Taatayya Kathalu in English

         It was peak summer. Water in many lakes had dried. Animals in the forest near the lake started to relocate. They went in search of places with more water. A crab was worried about its future. While birds can fly off, animals can runoff, the crab was annoyed that he could not get out of the lake and survive till he searched for another lake to live in. A crane flew to the lake in search of food.          She knew that the lake was fast drying. She was hoping to get a nice catch there. She saw the sorrow-filled crab, seated on a rock and weeping. The crane came near the crab and asked, "Why are you crying, friend?" The crab replied in a sad voice, "The lake is drying and the fish are all dying. I am worried about our future."          The crane said in a caring voice, "Come with me to the lake I live in. There is plenty of water." The crab agreed happily. The crane carried the crab on her back and started off to her home. The crab was seeing new pla

    It was a serene lake. There were many fowls living in the banks and the trees surrounding the lake. A family of ducks was also living there.               The mother lake was guiding her chicks to learn swimming and searching for food. Life was very happy for the family. The duck and her chicks were swimming all over the lake and roaming around the banks. They were enjoying life to the full extent. One day, the duck saw a cunning fox hunting in the area. The duck immediately came and warned the chicks, "Look my children, there is a fox in the area. Be careful when you come out of the lake. He might harm you." "Yes mother," the chicks replied in unison. The duck always kept an eye on her chicks to safeguard them from the dangerous fox.           The next day, when the duck went out she saw the fox hiding very near to her chicks. She was alarmed. She shouted in a loud voice, "Run to the water children. The fox is hiding near you," and ran towards the fox

           Gopu was a gardener in a beautiful garden on the outskirts of a city. He was in charge of planting new saplings and maintaining them till they grow up. As the garden was in the outskirts, many monkeys used to come to the garden to play on the lush trees and eat ripe fruits.            Once, Gopu had to go to a nearby town to attend an important function. Instead of asking for help from his friends, he called the leader monkey and left the garden in his charge. The monkey gave his word, "I shall take care of the garden with the help of my team till you return." The next morning, the leader monkey asked his team to water the plants. The monkeys asked, "We shall water them. But, how much should we water?" The confused monkey said, "Just pull out each plant. See the length of the roots. Pour more water for the plants with long roots and less water for plants with short roots." The gardener returned with full hope that his garden would be in nice con

            There was a thief who was notoriously popular for his cunning tricks. He was very problematic to the entire community. in spite of all their efforts, even the police could not catch him. Once, the thief set his eyes on a decent traveller.                He was very much attracted to the new coat of the traveller. The coat looked very costly. He wanted to steal the coat. So, he cooked a plan. The thief approached the traveller and introduced himself as a business person. He started a conversation and soon found that the traveller too was a business person. Both the persons fell into a smooth conversation. Suddenly, the thief took off his waistcoat and said, "It is too hot in this room, isn't it?" The traveller also agreed and took off his coat. "This is a nice coat. Can I have a feel of it?" the thief asked. "Go on, try it!" said the traveller.      The thief took the coat and suddenly yawned. There was a howling sound when the thief yawned.

            There lived two goldfish in the rich waters. One was dwelling in the Ganges, and the other in the Yamuna. During a high tide, they both happened to meet in the confluence.  The first goldfish said, "Hey, I am the most beautiful fish in the whole world." The second had a sneer and replied, "Look at who is speaking. Have you not looked at your image? I am the most beautiful one." Their quarrel on who was the most beautiful fish could not be settled. In the meantime, a tortoise came that way. The two fishes went to the tortoise and asked him to judge who was the most beautiful of the two. The tortoise made a keen observation of them both and replied, "I find both of you equally attractive because I have a strong appetite. I am so hungry, and I am going to eat you both." Now, both had to flutter away to save their lives.  Moral: EMPTY QUARRELS LEAD TO DANGER !!! **** ****  ****

