Shina Utavani

Once, there lived a farmer in land far away. He was very poor. He lived with his wife. One day they both were very hungry. They did not have anything to eat. Their neighbour had a beautiful garden. The farmer decided to pluck fruits from the garden. As soon as he plucked an apple, a voice came from behind. It was from his neighbour. His neighbour was an old witch. She screamed, “How dare you take fruits from my garden. I will turn you both into rats.” The couple was very scared. They requested her to forgive them and assured her they will never pluck any fruit from her garden. The witch said, “Okay, I will forgive you only if you will give me your first child.” The couple was very scared so they agreed immediately.The couple was blessed with a beautiful baby girl after a few years. When the old witch came to know about the baby, she immediately came and snatched the baby away from them. The witch named her Rapunzel. She did not want her parents to take her away, so she locked her up in a tall tower. The Rapunzel looked pretty when she grew up. She was very beautiful. The most beautiful thing about her was her hair. She had long, golden hair.Rapunzel was locked up in a tower since birth so, the only person she saw in her life was the old witch. The old witch use to come to meet her every day. The witch used to climb the tall tower with the help of Rapunzel’s hair. The witch used to tell Rapunzel to let down her hair from the window and she used to climb the tower with that.A prince was passing by the tower one day and saw the witch climbing the tower with the hair. The prince was surprised and he too wanted to try. When the old witch left the place, the prince went below the tower. He then shouted, “Rapunzel, let your hair down.” Rapunzel heard the noise and threw her hair from the window. The prince climbed the tower and reached to her room. Rapunzel was shocked to see the prince. The prince was very handsome and she had never seen someone like that before. Prince was also stunned to see Rapunzel. They both fell in love instantly. After that, every day they began to meet secretly.However, one day when the witch was climbing the tower, Rapunzel mistakenly said, “You are so much heavier than my prince.” The witch understood what was happening and she got angry on Rapunzel. She screamed and cut off her long hair. She sent Rapunzel into a forest. And that day when the prince came to the tower, the witch cursed the prince and he became blind. The prince then went to find Rapunzel in the forest with no eyesight.After many days, Rapunzel found the prince in the forest among the trees. The prince had many injuries. Rapunzel cried when she came to know that the prince had lost his eyesight. As Rapunzel was crying, her tears fell on the prince. Due to her tears, the wounds of the prince started healing. The eyesight of the prince came back. The prince opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Rapunzel. They both were really happy to see each other. They both hugged each other and decided to go to the prince’s kingdom. They went far away from the wicked witch to the prince’s kingdom and lived happily ever after. Moral:The value of patience and determination. It also teaches the consequences of stealing.

This is a story of hair, kingdom, prince, rapunzel and witch.Moral(s) of the story: bravery and strength

Rapunzel

Book Author

As a child, Chandra Shekhar was very brave and fearless. Once in Diwali, he fired the colour match stick in his palm. His palm was burnt badly so he thought that his father will be angry so he left home and ran away to the jungle!As a child he attended the village school but did not take much interest in studies and used to roam around and play with tribal boys, using bows and arrows as toys. The village life somehow did not interest him and one day he left without informing his parents. He was fourteen at the time. His worried parents were relieved when they received a letter from their son telling them that he was in Kashi, studying Sanskrit in a pathshala (school).We all know the famous court incident when just 15 year old Chandra Shekhar told the judge that his name is Azad and his house is prison! He was sentenced blow of whip. When he was getting blow on his back, he kept shouting slogans like “Bharat Mata ki Jay”, “Mahatma Gandhi ki Jay”. After this incident, he was known as Azad! Chandra Shekhar Azad’s Message for YouthChandra Shekhar Azad has inspired the young generation with useful messages. He said, “Don't see others doing better than you, beat your own records everyday, because success is a fight between you and yourself.”He said, “If yet your blood does not rage, then it is water that flows in your veins. For what is the flush of youth, if it is not of service to the motherland.”“A plane is always safe on the ground but it is not made for that. Always take some meaningful risks in life to achieve great heights.”

As a child, Chandra Shekhar was very brave and fearless. Once in Diwali, he fired the colour match stick in his palm. His palm was burnt badly so he thought that his father will be angry so he left home and ran away to the jungle!

