Ravina Sewani

Once upon a time, a lion called Madotkata used to live in a dense forest. He was the king of the forest. He had three friends — a jackal, a wolf, and a crow. These were not true friends. They were selfish and had become friends with the lion for their own benefit because he was the king. One day, a camel lost his way and wandered into the forest. The three friends of the lion saw the camel and realised that he did not belong to this forest, so he must have lost his way and reached there.“Let’s kill and eat him,” the jackal said to his friend. “No,” the wolf replied. “It is a large animal. Let us go and inform our king.” The crow said, “Yes, this is a good idea. Then he can kill the camel and we can all share the meat after the lion has had his share.” So, the three went to the lion and said, “Your Majesty, a camel has wandered into our kingdom from somewhere. He has a lot of flesh and may prove to be the best meal of our lives. Let’s kill him and eat him.” The lion was angered on listening to the three friends’ suggestion. “If the camel has come to our kingdom seeking refuge, it is my duty as the king to offer him protection, not to kill him and eat him. Go and bring him to me.”The three friends were very disheartened but they could not do anything contrary to the king’s wishes. They went to the camel and told him about the lion’s command. The camel was very scared on hearing this. He thought that his last moments had come. He resigned himself to fate and followed the three animals to the lion’s den. But he was surprised on reaching there, because the lion received him warmly. The lion also assured the camel of his safety while he was living in his kingdom. The camel was very happy. He started living with the jackal, wolf, and the crow. A few days later, while the lion and his friends were hunting for food, they got into a fight with a wild elephant. The fight got so fearsome that all three of the lion’s friends deserted him and fled. Though the lion managed to kill the elephant, he was badly injured in the fight. He was unable to hunt and had to go hungry for many days. His strength was failing. His friends were also starving because they depended wholly on the lion’s prey for their food. But the camel, being a vegetarian, was not affected. He grazed around happily as before.One day, the jackal, the wolf and the crow went up to the lion and said, “Your Majesty, you are becoming weaker day by day. Why don’t you kill the camel and eat him?” The lion replied fiercely, “No, he is our guest. We can’t treat him that way. Don’t even suggest that to me.”So, the three animals thought of another plan. They went to the camel and said, “Friend, our king is in a very unfortunate situation. He has had nothing to eat for many days and is unable to hunt for food. Under such circumstances, it is our duty to sacrifice ourselves to save our king’s life. Let us go to the king and offer him our bodies for his food.” The camel had no idea about the other three’s scheme and agreed to come along with them. All four reached the den of the lion. First, the crow came forward and said, “Your Majesty, we could not find any prey, so you can eat me.” The jackal said, “Your body is too small to assuage the king’s hunger. Your Majesty, I offer myself to you. Kill me and eat me.” The wolf said, “No, you are also too small to assuage our king’s hunger. I offer myself to you for this noble cause, My Lord. Kill me and eat me.”But the lion did not kill any of the three animals. The camel was standing there looking at what was going on. He thought that now it was his turn to go forward and make his offering. So, he said, “My Lord, a friend in need is a friend indeed. Please eat me and fulfil your hunger.”The lion had already been informed by the wolf that the camel was very keen on offering himself to the king. Now that the camel himself offered to sacrifice himself, the lion did not feel any pangs of conscience on killing the camel. So, he pounced on the camel at once and tore him to pieces. The lion and his friends fed on the camel for days. Moral:Beware of people who become friends only to fulfil their evil desires. They might appear to be sweet, but they are never trustworthy in reality.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of camel, crow, jackal, lion and wolf.Moral(s) of the story: betrayal

Beware of mean friends

One day, all the mother animals of the jungle had a serious argument. All of them were really proud of their little ones and each one of them felt that their kids were the best among all. They were, however, trying to find out which one of them had the largest brood (number of animal or bird kids).Mother deer who was affectionately licking her three little babies said, “It’s definitely me…I have the best and the largest brood.”“Certainly not! Look at my babies. How sharp their teeth are!” said mother jackal. All her five cubs immediately bared their fangs. Rest of the animals got scared and moved away, but mother jackal assured them that the cubs wouldn’t harm anyone.Mother sparrow flew up to her nest flapping its wings and said, “I have nine little birdies, that’s more than both of yours put together.” The tiny little birds tweeted putting their heads out.“But none of you can match my record,” said mother cat, pointing at her little kitten army.“Your babies are not even worth being counted,” said somebody from the crowd. Mother cat got angry and said something back. One argument led to another and soon it ended up in complete chaos.Finally, they all decided to go to mother lion to settle the argument.“We all have so many babies, but we do not know who has the largest brood. What about you?” one of the animals asked mother lion.“I just have one,” said mother lion, and looked at the little cub with pride. The cub ran about innocently around its mother.Just one? That’s all?” asked the animals surprised. “Yes that’s all,” said mother lion smiling. “I have just one cub and it will become the king of the jungle one day. Why do I even need a larger brood?”All the mother animals became quiet and realized that in future, the lion cub would matter much more than all of their offspring put together. Moral:Every child is special and the best in his/her mother’s eyes. And that’s the beauty of motherhood.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of cat, jackal, lion and sparrow.