           Deep in the forest, lived a doe and a deer. They were a perfect couple. They were in deep love. They were totally devoted to one another. Life was happy for them. One day, the deer was caught in a trap laid by a hunter. He warned the doe, "Don't come here, dear wife. You will also get caught." However, the doe did not leave her husband.   Soon, the hunter came to catch the deer. He was astonished to see the doe lying near the deer. On seeing the hunter, the doe started in a feeble voice, "Hey hunter, if you really want, take me instead of my husband. I can't live without him." The deer said, "Hey hunter, please kill me first. can't see my wife being killed." The hunter was wonderstruck at the depth of their love. He set the deer free and went empty-handed. Only his hands were empty, his heart was full.  Moral: TRUE LOVE WINS !!! *** *** ***

            Once there lived an unusual bird with two heads. It was a real wonder to look at the birds flying, and it was even more wondrous to watch them eat. The bird had the habit of eating delicious food with his right head and ordinary food with his left head.          One day the left head asked the right head, "Dear right head, why can't you spare some delicious meal for me to swallow. I too want to taste delicacy." The right head replied, "What is the point left head? All food is going only to one stomach. You just eat ordinary things." The left head turned very sad.              It was a drought season. Food was very rare. There were no animals at sight. The bird saw a wild tree with some fruits. He flew there. The left head sensed that the fruit was poisonous. The right head was feeling just the hunger. It was about to eat the fruit, but the left head stopped it and said, "Stop right head, you will kill us. This fruit is poisonous. Look below the

            There was a cruel lion in the forest. He was very greedy too. He tortured other animals because he was mighty. The animals could no longer bear his torture that they came to the lion and pleaded, "Oh lord of the jungle, we humbly request you consider our request.                We are willing to offer one animal a day for you. Please accept and leave us in peace." The lion also accepted this agreement. From then on, one animal was sent to the lion. Once it was the turn of a rabbit. That was a wise rabbit. He started to cook a plan on his way to the lion's den. The rabbit was late to reach the lion. The lion roared in anger, "You tiny fool, how long should I wait for your arrival? I am terribly hungry. Tell me, what made you late?"           The rabbit said in a feeble voice, "Your majesty, I was coming to your palace. On the way, I was pulled by another lion. I had to plead with him to spare me." The lion got angry and roared louder, "

              Pintu was a mischievous monkey. He was always very playful. He was also shooting troubles. Once, the pack of monkeys in which Pintu was a member wandered into a nearby village.  A group of lumberjacks were cutting big pieces of wood from the logs. Pintu watched with wonder at the ease with which the lumberjacks split large logs. He was observing their work. When a lumberjack had inserted a wedge to split a log, the bell rang to indicate their lunchtime. The lumberjacks set aside their work and went away for their lunch.         Pintu ran to the log with the wedge stuck deep inside. His curiosity increased. He left his hand inside the split end and tried to pull the log apart. Nothing happened. So Pintu decided to pull out the wedge and see what happened. In his anxiety, Pintu did not notice that he was sitting across the log and that his tail was wagering in the split of the log.  The moment Pintu pulled out the wedge the log snapped close at once. Poor Pintu's tail g

           Once there lived a monkey on a banyan tree. A kind gentleman lived near the banyan tree. Under the tree was a well where the passersby stopped to quench their thirst. In order to help the monkey drink water, the man placed a trough by the side of the well so that whoever drank water from the well used fill the trough with water for the monkey.One hot summer day, the monkey came to drink water but as no one had passed by, the trough was empty. Seeing him, the kind man filled the trough. The monkey quenched his thirst and then started making faces at the man. Annoyed, the man asked, "Is this how you return my favour?" At this, the monkey gave a loud screech and climbing up the tree, spat on the man. The man scowled in anger and decided never to pour any water into the trough again. Moral: BE THANKFUL TO THOSE WHO HELP YOU !!! *** *** ***

     Deep in the forest lived a fox. He was cunning and was content in cheating other animals. He stole and ate the food stored by other animals. It was a hot summer day and food was in shortage even for active animals. The fox, who was lazy to hunt, found it very difficult to even steal some food. He roamed around the forest in search of some easy food.         He came to pass by a large tree. There was a large hole in the trunk of the tree. The fox sniffed around and smelt some food inside the trunk. The food was actually kept by some woodcutters who had gone there to cut some trees for firewood. The greedy fox happily jumped into the tree hole and started to eat the food. Soon, the fox had eaten all the food and was stomach full.         Once content with his food, the fox felt thirsty, as the food was cooked and not raw as in the case of animal catches. The fox wanted to get out of the tree hole. He started to climb out, but alas, to the surprise of the fox, he could not come out.