Chandra Shekhar Azad’s Childhood

Ravina Sewani

One day, a hungry jackal was looking for food in an old battlefield. Suddenly he heard a strange noise coming from a distance. He wondered what could be the source of that frightening noise. At first he decided to run away from there and save his life. Maybe it was a monster who was making such a loud noise. The jackal started running but then he suddenly stopped. He thought that it was unwise to run away without investigating the incident. He gathered courage and slowly walked towards the sound. When he reached very close to the sound, he hid behind a rock and peeped. The jackal saw a big drum lying near a tree. Due to a strong wind, the branches of the tree were rubbing against the drum and making that noise.The jackal had a hearty laugh at himself. He was happy to solve the mystery of the noise. He tore open the drum, thinking that perhaps there was some food inside it but was extremely disappointed to find nothing. Though the jackal did not find anything to eat inside the drum, he was happy with himself for being brave and not running away like a coward. Moral:Be brave and you shall overcome all your obstacles.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of jackal.Moral(s) of the story: bravery

The jackal and the drum

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from “The Mahabharata”.Arjuna was one of the five Pandava brothers and was married to Subhadra. They both had a son named Abhimanyu. When Subhadra was pregnant with Abhimanyu, Arjuna decided to tell his wife about the Chakravyuh war technique. Chakravyuh is a maze formed by armed soldiers to trap the enemy. He narrated to Subhadra how to break the Chakravyuh. Abhimanyu who was inside the Subhadra’s womb memorized the entire process while it was narrated by Arjuna.While Arjuna was telling about the strategy of the Chakravyuh, Subhadra fell asleep. As a result, Abhimanyu only learned about entering the mazebut could not learn the way out from the Chakravyuh. After years when Abhimanyu reached his youth, he had to fight in the Kurukshetra War of Mahabharata. In the war, he had to confront the enemy’s Chakravyuh Formation. He entered the formation as he knew the strategy but was not able to get out of it. Abhimanyu didn’t lose hope and fought vigorously with the enemies. He fought with the enemies by a chariot wheel. He didn’t give up and fought bravely till his last breath. Moral:Never Give Up on something and try your best until you succeed. Always stay determined and focused even when the situation is not in your favour.

This is a story of Abhimanyu, Arjun and Subhadra.Moral(s) of the story: bravery and determination.

The Brave Abhimanyu

Maharana Pratap was a brave ruler and leader from Rajasthan. Maharaja Mansingh who was the king of Jaipur once came to meet Rana Pratap. Mansingh had tied his sister’s knot with Akbar to save his state. He was general of Akbar and came to meet Rana Pratap to convince him to sign the treaty. Rana Pratap greeted him well but denied to accompany him for the food. When asked for the reason he said, “I do not accompany Rajputs who in order to save their state have surrendered their daughters or sisters to Mughals.” Mansingh’s ego was badly hurt after hearing this. He decided to attack Rana Pratap.Mansingh along with Salim (Akbar’s son) went on to attack Rana Pratap. A fierce battle was fought on 18 June 1576 at HaldiGhati. Rana Pratap gave a tough fight to Mansingh and his army.Rana Pratap was trying to get out of the encircled army but someone fired an arrow on Rana Pratap’s horse Chetak. The horse was badly wounded due to the arrow. In spite of the wound, Chetak continued running. He carried Rana on his back and they came across a stream. Chetak died when they reached as he ran out of capacity.Rana Pratap had a younger brother Shaktisingh who worked for the Akbar. In the middle of the battle, Rana Pratap saw Shaktisingh killing soldiers from the Mughal army. Ranaji was surprised when he saw that. Shakti Singh came to meet Ranaji and immediately hugged him. he said, “Dada, I do the service to the Mughal but you are still my idol. I work for Mughals as I do not possess courage and a strong mind like you but you are still my ideal.”Although Akbar and his army tried to defeat Rana Pratap but their attempts were not successful in front of determined, courageous and strong Rana Pratap.

This is a story of Akbar, Maan sigh and Maharana Pratap.Moral(s) of the story: bravery

