Shina Utavani

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is known by many names but ‘Iron Man of India’ remains the most popular. Vallabhbhai Patel was a man of his words. As a child, he was very humble but still, the signs of his strong character and determination were reflected. Numerous incidents made him the iron man of India. He was strong mentally and physically. During his childhood, many incidents made him earn the reputation of the Iron man. Once he had a boil on his armpit and in those days, there was a man in his village who used to cure that. To cure the boil, the man used to heat an iron rod and put it on the boil area of the body. Vallabhbhai Patel too went to the man to cure his boil. Putting the iron rod was painful and so the man did the process slowly as Sardar was a kid. But the young Patel asked the man to do it fast as the rod will become cold. Then he did not wait for the man to do that lashing and took the rod and did it himself. That was when young Patel stunned everyone in the village. He was tough and he was hard working. He borrowed books from lawyers and within a time limit of two years, he completed his studies. He was physically very strong from his tender gaze. As the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India, he took up the task of integrating the princely states into the Republic of India at the request of Mahatma Gandhi. With his strong personality and belief, Sardar Patel managed to achieve the impossible task of unifying India. This strong personality will be forever known as the ‘Iron Man of India’.

This is a story of Sardar Vallabhbhai.

Iron Man of India - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Once in a dense forest, there lived a group of crows on a tree. The crows were self-obsessed and did not like outsiders. They were all busy on their own and did not like anyone else. They were very rude to other birds and animals.A little bird, while flying in the forest, lost her way. It started getting dark so she decided to stop over a tree. She saw a tree where the group of crows lived. She decided to rest there. But they all were very arrogant. One of the crows shouted, “Go away from here.” The little bird requested them to allow her to stay for a while as it might rain but the crows did not listen to her. The bird pleaded them but they did not agree. Finally, the little bird decided to fly to another tree.The bird went to another tree and there she found a nice hole to rest in comfortably. After some time, it started raining. It rained heavily with hailstones falling. The crows sitting on that tree faced difficulties. Many of them were hurt and some of them even died. On the other hand, the little bird took rest for the whole night.The next day, the little bird came out and decided to fly towards her home. One of the crows saw her and asked, “How come you are not hurt?”. The little bird said, “God helps humble creatures and lets arrogant ones like you suffer.” The crows realized that they were punished for their selfish nature. Moral:One should never be arrogant because God punishes those who are arrogant.

This is a story of crow, forest and tree.Moral(s) of the story: arrogance and selfishness`

The vain Crows

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was born in 1889 in Allahabad, India on 14th November, 1889. His father was a well-known lawyer and one of the notable lieutenants of Mahatma Gandhi. Nehru was educated at home by English tutors until he was 16. He continued his studies in England where he graduated with honours in natural science. He later studied law in England. Nehru was married to Kamala Kaul. Their only child was born in 1917, and she was named Indira Priyadarshini. In 1919, Nehru witnessed the massacre of the Jallianwala Bagh by British Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer. He decided to fight the British after this horrible incident. Nehru joined the Indian National Congress, one of the two major political parties in India. The leader of the party, Mahatma Gandhi, influenced Nehru deeply and sparked Nehru's commitment to bring about change and greater autonomy from the British. Jawaharlal Nehru was later named the president of the Indian National Congress in the year 1928. Nehru was elected president of Congress in 1936, 1937, and 1946, and came in the second position to Gandhi's role in the nationalist movement. In 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru became Independent India's first prime minister.

This is a story of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Jawaharlal Nehru

Ravina Sewani

Bajirao Peshwa was a great commander of the Maratha Army. Once he was returning to his capital after fighting many successful battles. On the way he camped with his army in Malva. His soldiers were very tired and hungry after a long march. They did not have enough food to eat.Bajirao called one of his captains and commanded, "Go with a hundred armed soldiers to the countryside. Cut some corn from the fields and bring it to the camp for our army."So the captain went to the countryside with a hundred armed soldiers. On the way they met a farmer. The captain said to the farmer, "Please take us to the biggest cornfield in this area." So the farmer took them to a very big cornfield. The captain ordered the soldiers to cut the corn and put it into their bags. The farmer requested the captain, "Sir, please don't cut any corn from this field. I will take you to another field where the crop is ripe and ready."So the captain and the soldiers went with the farmer to another cornfield which was a few miles away from there. It was a small field. The farmer said, "Sir, please cut from this field as much corn as you need." The captain angrily asked the farmer, "Why did you make us ride a long distance for this small field? This field is much smaller than the former one." The farmer politely said, "Sir, please don't be angry. That field was not mine. This one is mine and so I have brought you here."The farmer's reply cooled down the captain's anger. He rode back to the Peshwa without any corn and narrated his experience to him. The Peshwa then realised his own mistake. Peshwa himself went to the farmer's cornfield. He paid the farmer the price of the corn in gold and collected all the corn from the field. Moral:Be just and honest in everything you do.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.This is a story of farmer.Moral(s) of the story: honesty and justice