         In the kingdom of Patlipura was a royal elephant. The king and the kingdom looked upon the elephant as a national symbol. The elephant was well taken care of. Each day, the servants brought delicious food for the elephant. He was taken to the river for a nice bath. People worshipped him as a deity. They believed that their day would be happy if they happened to see the elephant.           Once, a stray puppy happened to sneak into the elephant shed. The royal elephant treated the puppy with affection. He gave a share of the royal meal. He played with the puppy. Both the royal elephant and the puppy dog had a nice time together. From then on, daily the puppy developed a habit of sneaking into the royal elephant's shed. The royal elephant and the puppy soon became bosom friends. A village boy saw the puppy dog and was attracted by his activity. So, he took the dog to his home and started to rear him. The royal elephant eagerly awaited the arrival of the puppy shed. Days pass

         There was a flock of sheep raised by a villager. He used to take them into the nearby forest to graze. The villager tied a bell around the necks of the young lambs so that it would be easier to find them if they get lost in the forest. The villager also raised a shepherd dog to watch over the flock in his absence. Once, a very young lamb happened to trail behind the flock and got lost. He was very afraid of his loneliness. He had heard of the wild animals in the forest and that they would mercilessly kill such young lambs. True to his fear, he heard a wolf howling. The wolf saw the lonely lamb and started to pound upon the lamb. The lamb was wise enough to distract the wolf by pleading, "hey wolf, I have just eaten a lot of grass. If you eat me now I would smell of grass. If you can wait for some time, the grass would be digested and my flesh would get tastier." The wolf thought that he would have a tasty meal and accepted to wait. After some time the wolf asked, &qu

                It was the rainy season. The village had received good rainfall. The brook across the village was filled with water. There was new grass everywhere. People in the village were happy. They were celebrating the rains by offering the Deities with feast and festive. But, a colony of ants was engrossed in sorrow.       Due to the heavy rains, the anthill in which the colony of ants resided was bout to drown completely. All the ants were in danger of being drowned. They had to vacate their anthill and search for some other dry place. The ants began their march. Alas, the ants got stuck at the banks of the brook. They did not know how to cross. Water was running from bank to bank. Ramu had been watching the colony of ants for quite some time. He understood that the ants were in the process of searching for a new home. He took some leaves and pinned them together, making a long strand out of them. He then laid the strand across the brook. The strand touched both the banks and l

            There was a wicked saint who lived in a village. Although saints were very pious, this saint was the opposite. He was very cunning and selfish. He was not humble and kind. He used to chase away anyone approaching his hut. People did not like him. But, they were afraid of his curses. The saint was arrogant with his powers.      One day, a lizard happened to fall from a nearby tree into his hut. The saint turned very angry. He shouted at the lizard, "Get out of my house immediately, or. I shall curse you." The lizard ran away to save his life.        Not many days later, the same lizard slipped from the tree and fell again. This time the saint could not control his anger. He took a big stone and threw it at the lizard. The lizard was very active. He ran fast and escaped from the stone. However, the saint was not lucky. The stone missed the lizard and rebounded. It struck the saint right on his forehead and the saint fell down immediately. blood pouring from the woun

      In a fishermen village lived Somu, a selfish fisherman. He always wanted to have everything he caught to himself. He never would share his fish with his neighbours and friends. He went to fishing all by himself. His wife was equally boasting in nature. She had the habit of showing off with her neighbours the nice catches of her husband.            Somu went fishing as usual. As he threw the net, he sensed that he had got hold of some big fish. His net was very heavy. He thought to himself, "If someone comes to know of my catch, they would want a share of it. I will pull the net all by myself."          His son was playing nearby. Somu called out, "Hey son, come on." His son came to him. "Go to your mother and ask her to pick a quarrel with the neighbours. Tell her that daddy has got a big catch and will bring home a very big fish." The boy ran home to tell his mother what Somu had asked him to tell.           Somu's wife picked a quarrel with the