A Valiant King-Maharana Pratap

Vallabhbhai was a brave and brilliant student. He had leadership skills since his school days. There was one strict teacher in his school who used to use stick to punish the students. One day he fined a student. That student could not pay the amount so the teacher did not allow him to attend the class. Vallabhbhai thought this as a harsh injustice so he asked all the students to go on a strike. He arranged for students to sit in a nearby place. The strike continued for three days. Then the principal had to settle the matter by asking that teacher to be polite with the students.One teacher had a shop of stationary items so he was insisting the students to purchase stationary items from his shop. Vallabhbhai thought this as a wrong practice by a school teacher so he asked the students to boycott that teacher. He used to travel everyday along with his friends for school at N K High school and other people used to go Petlad for work. On the way there was a big stone that was hurting to the people they were going through that way. He noticed that people get hurt but no one is thinking or making any effort to move that stone away from the walkway. He decided to move that stone away from the way. Other friends and people kept going while he stopped there and moved the stone by himself. He had idea of helping people of this country at his early schooling days. Once, Child Vallabhbhai had a boil in the armpit. He went to the village barber and asked him to remove the boil with a hot iron. The barber was hesitated to put the hot iron rod on Vallabhbhai’s boil. Then he himself took the iron from the barber and without fear put on the boil. Thus he was fearless and brave since his childhood. Sardar Patel with Children / YouthWhen Sardar Patel was India’s Deputy Prime Minister, his grandson Bipinbhai visited New Delhi with some friends. They had come by night train. When they were taking breakfast with Sardar, Sardar asked them the reason to come to Delhi. His grandson Bipinbhai told that they have come to enjoy the vacation. Sardar asked them to move around in the city only for a day and then return back in the night train! He did not want anybody taking care of these boys and then expecting from Sardar in return. Once, Sardar went to a college to address the students. Some students insisted to stand only at certain place. Sardar mentioned in his speech, “I have heard of stubbornness of kings, stubbornness of children but for the first time I saw stubbornness of students!” This way he clearly taught a lesson to the students without scolding them. Once, some students came to invite Sardar for a lecture. He clearly told them that they should be ready to listen bitter truth from him and he will never speak sweet words of praise to appease the students. Thus he was not of the opinion to appease students to guide them for a true path but he believed to use hard words whenever required!

Vallabhbhai was a brave and brilliant student. He had leadership skills since his school days. There was one strict teacher in his school who used to use stick to punish the students.

Sardar Vallabhbhai patel’s Childhood

In the Motunui island, there lived a beautiful little girl named Moana. When kids of her age loved toys and chocolates, she had huge affection towards the ocean. She always loved the ocean. The other thing she loved was listening to Gramma Tala’s stories. From the stories, Moana’s favourite was the story about the trickster demigod Maui. In the story, Maui stole the heart of the mother island, TeFiti. Maui upset the balance of nature by stealing the heart according to Gramma.Little Moana’s affection and deep connection with the ocean scared her family. Her father, Chief Tui believed that the ocean was dangerous. Moana always felt a deep connection with all the creatures that belonged to the ocean. But the islanders were not allowed to sail beyond the bank. The ocean noticed the affection of Moana and gave a special gift to her. When her dad picked her, Moana dropped the gift. The gift was Gramma Tala. Someone else picked the gift dropped by Moana. She believed that the ocean’s real gift was the heart of TeFiti.When Moana grew up, she worked hard for her people and followed her father’s rules. But one day, when Moana turned sixteen, Gramma Tala took her aside and said that it was time for her to learn what she was meant to be. Gramma took her to a hidden cavern full of ancient canoes. Moana started drumming the canoes and she could feel the spirit of her ancestors who were the way-finders-voyagers on the ocean.The last wish of Gramma Tala was that Moana goes to the journey across the ocean and find Maui to restore the heart of TeFiti. By keeping the heart safe inside her necklace, Moana got ready to sail the ocean. Sailing on the ocean was difficult for Moana and it became worse when a storm hit the ocean.Moana met Maui the demigod when her boat reached on a faraway island. Maui was not as per the expectations of the Moana. He even stole Moana’s boat and tried to sail away. But the ocean made sure that Moana accompanied him. The ocean wanted them to work together.He promised her to return the heart of TeFiti only if she helped him in finding his magic fishhook. To get the fishhook, they had to pass Kakamora, an army of wild coconut-clad thieves. After that, they had to dive into the Lalotai, the kingdom of monsters. Moana smartly tricked a crab monster named Tamatoa and they recovered the missing fishhook.Maui taught Moana how to find way using the sun, the stars, the moon, and the ocean current to navigate. On the way to reach TeFiti, the journey became too difficult, Gramma Tala’s spirit returned and it said, “Know who you are meant to be”.After the long journey, they finally reached TeFiti. There they saw that the mother of the island was gone and instead there was a lava monster named, Te Ka. Maui and Moana tried hard but they could not defeat Te Ka. An idea stuck Moana and with all her courage she gave the heart to TeKa. The monster after receiving the heart remembered who she was meant to be. The monster was TeFiti. After receiving the heart, TeFiti bloomed once again. The world restored its balance.Moana and Maui’s journey together completed and they said goodbye to each other. Moana returned to her people. The little girl from the Motunui island now knew who she was meant to be. She was a daughter, a leader, and a way-finder. She was brave Moana. Moral:Be courageous and brave.