The peshwa and the farmer

Once upon a time, a king frog used to live in a well with his family and subjects. The king frog had some evil relatives who wanted to snatch the throne away from him. They kept causing problems in his reign. Once, they conspired with a minister in the king frog’s court and started a revolt against the king frog. The king frog managed to subdue the revolt but he was very angry. He wanted to take revenge on his evil relatives and unfaithful subjects. He thought of a plan. He came out of the well and made his way to a hole where he knew that a big, black snake used to live. He called out to the snake.The snake was surprised to hear a frog calling him and slithered out of the hole. The frog said to the snake, “Hello. I want to be your friend.” The snake was astonished. “How can a snake and a frog be friends?” he said. “We are natural enemies.”“Listen to me. I have a plan,” said the frog and told the snake all about his evil relatives. “I want to teach them a lesson,” he added. “So, I will take you to the well and you can eat all of them.” The snake was interested. “Is there water in your well?” he asked.The frog replied, “Not much. But a little above the water level, there is a hole in the wall of the well. You can live there comfortably and eat my relatives.”The serpent agreed. He followed the frog back to the well. On reaching there, the frog said, “Here are my evil relatives. You can eat all of them except my near and dear ones.” Thus, the serpent started living in the hole in the well’s wall. One by one, he started eating up the frogs that were pointed out by the king frog. In a few days’ time, the snake had eaten all the evil frogs and only the king frog and his family were left. The snake came up to the king frog and said, “I have eaten up all your evil relatives and rebels as you wanted. I have also eaten your unfaithful minister. Now, there is nothing left for me to eat except you and your family.” Saying this, the serpent eyed him hungrily. The king frog realized his mistake. He knew he was in great danger. He had made friends with his natural enemy for his selfish motives and to punish his enemies. Now he felt that his own death was near. But he managed to keep his cool and replied, “Do not worry. I will go to some other wells and ponds and persuade some frogs to come and live in this well. Then you can feed on them.”The serpent liked the idea. “Hurry up, then. I am hungry,” he said. So, with this pretext, the king frog along his wife and his near and dear ones came out of the well and ran for their lives, vowing never to return to that well again. Moral:Actions taken in haste often end up causing more trouble.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of frog and snake.

The frog and the serpent

Long ago, in a small village there lived an old woman who owned a black baby elephant. The children in the village called her Granny, and they had nicknamed the elephant as ‘Granny’s Blackie.’Granny’s Blackie was a very friendly elephant and used to give joy rides to all the children. The children also loved him dearly and shared their food with him. The old woman used to do stitching and tailoring work while Blackie used to enjoy the whole day with the children. Some years happily went past like this.One day Blackie wanted granny to accompany him to the woods. The old lady declined the offer, saying, “My dear, I cannot walk that far now. My health is deteriorating and I am no longer as active and energetic as I used to be some time back.” Blackie realized that Granny was growing feeble and older.He thought to himself, “This kind woman has looked after me for so many years. Now, it is my turn to repay the debt. I must find some work and start earning money for her.”Blackie set out to find some work for himself. When he was walking along the river’s bank, he saw a man who was looking troubled. He had some heavily loaded bullock carts standing in the middle of a river and his bullocks were finding it difficult to lug them. When he saw Blackie, he asked him to help his bullocks in carrying out the carts out of water. He promised to pay two silver coins for each cart that Blackie pulled out of the water.Blackie gladly agreed to help. He went into the river, and drew one cart after another across to the bank of the river. After completing his job, he went to take his money from the man. But, he saw that the dishonest man had given him only half the money he had promised.Blackie was really upset with the man’s dishonesty. He went and stood in the road and did not let the carts go past him. The man tried to get Blackie out of his way, but he did not budge an inch from his place. The man soon understood what the elephant wanted. He went back and gave Blackie the other half of the sum, as promised. He apologised to Blackie and put all the silver coins in the bag that Blackie was carrying around his neck.Blackie happily went home to give his first earning to his dear Granny. Blackie had been out since the morning, so Granny was getting worried for him and was waiting for him to return at the doorstep. When she saw Blackie coming back, she was overjoyed and asked him where he had been. Blackie narrated the entire story to her and put the bag full of silver coins in her hand. Granny was very proud of her Blackie! Moral:&nbsp;When you learn, teach. When you get, give. A life lived with a heart which is ready to give back, is a life full of satisfaction.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is story of elephant, grandmother and Jataka tales.Moral(s) of the story: gratitude and responsibility