                      There was an old farmer. He was a hard worker. He had saved riches. He was a very affectionate father too. He had four sons. But, they were all divided in their thoughts, Moreover, they were also very lazy and lethargic. As years went by, the farmer was getting older and older. He was filled with worry and sadness about the pitiable state of his sons. He was also worried about the future of his hard-earned wealth.         This worry and sadness made the farmer very sick and bedridden. He understood that he was counting his days. He wanted to help his sons live a happy and fruitful life at least after he passed away. He called all his sons and said, "My dear boys, I don't know how long I would live. Why don't you leave your ill habits and start understanding one another? Life is very precious.       You should not quarrel among yourselves. You should live together. Realize the strength of unity." The sons didn't understand what their father wa

Once there was a shepherd boy who had to look after a flock of sheep. He was very mischievous. One day, he decided to play a trick on the villagers. he shouted, "Please help me, there is a wolf." The villagers heard his cries and rushed out of the village to help the shepherd boy. When they reached him. they asked, "Where is the wolf?" The shepherd boy laughed loudly, "Ha, Ha, Ha! I was making fool all of you." I was only playing a trick.  A few days later, the shepherd boy repeated his trick Again he cried, "Help! Help! Wolf!" Again, the villagers rushed. The boy said I was only playing a trick. A few days later, the shepherd boy repeated his trick. Again he cried, "Help! Help! Wolf!" Again, The villagers rushed up the hill to help him and again they found that boy had tricked them. They were very angry with him for being so naughty. Then, after some time, a wolf attacked his flock of sheep. The shepherd boy ran towards the village sho

          One day, a rabbit was fast asleep under a shady berry tree. Suddenly, the rabbit woke up with a jerk. He thought he heard a loud noise as though the earth is tearing apart. He ran away from the place as fast as his legs could take him. He cautioned all animals he came across. "Hey brothers and sisters, run away from this place.  The earth is tearing apart." Now, there was panic all across the forest. All animals started to run. However, they all came to a halt with the loud roar of the lion - king of the forest. "Stop all of you fools. Where are you running away? What are you running away from?" he asked. The animals looked at one another without an answer. The rabbit said, "My lord, I was resting under a tree. I heard a loud noise. I think the earth is tearing apart." With a smile, the lion said, "Ok rabbit, show me the place." All animals went along to the tree. There, they saw many fruits fallen down. Only now did they really underst

            In the ancient times of Persia, there lived a young man named Aladdin. He was a kind hearted, God, fearing, service minded lad. He had the habit of helping anyone who asked for, whether they be known or they be strangers.  In a faraway desert, there was a ruined cave that had a lamp buried within. A cruel wizard was in need of it, as there was a Genie bottled inside. Genies are capable of granting anything you wished. He was in search of a person with a pure heart because only such a person can take the lamp out of the cave. The wizard heard of Aladdin's kindness and decided that he was the right person to fetch the lamp. When the wizard asked Aladdin to help him, Aladdin could not refuse.             He travelled with the wizard to the ruins in the desert. He bravely entered into the ruins and found the lamp lying there, as told by the wizard. There were riches beyond imagination. However, Aladdin was not interested in them. "I've found the lamp," shouted

           Once, a Brahmin received a calf (a baby cow) as alms from a rich merchant. He was very happy. He wished the merchant long life and left his home. He had to cross a small forest to his home village. There were three friends who used to play tricks on others. They saw the joyful Brahmin and set on to play their trick with him.          The first friend left their hiding and went to the Brahmin and said, "Good evening friend, you should be really strong to carry a goat on your shoulder. What use is a goat to you?" "Are you blind?" asked the Brahmin.          He continued, "This is not a goat. This is a calf." The friend laughed, "Now, you should be blind. Who will say a goat to be a calf?" and left the place. Soon after the first friend left, the second one joined the Brahmin. "Hello Brahmin, you seem very happy. What is the matter?" The Brahmin replied, "I have received a calf as alms from a rich merchant."  "Wha