The Lion Cub

Shina Utavani

In a jungle, there once lived a jackal. He was very smart and clever. One day, he was passing by and saw a dead elephant in his way. The jackal was happy to see the elephant and could not wait to eat the flesh. He went closer to the elephant and tried to cut the skin of the elephant with his teeth. He tried very hard but could not cut the skin as it was very tough. The jackal tried many times but failed.After trying it many times, he was very tired and stopped trying to cut the flesh with his teeth. He sat near the dead animal and started thinking about how to cut his flesh. Suddenly, the jackal saw the lion coming towards him. Seeing the Lion, he said, “Majesty, I am guarding this dead elephant for you. Please eat it.” The lion replied, “I never eat animals which are killed by others.” The lion went away. The jackal was happy that he saved the elephant from the lion. He wanted to eat it all alone. He again started thinking about how to cut the flesh.The jackal was thinking and he heard the roaring of the tiger. He thought that the tiger would surely eat the elephant. So, the jackal said, “Please go away from here. I am guarding this for the king. The king lion has gone for a bath and he asked me to warn him when a tiger comes. The king wants to kill all the tigers of this jungle.” The tiger got very scared and quickly left the place.Then after some time, a leopard approached the jackal. The jackal was very hungry and knew that the leopard had sharp teeth. So, he cleverly said to the jackal, “Hey, Friend. I am seeing you after a long time. You look tired and hungry. Why do not you take a few bites from the dead elephant which I am guarding for the king lion? He has gone for a bath.” The leopard said, “Why would I eat the king’s meat. He would kill me if he saw me eating his food.” The jackal said, “I will warn you when he returns. Till then you can take a few bites.” The leopard agreed and proceeded near the elephant.The leopard started to bite the elephant but as the skin was hard it took time. As soon as the leopard took off the skin, the jackal shouted, “Beware, the lion is coming.” Hearing this, the leopard quickly left the place. The jackal laughed out loud and sat near the elephant and ate all the flesh alone. Moral:Wisdom makes victory.

This is a story of elephant, jackal, leopard, lion and tiger.Moral: smartness and wisdom

The Clever Jackal

Once, a village merchant named Vardhmanaka was going to Mathura on his bullock cart. His two bullocks, Sanjeevaka and Nandaka, who had always served him faithfully, were pulling the cart. As they were walking along the bank of river the Yamuna, Sanjeevaka all of a sudden stepped into a marshy area and got stuck. He tried to get out of the marsh with all his strength. The merchant also tried to get Sanjeevaka out of the marsh, but nothing worked. Ultimately, Vardhmanaka was left with no choice but to leave Sanjeevaka there and go on with his journey. So, Sanjeevaka was left there, stuck in the marsh. He thought sadly, “I served my master faithfully throughout my life and this is how he has treated me. Now, there were only two options for Sanjeevaka—either to try with all his might to escape from the marsh or to give up and die there. He thought, “It is said that God helps those who help themselves. I will not give up. I will try my best to get out of this marsh.” So, Sanjeevaka used every bit of his strength and energy to struggle against the marsh that was pulling him down, and finally he managed to get out of it.Now, Sanjeevaka had nowhere to go. He did not want to return to his master’s house after his master had deserted him so heartlessly. So, he started walking along the banks of the river. He wandered about, eating fresh grass in the nearby forest and drinking water from the river. Soon, living in the natural environment, he regained his strength and became healthier than ever. He started bellowing like a lion. His bellows sounded like thunder and could be heard from miles away.One day, the king lion of the forest, Pingalaka, went to the river to drink water. There, he heard the thunder-like bellowing which scared him so much that he ran back to his cave at once. His ministers were two jackals, Damnaka and Kartaka. When Damnaka saw that the king seemed to be afraid of something, he went and asked the king about it. “What is the matter, my lord? Has something scared you?” he asked. “Tell me, and I will bring it in front of you at once.”Though the lion, being the king, did not want to admit his fears, he ultimately told Damnaka about the frightening thunder-like sound. Damnaka at once left to investigate the source of the sound. Soon, Damnaka brought Sanjeevaka to the court and said, “This is the animal who has been making those frightful sounds, My Lord. He says that Lord Shiva has sent him to roam around in our forest.”King Pingalaka was pleased to meet Sanjeevaka. Soon, they became friends and spent most of their time chatting with each other. Gradually, the lion started becoming more and more spiritual. He started neglecting his kingdom and even stopped hunting for his prey. This made Damnaka, Kartaka and his other subjects very worried.Then, Damnaka came up with a plan. He went up to the king and said, “My lord, Sanjeevaka has evil plans about your kingdom. He plans to kill you, take over your kingdom and become the king himself.”And the next day, he went to Sanjeevaka and said, “King lion is no true friend of yours. He has planned to kill you and distribute your flesh to the whole kingdom. You should kill him with your sharp horns before he kills you.”Sanjeevaka was very furious on hearing this. He went to the king’s court and started bellowing in a thundering tone. The lion, who had already been misinformed by Damaka as to Sanjeevaka’s intentions, was himself very furious. Like a flash, the lion pounced on Sanjeevaka with a loud roar.Both, Pingalaka and Sanjeevaka, were strong. They had a gruesome fight at the end of which, Pingalaka killed Sanjeevaka with his sharp claws and ate his flesh. Though he had killed Sanjeevaka, Pingalaka felt sad about it. Sanjeevaka had been is friend. But since Damnaka had convinced him that Sanjeevaka was a traitor, he had no choice but to kill him. Damnaka was later made the chief minister of the kingdom. Moral:One should never be friends with a natural enemy.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of bull, jackal and lion.Moral(s) of the story: friendship

