The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Once upon a time, there lived a shepherd boy who was bored watching his flock of sheep on the hill. To amuse himself, he shouted, “Wolf! Wolf! The sheep are being chased by the wolf!” The villagers came running to help the boy and save the sheep. They found nothing and the boy just laughed looking at their angry faces.
“Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when there’s no wolf boy!”, they said angrily and left. The boy just laughed at them.
After a while, he got bored and cried ‘wolf!’ again, fooling the villagers a second time. The angry villagers warned the boy a second time and left. The boy continued watching the flock. After a while, he saw a real wolf and cried loudly, “Wolf! Please help! The wolf is chasing the sheep. Help!”
But this time, no one turned up to help. By evening, when the boy didn’t return home, the villagers wondered what happened to him and went up the hill. The boy sat on the hill weeping. “Why didn’t you come when I called out that there was a wolf?” he asked angrily. “The flock is scattered now”, he said.
An old villager approached him and said, “People won’t believe liars even when they tell the truth. We’ll look for your sheep tomorrow morning. Let’s go home now”.
Moral
Lying breaks trust. Nobody trusts a liar, even when he is telling the truth.
The Golden Egg
Once upon a time, a farmer had a goose that laid a golden egg every day. The egg provided enough money for the farmer and his wife for their day-to-day needs. The farmer and his wife were happy for a long time. But one day, the farmer got an idea and thought, “Why should I take just one egg a day? Why can’t I take all of them at once and make a lot of money?”
The foolish farmer’s wife also agreed and decided to cut the goose’s stomach for the eggs. As soon as they killed the bird and opened the goose’s stomach, to find nothing but guts and blood. The farmer, realizing his foolish mistake, cries over the lost resource!
The English idiom “kill not the goose that lays the golden egg” was also derived from this classic story.
Moral
Think before you act.
The Tortoise And The Bird
A tortoise was resting under a tree, on which a bird had built its nest. The tortoise spoke to the bird mockingly, “What a shabby home you have! It is made of broken twigs, it has no roof, and looks crude. What’s worse is that you had to build it yourself. I think my house, which is my shell, is much better than your pathetic nest”.
“Yes, it is made of broken sticks, looks shabby and is open to the elements of nature. It is crude, but I built it, and I like it.”
“I guess it’s just like any other nest, but not better than mine”, said the tortoise. “You must be jealous of my shell, though.”
“On the contrary”, the bird replied. “My home has space for my family and friends; your shell cannot accommodate anyone other than you. Maybe you have a better house. But I have a better home”, said the bird happily.
Moral
Better a crowded hut than a lonely mansion.
The Four Students
There were four friends who hated studying. They partied all night before their exams and planned to skip the test by lying to the professor. So they went to the dean and told him that they had been to a wedding the previous night and on their way back, they had a flat tire. They continued to say that they had to push the car all the way back, as they didn’t have a spare tire and hence, were not in a position to write the exam.
The dean listened and agreed to let them take the test on a later date. Happy that they got a second chance, the four friends studied hard and were ready for the exam. On exam day, the dean asked the students to sit in separate classrooms, which the students agreed to.
The examination paper had only two questions, for a total of 100 marks. The questions were thus:
Moral
You may be smart, but there are people smarter than you in the world.
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