Granny’s Blackie

Yesha Desai

At one time, there were two traders who were great friends. One of them lived in a small village, while the other one lived in a big town nearby.One day, the village trader took his plow to the town and left it with his friend to get it mended. The town trader promised to have the plow repaired and send it back to his friend in the village. Instead of getting the plow repaired, the cunning town trader sold it and kept the money.When the trader from the village did not get his plow back for a long time, he decided to go to the town again. The village trader met the town trader and asked him about the plow. The town trader slyly replied, “My friend, I am sorry. The mice have eaten your plow.”It was the strangest reply that the village trader had ever heard! How an iron plow could be eaten by mice, he wondered, but kept quiet. The village trader was very clever. He thought of a plan and said, “Things happen, my friend! Let us not worry over what has happened. It is so hot in the town. I would like to go for a swim in the nearby pond. Please send your son also with me to take care of my clothes while I bathe in the water.” The town trader heaved a sigh of relief as the village trader did not make any issue about his plow and gladly sent his son with him.The village trader took the town trader’s son with him and hid him in a cave. Hours later, he returned alone to his friend with a long face. The town trader anxiously asked, “Where is my son? You took him along. Why didn’t you bring him back?”“Yes, I took him with me and left him on the bank of that river while I went down into the water,” said the villager. “While I was swimming, a big bird came, grabbed your son in its claws and flew high in the air. Before I could do anything, the bird vanished with your son.” he said.“You are lying!” yelled the town trader. “It is just impossible. No bird could pick up a child and fly away like that! I will take you to the court.”The village trader calmly said, “As you please.” They both went to the court.The town trader pleaded to the judge, “Your Honour! This fellow took my son with him to the river in the afternoon. Now he has come back alone and is telling me that a bird took away my son in its claws.”“What have you to say?” the judge asked the village trader.“Sir, it is true! I did tell this man that a bird has taken away his son,” said the village trader.“What you say is just impossible! No bird is strong enough to carry away a small boy in its claws.” said the judge.The village trader said, “I beg your pardon, but if the mice can eat an iron plow, the birds can also fly away with small children.”“What do you mean by that?” asked the judge.“Some time back, I had left my plow with this man. When I came to get it back, he told me that the mice had eaten it. I believed him and now he must also believe me. A bird has taken away his boy!”The judge understood the whole matter and ordered the town trader, “You have cheated your friend! You must now give him a new plow and he shall return your son to you.”This is how the witty village trader taught a lesson to the greedy town trader. Moral:Greediness never gets you anywhere.

This is a classic story from Jataka Tales.Moral(s) of the story: greediness

The stolen plow

Once a rich old lady asked a well-known artist to paint her portrait. The artist worked hard on the portrait for many days. When the portrait was ready, he invited the lady to his studio.The old lady came to the studio. She had her pet dog with her. She was very fond of the dog. She believed that it was the cleverest little animal in the world.The lady showed her portrait to the dog. “Look, Tomy darling,” she said, “Here is your mistress.” But the dog showed no interest.The wealthy lady turned to the artist and said, “I don’t want this portrait. It does not look like me at all. Even my clever animal cannot recognize me in the portrait.”The artist was a man of worldly wisdom. He knew about the strange ways of wealthy people. So he did not argue. He simply said, “Madam, please come again tomorrow. I will make the portrait look so real that your dog will wag its tail and lick it.”The next day the lady visited the studio again. The dog wagged its tail and ran to the portrait. It licked it with great interest.The lady said, “How wonderful! How beautiful! My Tomy likes the portrait and so I, too, like it. Please wrap it up.” The artist asked for a big price and she paid it willingly.The artist had a hearty laugh at her back. He had rubbed the portrait with a juicy piece of meat. Its smell had made the pet dog lick it. Moral:Use your wisdom to judge the situation properly and act accordingly.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

The Rich Lady and the Artist

A long time ago, there was a huge banyan tree which was home to the nests of many birds. One day, a hunter happened to come to the tree. On seeing the many birds living on the tree, he set up his net below the tree and scattered a few grains of rice to attract them.A flock of pigeons flying past the banyan tree saw the grains of rice and went down to eat them. Suddenly, a huge net fell over them and they were trapped. They struggled to get out of it but couldn’t. They could see the hunter walking towards them looking delighted having caught so many pigeons.The pigeons were distressed and thought the end was near. But the wise king of the pigeons had a plan and said, “We should all fly up carrying the net with us. Once we manage to get away from the hunter, we can think of what to do next.”The pigeons listened to their king’s advice. Each pigeon held a part of the huge net in his beak and all of them flew up together. The hunter was amazed to see this happening. He tried to catch them, but they were too fast. The king of the pigeons knew a mouse that lived not far from them and could help them escape the net.Hearing his friend’s voice, the mouse came out of his hole. He saw the pigeons and their king trapped in the net and said, “Oh! Who did this? I will set you free right away.” He began to nibble the net nearest to the king, but the king stopped him and said, “First, set my subjects free. No king can see his subjects in pain and be free himself.” The mouse nibbled off the net easily with his sharp teeth and after freeing all the pigeons, he freed the king pigeon at last.The pigeons were very grateful to the mouse. They thanked the mouse and flew away. Moral:Strength lies in unity.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of mouse and pigeon.Moral(s) of the story: unity

ears stories

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