The monkey and the crocodile

It was a beautiful lake surrounded by lush green grass, beautiful trees, mountains and the sweetest, tastiest jambu trees. There lived a monkey on one of the jambu trees near the lake.

There were a few crocodiles in the lake. One crocodile collected the jambu fruits from the lake that fell from the tree.

The crocodile visited the jambu tree every day and became friends with the monkey. The crocodile and the monkey met every day. The monkey helped the crocodile by providing fresh jambu fruits from the tree. Their relationship continued and they became close pals.

One day, the monkey asked the crocodile to give him some jambu fruits for his wife and family as the fruits were delicious. The crocodile agreed and gave many jambu fruits to him for his wife.

His wife was happy and surprised as she had never eaten such delicious fruits before. She inquired from her husband, where he had got those fruits. The crocodile told her, that his friend, the monkey who lives on a jambu tree gave it to him.

The wife crocodile had a plan. She asked her husband, 'Does your friend eat these fruits every day?' The crocodile replied yes. She said, 'Oh my goodness. These are the sweetest fruits we had ever eaten. Imagine how happy the monkey would be if he ate these fruits daily! I need the heart of your friend. Can you please bring it to me?'

The crocodile was shocked to hear this from his wife. He replied, 'But he is my close friend. I can't do this to him.'

She told him, 'Don't worry. You bring him here. I will then take care! Or else, you could push him into the water if he doesn't know to swim!'

After some time, the crocodile agreed to bring the monkey to his wife.

The next day, the crocodile invited the monkey to join them to lunch and asked for his favourite food. The monkey happily agreed to be the guest but was worried that he did not know how to swim in the lake.

The crocodile who felt sorry for the monkey told him, 'Don't worry. I will carry you on my back and will take you back safely too!'

The monkey agreed and the crocodile rode him to his home on his back in the water. When they reached half way, the crocodile tried to push the monkey into the water. However, the monkey held the crocodile tightly and did not fall. The monkey felt suspicious about the crocodile and asked him to tell him the truth.

Since the crocodile was his good friend, he told him about the conversation his wife had with him and he was taking the monkey to eat his heart!

The intelligent monkey said, 'Oh my dear friend, you should have told me this earlier. I left my heart on one of the branches of the tree as I don't carry it if I travel long distances. If you take me back, I can give you my heart.'

The crocodile agreed and took the monkey back to the lake. When they reached the tree where the monkey lived, the monkey climbed quickly and escaped from the crocodile.

He told the crocodile, 'I treated you as a good friend, but you cheated me. I will never be your friend again.'

The crocodile realised his mistake and returned home empty-handed, losing a good friend.

Moral: Don't underestimate yourself. There are bigger fools in this world.

Source: www.kidsworldfun.com

The ant and the grasshopper

In a field one summer, a grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An ant passed by, bearing along with great effort an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

"Why not come and chat with me," said the grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling away?" "I am helping to lay food for the winter," said the ant, "and feel you to do the same." "Why bother about winter?" said the grasshopper; "We have got plenty of food at present."

But the ant went on its way and continued its toil. When winter came the grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing corn and grain everyday from the stores they had collected during the summer.

Moral: Work today and you can reap the benefits tomorrow!

Source: www.kidsworldfun.com