The bullock and the lion

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

Yesha Desai

Here’s another great story from the Hitopadesha. Once upon a time, there lived a deer and a crow in a dense forest. They were very good friends and often spent time with each other. One day a jackal spotted the deer and said to himself, “Nothing tastes better than&nbsp;deer flesh! I must somehow make friends with this deer and try to get close to him.”So, he approached the deer and said, “O deer! I am an orphan jackal and do not have any friends in this forest. You appear very kind-hearted to me. Would you agree to be my friend?” The deer was very pleased with the jackal’s mannerisms and took his new friend to his home.When the crow saw the deer with the jackal, he warned him, “Dear friend, you must be careful!” But the deer did not pay heed to the crow’s warning and continued being friends with the jackal. One day, the jackal said to the deer, “I know of a big field that is full of fresh corn. Do you wish to go there with me? “The deer happily accompanied the jackal to the corn field. From that day onwards, both of them started visiting that corn field every day. The owner of the field was very annoyed and decided to catch the thief who ate corn from his field. He set a trap in the field and the next day when the unsuspecting deer came to eat the corn, he got trapped in the net.The jackal saw the deer getting caught in the net and thought, “Once the owner of the field kills the deer, I shall finally get to eat the tasty deer meat for which I have waited so long.” The deer called the jackal for help, but the cunning jackal said, “I am sorry, I cannot do anything! The net seems to be very strong.” Saying so, he walked away from there and hid himself near the field, waiting for the owner to come and kill the deer.When the crow did not see his friend deer by the evening, he started searching for him and found him lying trapped helplessly in the field. When the deer saw the crow, tears filled up in his eyes and he said, “My friend, I disregarded your advice at first and now I suffer. Tomorrow, I shall be killed by the owner of this field.” The crow felt very sorry for the deer. He thought for a while and then a bright idea struck him. He told the deer, “Listen to me, my friend! When the owner comes tomorrow morning, lie down quietly; make your legs stiff and pretend to be dead. When he takes off the net, I will start cawing. That would be a signal for you to stand up and run away quickly.”The owner of the field came the next morning and saw the deer seemingly dead. As soon as he removed the net, the crow began to caw loudly. In a moment, the deer stood up and sped away. The owner got very angry and threw a stick at the deer. The deer escaped, but the stick hit the jackal on the head and killed it. Moral:We must not trust unfamiliar people very easily and instead put our loyalty and belief in the advice of the people we know.

This is a classic story from Hitopadesha tales.This is a story of crow, deer, jackal and trust.Moral(s) of the story: trust

The Story of The Jackal, The Deer And The Crow

Long ago, there lived a cunning blue jackal. One day, driven by hunger, he strayed into a village in search of food. On seeing him, a group of dogs ran after him.Terrified, he dashed into the house of a dyer and accidentally fell into a tub of blue dye. The jackal was stained blue from head to toe.Later, when he got back to the jungle, all the animals stared at him in shock. They had never seen such a strange and beautiful animal before. Seeing everyone confused, the jackal thought of an idea.He proclaimed that he was sent to rule over the animal kingdom and guard its animals. The animals fell for it and proclaimed him king.The jackal, as king, then appointed the lion as his adviser, the tiger as his guardian, and the elephant as his doorkeeper. But, his work was not done.For fear of being recognized, he drove all the jackals out of the forest. The new king then ordered his subjects to hunt for him and do his bidding. The animals used to bring all kinds of fruit and meat for him and the blue king lived a life of luxury.One day, as the blue king was enjoying himself, a pack of jackals passed by and began howling. Unable to control his natural instinct, the blue king rose up and howled to glory.Hearing his cry, the jungle animals realized that they had been fooled. At once, they chased the traitor out of the forest and the cunning jackal never returned again. Moral:Never pretend what you are not. Pretension does not last long. If anything, pretension is always the cause of self damage.

This is a story of jackal and panchtantra.Moral(s) of the story: pretention

jackal stories

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