Shina Utavani

There was once a baby camel who used to live with her mother. One day, the baby camel was lost in deep thought when she was lying on the ground with her mother. The mother saw her and asked what was wrong with her. The baby camel said nothing.The baby camel could not resist anymore and the next day, she said, “Mom, why do the camels have humps?” The mother smiled and said, “Well, the humps help us to store the water for days. As we are desert animals, we can survive without water because of our humps.”The baby camel had many questions to ask. She then asked, “Why do camels have long legs and rounded feet?” The mother replied, “They help us in walking in the hot desert. The long legs and rounded feet help the camel walk in the desert better than anyone else.” The curious baby camel then asked, “Mom, why do we have long eyelashes? Sometimes it bothers my sight.” Mother camel replied with pride, “My baby, these long thick eyelashes are your protective cover. The help us in protecting our eyes from the desert sand and wind.”The baby camel was again lost in her thoughts. After thinking for a while, she said, “Well, we have humps that help us in storing the water when we are in desert, the long legs help us in walking through the desert and these big eyelashes protect our eyes from the desert then what in god’s name are we doing here in the Zoo?”. The mother camel could not answer this question and become speechless. Moral:The moral for parents to take away from this story is to always try and answer your child’s question. If you don’t, your child will never be curious again. To some questions, you might not be able to give a satisfactory answer. At that moment tell them that you will get back to this question when they are of the age or when it is the right time.

This is a story of camel, desert and zoo.Moral(s) of the story: curiosity

Baby Camel and his Mother

The festival is celebrated on Full moon day of the Ashadha month. The festival is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists to honour their spiritual leaders or teachers. On this day, people express gratitude towards their Gurus.Story:The festival of Guru Purnima was first celebrated by the Buddhists to honour their Guru, Gautam Buddha. Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon (a lecture by a preacher) on this day.Vyasa Muni was one of the greatest Gurus in ancient Hindu traditions. He was also the author of the Hindu epic ‘Mahabharata’. Hindus follow this festival by paying tribute to Vyas Muni.The day is also celebrated as the birth anniversary of Veda Vyasa. Therefore, Guru Purnima is also known as Vyas Purnima.The main purpose behind celebrating the festival is to follow the teachings of our Gurus and to pay tribute to them. People worship and show gratitude towards their Gurus, teachers for guiding them. It is a festival of honouring Gurus/ mentors of our lives. Moral:Always respect your Gurus in life and be grateful to them.

This is a story educator, Guru Purnima and student.

Guru Purnima

India gained independence from the Britishrule on 15th August 1947. Since then every year, 15th August is celebrated as Independence Day in India to commemorate India’s freedom from the 200-year-old British government. The struggle for India’s independence began in 1857 in Meerut. Later, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, in the 20th century, the Indian National Congress launched an independent movement. After a lot of struggle and hard work, on August 15th, 1947, colonial powers were transferred to India. India’s struggle for freedom was a long process and witnessed the sacrifice of many freedom fighters. This day remarks the bravery of our freedom fighters. It reminds us of the sacrifices made by our forefathers, freedom fighters and leaders to free our motherland.&nbsp; For India, 15th August is a day of her re-birth. On 15th August 1947, India’s first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru unfolded the tricolour flag of the nation. On this day, people pay homage to leaders who fought for the freedom of the nation. Flag hoisting ceremony along with various cultural programs are organised at various places on this day including schools and colleges.

This is a story of Independence day.

Independence Day

Yesha Desai

Once upon a time there lived a famous samurai warrior who was known for his skills in battle. He was strong, intelligent and sharp.But the samurai was also very impatient.One day he was sent on a mission with some other warriors but his impatience messed it up.The King was very disappointed but he wanted to give this very talented person another chance.He sends the samurai to a monk. The samurai does not wish to go but obeys the orders.The monk lives high up in the mountains and treated the samurai with none of the respect he was used to.He forces the samurai to make straw hats.Day and night the samurai sits and make hats of straw. He is tired and bored. He does not see how the stupid hats would be anything beneficial to him.After all, the samurai is a valuable member of the King’s army. He should be practising, protecting his country, not making giant hats. He wanted to argue and tell the monk to stop this but he decided to patiently make hats until told otherwise.That was until on a very hot day he was called back to the capital.By that time, he had created hundreds of straw hats. He took one since it was a very hot day to travel. The hat protected him from the heat or he would have fainted in the hot journey.The samurai realised that after months of handling delicate needles, his sword skill had also become more precise.The samurai was no longer just strong but also wiser and more patient.