This is a story of Moana and courage.Moral(s) of the story: courage and bravery

Moana

There was once a boy named Peter who lived with his grandfather. He was six years old. Their house was situated near a forest. His grandfather had a cat named Ivan and a duck named Sonya. One morning, Peter went for a walk near his house. Little peter saw the forest and decided to go on a hunt in the forest.His grandfather never allowed peter to go into the forest. So, peter decided to go when his grandfather was asleep. He slipped out from his house at night. He was very happy to finally go for a hunt. Sonya and Ivan also joined him to protect him. Peter took his popgun and went for a journey to the forest. Peter heard about a wolf that lived in the forest who used to tease people. Peter decided to hunt the wolf so the people could live without fear.As soon as they reached the forest, a little bird named Sasha saw Sonya coming towards the lake. The bird asked Sonya, “Are you a bird? What kind of bird you are and can you even fly?”. Sonya became a little nervous and said, “What kind of bird you are? Can you even swim?” Listening to this Sasha replied, “Birds can never swim.” Sonya said, “Yes, they can” and she jumped into the lake to show the bird that she can swim. The little bird was amazed.Back at home, the grandfather was awake and saw that the peter’s room was empty. Ivan and Sonya were also not there at home. The grandfather knew Peter would have gone to the forest. The grandfather ran towards the forest and saw peter in the forest. The grandfather said peter to come back home with him. Peter denied. As they were arguing, suddenly they saw the wolf coming towards them. The grandfather, peter and Ivan hid behind the tree. But the duck was still in the water. Peter shouted at Sonya and asked him to hide. But the duck was very scared and jumped out of the water. The duck was out of the water but very near to the wolf. As soon as Peter saw the duck, he ran towards the wolf to catch him. Peter had a rope and he went towards the wolf with the rope in his hand. The little bird helped peter to tie the rope around the wolf’s head. They were able to catch the wolf. The duck did not know what was happening so he hid under the tree.Peter and his grandfather took the wolf towards the zoo. Little Bird and Ivan also left for the zoo with them. But Sonya was still in the forest. Peter and his grandfather were so happy that they forgot about the duck. When they were returning from the zoo, they realized that Sonya was not with them. The grandfather and peter felt very bad. They all were very sad and went back to him. As they reached home, they heard the voice, “Quack, Quack”. Peter was surprised hearing the voice and saw Sonya hiding behind the tree. They all were very happy that Sonya was alive and safe.Peter was brave and everyone considered him a hero as he saved everyone from the Wolf. They all lived happily ever after.

This is a story of cat, forest, swan and wolf.Moral(s) of the story: bravery

Peter and the wolf

King Vikram was given the duty of bringing Betal to a tantric. Betal traditionally means ‘evil spirit’. Each time Vikram tried to capture Betal, it told him a story that ended with a riddle. If Vikram could not answer the question correctly, Betal agreed to remain in captivity. But, if the king knew the answer and still kept quiet, his head would burst into a thousand pieces. And if King Vikram spoke, Betal would escape and return to his tree.Betal began another story, as he was being carried upon King Vikramaditya’s shoulders.A long time ago, there was a beautiful and intelligent princess named Chandralekha. Many suitors came to offer proposals of marriage to her. She always declined, saying, “My husband should be strong, courageous and talented.”One day, a prince named Virendra came to propose to Chandralekha. He said, “I can tell the fortune of people and have never been proven wrong.”Chandralekha offered him a chamber in the palace to stay in while she made her decision.The next day, Prince Udaivir arrived, wanting to have her hand in marriage. “I have a chariot which can run on land as well as in the sky,” said the prince, hoping to impress her.He too was offered a chamber in the palace to wait.The third day, Prince Dhananjay came to ask for Chandralekha’s hand in marriage. He boasted, “I am an unparalleled warrior. No one can destroy me!”Chandralekha asked him to wait while she chose between the three.The next morning, Chandralekha’s mother was horrified to find her daughter was missing. Scared for her well-being, she called upon the three princes to help find the princess.Prince Virendra closed his eyes for a moment and then said, “As a fortune teller, I can see that the princess has been kidnapped by a giant who wants to marry her.”Next, Prince Udaivir said, “My chariot is the fastest, we can rush to save the princess!” With that, the three princes, rode off in the chariot.Upon reaching the giant’s lair, Prince Dhananjay took out his sword, fought the giant bravely and won.Chandralekha was returned safely to her mother and the kingdom was at peace.“So tell me King Vikramaditya,” said Betal. “Who should the princess choose as her groom?”King Vikramaditya thought and then said, “Prince Dhananjay deserves to be the groom. Even though Prince Virendra foretold where the princess would be and Prince Udaivir used his chariot to take them there, Prince Dhananjay defeated the giant. Without his strength, the giant would have eaten them all!”Betal looked at the king and said, “Right you are, my king. But you have opened your mouth to speak and so I must fly away, back to my tree!” With that, Betal was chased once more by King Vikramaditya. Moral:It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

This is a story of king, prince, princess and Vikram Betal.Moral(s) of the story: bravery and strength

bravery stories

Stories help in improving a child's imagination. Here are a few interesting ones for you to narrate to your child.