Yesha Desai

Once upon a time, there lived a herd of eighty thousand elephants at the bottom of the majestic Himalayas. Their leader was a majestic white elephant who was extremely kind-hearted. He dearly loved his old and blind mother and took great care of her.Each day, the white elephant would go deep into the forest in search of the best of wild fruits to offer his mother. He used to send fruits for his mother through his messengers. The messengers were a bunch of greedy elephants. They used to eat the fruits themselves and never gave anything to the white elephant’s old mother. The white elephant was completely disappointed with his herd.Then one day, he decided to abandon the herd and go with his mother to Mount Candorana to live in a cave beside a beautiful lake that had lovely pink lotuses.It so happened that one day, a forester from Banaras lost his way in the forest and was absolutely terrified to find himself alone in the thick woods. He was weeping bitterly and desperately looking to find some help. The white elephant took pity on the man and promised to help him. He knew every inch of that dense forest and showed him the way out to Banaras city. The forester thanked the white elephant and happily went home.Then after some days, the forester got to hear the news that king Brahmadutta’s personal elephant had died and he was looking for a new elephant. The forester thought that if he would tell the king about the majestic white elephant that he had seen on Mount Candorana, he would certainly get a reward. So, he went and told the king about the white elephant. The king decided to go in the search of that white elephant the very next day.The forester then led the king and his men to the place where the white elephant lived. When the white elephant saw the forester, he realized that it was he who had led the king’s men to him. He was very upset at the man’s selfishness and ingratitude. He decided not to put up a fight because it would have led to unnecessary bloodshed. So, the white elephant went along with the king and his men to the Banaras city.That night when the white elephant did not return home, his mother was very worried. She had heard all the commotion outside and had guessed that the king’s men must have taken away her son. She just lay down in her cave and cried bitterly.Meanwhile, the white elephant was led in to the beautiful city of Banaras where he was given a grand reception in the royal elephant shed. The keepers had laid out a feast for him and decorated the stable with fragrant flowers. But, the elephant neither touched the food nor seemed to be impressed with the beautiful and comfortable shed. He just sat there with a sad expression on his face.The matter was reported to the king. The king came to visit the white elephant and to find out what ailed him. On questioning, the white elephant told the king about his blind old mother. He expressed a desire to go back to her as in his absence she would not be able to sustain herself and die.The compassionate king was touched by the elephant’s story and asked him to return to his blind, old mother and take care of her as he had been doing all along. The happy elephant went running home as fast as he could. His mother could immediately recognise the scent of her son and was overjoyed to have him back. She blessed the kind king with peace, prosperity and joy till the end of his days.The white elephant took good care of his mother till the day she died. The king often used to come and visit him in the forest. And when the white elephant died himself, the king erected a statue of him by the side of the lake and held an annual elephant festival there in his memory. Moral:Always give affection and care to your dear ones. Always respect other’s feelings.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of elephant and king.Mora(s) of the story: caring and compassion

The King’s white elephant

It was not that Min had a big family. No, her family only included her mother, her father and herself. There was no need for a bigger house but Min always wanted a bigger house like all of her friends had.Her own house was pretty sufficient to meet her family’s needs but Min always just wanted to show off in front of her friends and have a bigger house. Sheconstantly whined about this to her parents and one day her wish came true when her mother got a promotion.Soon they moved to a house that had a huge garden, a treehouse and a lovely pink room for her. She was ecstatic.However soon after, despite all the luxury of the new house, it did not feel the same. She often found herself missing her old bedroom, her doodles on the walls of her old house, her mother’s cooking in the tiny kitchen.Now due to work, her parents were very busy and she did not get enough time with them.One day Min’s mother came home to see her crying and hurriedly went to calm her child. “What is wrong?” She calmly asked her little girl.Min sobbed, “Everything here is so new and I miss the old house. You and father are rarely home on time.” Her mother apologised for her absence and promised to make up for it.That weekend, Min planted saplings in the garden with her parents, decorated the treehouse, painted the walls of her room and baked cookies.Slowly, she came to love the new house just as much as she grew familiar with it and realised that it was never the amount of rooms in a house, the luxuries or the largeness of the house that mattered but the memories made and the love shared. Moral:Home is where the heart it. We soon realise that materialistic gains hardly matter, what does matter is the memories and love that we grow.

This is a story of child, father, garden, house, mother and plant.Moral(s) of the story: compassion and love