This is a story of cap, face, hat, king and soldier.Moral(s) of the story: patience

The warrior who learns patience

Ali Momin

Eid-al-Adha is an extremely important festival for Muslims. They celebrate this festival with great zeal and enthusiasm. The festival is celebrated every year on the 10th day of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, Dhu-a-Hijjah. The festival comes after the Hajj pilgrimage, which is an important part of Islam. This festival is also known as “Festival of the Sacrifice”.&nbsp; Like other Muslim festivals, this festival is also celebrated as per the lunar Islamic calendar including Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr. The festival is named after a story in Islamic history as per which, it was the day on which God decided to test the faith of Abraham.&nbsp; Abraham had a son named Ishmael. He was his dearest possession. When Ishmael was about 13 years old, Allah decided to test the faith of Abraham. For many days, Abraham had a recurring dream where Allah was commanding him to sacrifice his son, whom Allah had granted him after years of deep prayers. When the intent of dreams became clear to Abraham, he decided to fulfil Allah’s command.&nbsp; Before taking any action, Abraham decided to present the matter to his son. Ishmael did not show any hesitation and said, “Father, do what you have been said. You will find me, Insha’Allah!” Abraham was filled with tears after hearing this. To follow the command of Allah, Abraham decided to do the needed. Abraham took a knife and attempted to cut Ishmael’s throat, but he was surprised to see that Ishmael was replaced by a goat and his son was unharmed. Abraham had passed the test by his commitment to fulfilling Allah’s commands. Allah then granted Abraham the good news of the birth of his second son, Is-haaq.&nbsp; Abraham had shown his love for Allah and that he would sacrifice anything for him. Muslims commemorate this ultimate act of sacrifice every year during Eid al-Adha. Muslims perform animal sacrifice and offer prayers to mark this occasion. And so Muslims sacrifice goat on this day.&nbsp;Eid-al-Adha is indeed a significant and joyous festival that teaches us all to have the utmost faith in the wisdom of God just like Abraham. Moral of the story :&nbsp;This day teaches us lesson of ultimate sacrifice of our most valuable possession to show our love and trust in The Almighty God. It also symbolises willingly donation of our important means to others in order to strengthen relationships and friendships and to take care of needy and poor. Let’s celebrate the festival of sacrifice by vowing to make our lives meaningful and useful to others. Wish you all “Eid Mubarak”

This is a story of Eid-ul-Adha (Bakra Eid). The Eid celebrated for the message of Sacrifice in Muslim community.

Eid-ul-Adha / Bakra Eid

Ravina Sewani

One day there was a battle of wits between a mountain and a mouse. The mountain said, “What a poor little thing you are!”The mouse snapped, “I know I am not as big as you are. But, then, you are not as small as I am.” “Big size has big advantages,” said the mountain, “I can stop the clouds sailing across the sky.”“So you can,” agreed the mouse. “But you can’t stop me from making big holes in your very foundation, can you?”The tiny mouse outwitted the mighty mountain. Moral:Big or small, each one has his importance.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.This is a story of mountain and mouse.Moral(s) of the story: equality

The Mountain and the Mouse

Callipso Island was a beautiful island where leopards and cheetahs lived on opposite sides of the tall and long wall. Leila was a leopard cub. Leila was a leopard, but she wished she was a cheetah. The problem was, leopards did not like cheetahs and cheetahs did not like leopards. Cheetahs were rich and leopards were poor. Cheetahs had enough food to eat and lived in tree houses with rooftop swimming pools. Cheetah children had playgrounds with slides made of glass and swings that whirled you through waterfalls so it felt like you were flying with the birds. Leopards did not even have enough food to eat. Leopards were not allowed on the cheetahs’ side of the wall. Tigers and grown-up cheetahs guarded it. One morning Leila was very sad because it was her birthday and her mother was too poor to buy ingredients to bake a cake. She went to her olive tree and curled up at the top. Amidst the silence of the dawn, her tears sounded very loud. On the cheetahs’ side of the wall, a group of cheetah children played football by it. One of the cheetah heard Leila cry and looked up. “Why are you crying?” the cheetah asked. “It’s my birthday and I didn’t get any cake or presents because my parents don’t have any money.” “Happy birthday!” said the cheetah, kindly. “I will make you a present today at school.” “Thank you.” Leila said. “You are a nice cheetah. What’s your name?” “My name is Charlie. What’s your name?” “My name is Leila.” “Meet me here this evening after school,” said Charlie, and he galloped off with his football. That evening, Leila climbed her tree and wondered if Charlie would remember to bring her a present. Charlie came as promised. “Catch!” he said. A paper aeroplane came gliding through the air and Leila caught it in her paws. “Open it!” Charlie called. Leila opened the aeroplane and inside was a bunch of flowers that Charlie had threaded into a bracelet. The message said: ‘Happy birthday Leila. Love from Charlie’. Leila grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you!” she called back. Charlie then ran off because the police tigers had started to growl at him. Leila wore her new bracelet and returned home. Her father arrived home very late. He had missed her party. He said, “I travelled all day to pick you some strawberries from the strawberry bush but I could not find any as the weather was bad." Leila understood and hugged her dad. At twilight, a shimmering, silver glaze settled over the ocean. Leila liked to rest here. Her grandfather lay next to her. “Grandad, tell me about the olden days, when leopards and cheetahs were all friends on Callipso Island.” Leila said. Leila’s grandfather lit his pipe and began, “In the early days when I myself was a child, the cat kingdom existed in harmony. Leopards and cheetahs lived happily side by side on Callipso Island. “So what went wrong?” Leila asked. “The greedy tigers came from the other side of the ocean and paid the cheetahs in gold and silver to get all the antelopes for themselves. “The tigers and the cheetahs built the wall overnight and the cheetahs got to stay on good side of the island with all the antelope parks and the fruitful land. The leopards were given the bad, smaller and barren side of the island.” The next day, Leila's father climbed to the cheetah's side of the wall to get strawberries for her daughter. But as soon as he jumped to the other side, the tigers and the cheetahs guarding the wall pounced on him and injured him badly. Leila’s father limped back to his den and Leila and her mother spent the night licking his wounds better. Leila woke up early next morning and rushed to her safe space – the olive tree. She cried and cried and thought that last night was all her fault. “Why are you crying?” Charlie asked her. She told him all about the tigers and the cheetahs hurting the leopards. “Leila, I want to give you a cuddle but I can’t reach you.” Charlie said. He stood on the ground wondering how he could help. That night, Leila joined hundreds of leopards at the big wall and all the leopards prayed for the quick recovery of Leila’s father. Suddenly, they heard singing from across the wall, a beautiful melody carried in the calm wind. Leila climbed over the olive tree and saw rows of cheetahs. They were holding paws and their singing became louder. Leila spotted Charlie and Charlie saw Leila. He shouted up to the tree, “My friends and I were so angry about how the tigers hurt you all. This wall is silly. Leopards and cheetahs should be friends again. We told all our families and friends at school. And here we all are. BREAK DOWN THE WALL!” “Break down the wall!” all the cheetahs chanted. “We are all cats! We are all equal!” Leila called her leopard friends, “Come up here!” she cried. The leopards stood on top of the wall and held their paws together too, joining in the chanting. The leopards jumped over the wall and the cheetahs clapped and cheered in welcome. The tigers crawled away, back to the land they came from. Charlie took Leila on the swing and they swung through the waterfalls. He gave Leila the cuddle he had wanted to give her. It was the best party that Leila had ever had. And so this day became known as the day when the little cats broke down the wall. It was the bravery of cheetahs and leopards and their good hearts which finally brought peace to Callipso Island. Moral:Bravery in the face of injustice is bound to bring great changes.

