The Lion and the Mouse.doc

The Lion and the MouseOnce when a Lion was asleep, a little Mouse began running up and down upon him. This soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him and opened his big jaws to swallow him.Pardon, O King! cried the little Mouse, Forgive me this time. I shall never repeat it and I shall never forget your kindness. And who knows, but I may be able to do you a good turn one of these days?The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go.Sometime later a few hunters captured the King and tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on.Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, ran up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. Was I not right? said the little Mouse, very happy to help the Lion.The Goose with the Golden EggsOnce upon a time, a man and his wife had the good fortune to have a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough.They imagined that if the bird must be able to lay golden eggs, its insides must be made of gold. And they thought that if they could get all that precious metal at once, they would get mighty rich very soon. So the man and his wife decided to kill the bird.However, upon cutting the goose open, they were shocked to find that its innards were like that of any other goose!The Cunning Fox and the Clever StorkOnce upon a time, there lived a very cunning fox who always wanted to cheat and deceive others with its awful and stupid acts. The fox used to deceive others with its sneaky mind. He used to speak to other animals sweetly to make him trustworthy.One day he tried to cheat and have fun with a stork. He befriended the stork and gained the trust.The fox acted like a very good friend and cared a lot for the stork. One day, he invited the stork to have a feast with him and he wanted to treat his friend with delicious food. The happy stork accepted the invitation.The fox promised to offer rich and tasty food for the stork. Considering the delicious dinner proposed by the fox, the stork remained hungry for the whole day.Fox took the stork to his home. He apologized to the stork that he could not make anything due to his illness and offered some soup. The stork although disappointed, cared for the fox and was happy with the soup.The cunning fox offered the soup in a shallow bowl. The stork was stunned to have the soup in the shallow bowl! The long bill of the stork prevented it to take the soup. As the fox easily licked the soup from the plate, the stork wasnt able to even taste a bit of the soup. It just touched the soup with the tip of its bill.The Fox asked the stork, How is the soup? Dont you like it?The Hungry stork replied, Oh it is good, but I have stomach upset and I cant take anymore soup!Im sorry for troubling you, said the fox.The stork replied, Oh dear, please dont say sorry. I have some health problem and cannot enjoy what you offer. Please take care of your health.She left the place thanking the fox!However, the stork understood that it was cheated by the fox and decided to teach him a lesson. After a few days, the fox met the stork again and decided to play another prank on the stork. This time it was the storks turn. The stork welcomed the fox happily and invited to pay a return visit to have a dinner.The fox was happy and they decided on a date to have the dinner. The Stork asked the foxs favourite food and offered to cook the same for the dinner.The day arrived and the fox reached the storks place. The stork served soup to the fox and asked him to have soup first.The soup was served in a narrow jar with a long-neck. The stork was able to drink the soup very easily with its long bill, however the fox couldnt.The stork asked the fox to enjoy the soup. And showed several delicious dishes in long-necked jars. The disappointed fox said, My stomach is very painful. Im leaving now and left the place running.- See more at: /shortstories_foxandstork.php#sthash.N5ohutue.dpufThe Hare and the TortoiseThere once was a speedy Hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, the Tortoise challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.The Hare ran down the road for a while and then and paused to rest. He looked back at the tortoise and cried out, How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?The Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, There is plenty of time to relax.The Tortoise walked and walked; never ever stopping until he came to the finish line.The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise, that they woke up Hare. The Hare stretched and yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise was already over the lineThe Ant and the GrasshopperIn a field one summers day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its hearts content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great effort an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.Why not come and chat with me, said the Grasshopper, instead of toiling and moiling away? I am helping to lay up food for the winter, said the Ant, and recommend you to do the same. Why bother about winter? said the Grasshopper; we have g