Min’s house

Ravina Sewani

A long time ago, there was a king who reigned over a large empire. The king was very noble and kind but his son was rude, ill-mannered and bad-tempered. The king tried all kinds of ways to reform his son. The ministers, courtiers and other important and learned people of the kingdom also tried to make the prince change his ways but to no avail. They tried to make the prince realize that his bad behaviour could create a bad impression on the public, but the prince was never willing to listen to any well-meant advice. One day, while the king was taking a walk in his palace garden, he saw a sage pass by. There was a radiant glow on the sage’s face and a confidence in his gait that made the king infer that the sage must be a very learned person full of divine knowledge. The king sent a messenger to invite the sage to his palace. The sage accepted the invitation and was welcomed warmly by the king. When the king found out that the sage was looking for a place to live in, he offered to make a hermitage in the palace for the sage. The sage accepted the king’s offer and started residing in the hermitage in the palace.One day, while the king was talking to the sage, he said, “Dear Sir, it must have come to your knowledge by now that I have a son on whose account I am constantly worried. He is very ill-mannered and bad-tempered. The public of my kingdom considers him unworthy of being a prince. I’m afraid they won’t accept him as their king after me. Please help me, Sir. You are wise; you can teach my son to mend his ways.” The sage assured the king that he would do something to set things right.Next day, the sage asked the prince to come for a walk with him in the palace garden. There, he pointed towards a little plant and said, “Eat a leaf of this plant and tell me how the taste is.” The prince plucked a leaf of the plant and put it in his mouth. As soon as he tasted it, he spat it out on the ground in disgust. “It’s bitter! It must be some poisonous seedling. It could prove to be dangerous to the health of many people if it grows. So, it should not be allowed to grow into a big tree.” Saying this, the prince pulled the plant out of the ground and tore it up.The sage picked up the plant that the prince had destroyed and said, “The way that you reacted towards this plant today, one day the people of your kingdom may react towards you in the same way. They think that you are a wicked prince, so they may not allow you to become their king and may exile you. It is for your own good that you must mend your ways and try to develop a sense of sympathy, compassion and kind-heartedness towards all your fellow beings.”The prince learnt his lesson. He understood the message that the sage was trying to convey through the example of the plant. From that day forth, the prince tried to change his rude and ill-mannered behaviour and became humble and kind. The king was very pleased to see a change in his son and expressed his gratitude to the sage. Moral:All beings deserve respect, empathy, and compassion.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of king and prince.Moral(s) of the story: compassion, empathy and respect

The prince and the seedling

Once upon a time, in the Himalayan mountains, there lived an old saint and his young disciple. The saint was frequently in deep meditation and during his meditation he would have visions of the future which always came true.One day, the saint had a very disturbing vision. He saw that his little disciple was going to die thirty days later. The saint called his disciple and said, “My child, I am going to give you a holiday for thirty days so that you can go home to see your family. However, you must remember to come back here before the end of the thirtieth day.”Delighted at the prospect of meeting his family again, the young disciple went down the mountains without realising that his guru was sad and was actually reluctant to let him go. After a long walk, the young boy stopped at a stream to drink water. There he saw an ant cave, which was a home to countless ants. He observed their activities with great interest and, just as he was about to leave, he saw the water level of the stream gradually rising because of the rains. Very soon, the water would enter the ant cave and drown all the ants.He quickly took off his shirt and put some hard soil in it to make a protective wall along the cave. He managed to stop the water from entering the cave and saved the life of countless ants. Twenty-nine days passed by quickly. The old saint was strolling in the mountain sadly when he saw his little disciple running back to ashram cheerfully.Convinced that these were the last few hours he would ever have with his favourite disciple, he showered him with lots of love and affection and dreaded the break of dawn.The morning sun rose, the whole day passed by and young boy continued to go about his chores as cheerfully as he had done in the past. That day-the thirtieth-too passed uneventfully, and so did the next few days! It was the first time that his vision of the saint had not come true. Obviously, he was elated, but also curious. He knew that there had to be a reason for this ‘vision’ to have failed.Happily, he asked the disciple to narrate the events that had taken place while he was away from the ashram. When he heard about the incident with the ants, it became clear to the saint that because the compassionate young boy had saved the life of countless ants his lifespan had increased. The young disciple, thereafter, lived a long and happy life full of compassion. Moral:Showing compassion to others comes back to us in ways we could never imagine.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of saint and disciple.Moral(s) of the story: compassion and discipline

A saint and his disciple

Once upon a time, in a small village in Kenya, there lived a young boy with his step family. Due to the scarcity of water in the village, the young boy awoke early every morning, carried his pot and headed for the stream with the aim of fetching water for himself and his step family. Sadly for him, he alone had to do this task as a routine every morning while his step siblings were given other easier tasks. Yet, the young boy bore no grudge against his step family, loved them and carried out his task, dedicatingly.On his way back from the stream, he met an old man resting under a tree who begged for water to quench his thirst and he gave some water to the old man. He met an elderly woman, a little ahead, who begged for water and so he gave some water to the woman too. This happend almost every time he came back from the stream; meeting people who begged for thirst. His step mother would get angry and torture him for half-filled pots but the buy continued being compassionate.One day, he couldn’t bear the torture from his step mum, so he swore never to give anyone water, but on his way back, he met a man lay by the roadside with injury, begging for water.The young boy remembered his vow – never to give anyone water – but contemplated for a moment and then gave the man some water.When he got home, his step mum noticed the half-filled pots, and this time tortured with more cruelty. As she was beating the young boy, there was a knock on the door. It was the wounded man – a mail deliverer. Apparently, he came from the town with a letter for the young boy. A letter containing a scholarship. The post-man handed the letter to the boy with additional cash gift. He thanked the boy saying that he would have died on the way if not for the boy’s help. Moral:Good deeds towards others never go in vain. They return to us in one way or the other.

This is a of drinking water pot and postman.Moral(s) of the story: compassion

compassion stories

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

The King’s white elephant

Min’s house

The prince and the seedling

A saint and his disciple

The Compassionate Young Boy

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