This is a story of leopard and cheetah.Moral(s) of the story: friendship, bravery

The Leopard and The Cheetah

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.The ruler of Kishanagar had an extremely beautiful daughter, named Sona. As she was the only child, she enjoyed a lot of freedom. She was intelligent, well read and skilled in the use of weapons. When she reached a marriageable age, the king started looking for a suitable partner for her. The princess coveted to marry a man more skilled than her in every respect. So, she asked her father to make an announcement that she would marry only the person who would be able to defeat her in a fight. The king was very proud to hear his daughter’s views and made announcements in every state, inviting princes to his kingdom.Thinking that it would be very easy to defeat a young woman, many fighters and princes from all over the country came to take the challenge, but none could succeed. As the princess was taking on the suitors one after another, among them was Uday Varma, the prince of Ayodhyapuri. He watched the fight every day, by joining the crowd. He carefully observed her way of fighting. Within a few days, Uday Varma learnt all her strategies, and was fully prepared to fight her and as anticipated it did not take him long to defeat the princess.Uday Varma proudly told the king and the queen that he was able to defeat the princess by closely observing her fighting strategies. On hearing this, the princess suddenly said, “Dear prince, I know that you have defeated me, but I cannot marry you.”The king was surprised by his daughter’s decision and asked her the reason for the refusal. The princess turned towards Uday Varma and asked whether he knew the reason or not. Uday Varma thought for a while and said, “Yes you are right! We cannot get married.” Saying so, he walked away from there.The king and queen were surprised to see Uday Varma accepting Sona’s decision without any argument. They were unable to understand the whole situation.Betaal thus concluded the story and asked King Vikramaditya, “Why did Uday Varma quietly accept the decision of the princess? Tell me Vikram, if you do not speak even if you know the answer, your head will split into pieces.”Vikram replied “Uday Varma had learnt the art of warfare from Sona, just as a student learns it from his teacher. Both of them agreed not to marry each other because they understood that in Bhartiya sanskriti, it is immoral for a teacher to marry his or her student.”Vikram had rightly answered Betaal’s question. Since he had spoken again, Betaal flew back to the tree. Vikram with his sword in his hand, went after the Betaal once again. Moral:Live by your morals throughout your life.

This is a classic story from Vikram betal.

A Promise Not Kept

Pallavi Hota

The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic written by the famous sage Valmiki. It describes Lord Rama's effort to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. It also describes the challenges faced by Lord Rama, Laxman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from ìThe Ramayana.In the Swayamvar of Sita, Vishwamitra asked Ram to try to pick up and break the bow. Ram first bowed down to the bow and then only did he pick it up and break it.So as per the rules of the Swayamwar, Sita came to accept him as her husband and put a garland around His neck. However, Ram refused to bow down to accept the garland because he thought that he should first seek his mother's permission and her approval of Sita before accepting her.Vishwamitra hastily came up to Ram and told him that he had already asked his mother and she happily approved of Sita. Only then did Lord Ram accept Sita.

cycling stories

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