            Although animals of the same breed tend to be friends, sometimes there develops a dear friendship among animals of varied kinds. Once, a deer, a tortoise, a rabbit, and a crow became very close friends. They shared many things they could with one another. Life was very happy for the friends. There is a twist in everybody's life.  A hunter was lucky enough to catch the tortoise. As he started carrying the tortoise, the remaining friends cooked a plan to help their friend. The crow started cawing loud. The hunter turned to look in that direction. There he saw the beautiful deer dancing. He could not resist his eagerness to catch the deer. He let the tortoise down and took his bow and arrow to aim at the deer. The moment the hunter let the tortoise down, the rat signaled the tortoise to crawl as fast as he could and dive into the nearby pond. By the time the hunter took his aim, the deer ran away from the place. Thus, both the friends escaped safely.  The disappointed hunt

            In the outskirts of a village, there was a herd of goats. The mother goat had given birth to five new kids. A wolf that used to hunt in that part of the village had set his eyes on the kids. The mother goat was very careful in rearing her kids. She always advised her kids, "Be careful of the evil around you dear children.               There are many wild animals ready to kill you. Never graze alone in the woods. Stay close to mummy. When you get older, you can graze by yourself. " One fine morning, when the mother goat had gone out in search of food, the fox took its chance. He came to the kids and said in a very sweet voice, "Hello kids, I am your uncle. Come out with me.              Let me show you some sweet herbs to eat." One kid replied, "How can you say you are our relative? You don't resemble us." The wolf smiled and said, "Look my child, I had left the herd a long time ago. My appearance has changed as a result of my forest l

        There lived a family of cuckoo birds on a treetop. The mother bird laid many eggs and all of them hatched out into beautiful cuckoo chicks. One among them was a disabled chick The mother bird was very affectionate with this chick.           So was the father bird too. Both the parents took turns to feed the chick. One day, there was a big forest fire. It was spreading fast too. All birds and animals vacated the place in fear. The father bird said to his chicks, "Fly away children. Fly away to safety." The mother bird asked with sorrow in her throat, "How can we leave this poor chick that can't even walk?" The parents decided to stay with the chick.              The disabled chick started praying earnestly, "Oh Lord, please quench the forest fire and save all the animals. Look at the affection and love my parents have for me. You are the Father of the world. Don't you have affection like that of my parents?" What a surprise! The forest was d

               Elephants have the habit of roaming in families throughout the forest in search of food and water. They cover large areas in a single day. When they roam, they usually tread upon many small animals and kill them. So, when the smaller animals hear the trumpeting of the elephants running for their lives.  Many times, rabbits get crushed under the heavy feet of the elephants and lose their lives and those of their loved ones. Even though the rabbits try hard, they could not outrun the elephants. But, the elephants did not seem to even notice the death of the rabbits. The bereaved rabbits gathered together. They were filled with sorrow. They looked at one another, not knowing what to do. There was one smart rabbit in the herd. He opened up, "Friends if we do not think of a way to divert the elephants, we are sure to die one day or the other." "What shall we do?" asked the other rabbits in a single voice. "Let me talk with the elephant chief and see w

             Once, in a forest, there lived a group of monkeys. They made their homes at the top of the trees. There were so many baby monkeys also. There was a river in that forest. It was summer season. The monkeys enjoyed taking baths in the river. They used to play in the evening and eat fruits from the trees. They lived together as a family in order to safeguard themselves from enemies and rear one another. It was autumn, and the forest was rich with fruits fallen to the ground. The monkeys enjoyed lots of food. One day, a playful monkey came across deep red plums and mistook them for a piece of burning fire. He started collecting as many 'fire pieces' as he could. Soon, many of the monkeys joined in the task. "These fire pieces will keep us warm throughout the winter," they were saying to one another. A colourful parrot was watching the whole scene. She started feeling pity for the monkeys. From high up the tree she called, "Hello! Dear monkeys, I have been

             Once, a fox found the corpse of an elephant lying across a forest footpath. The fox thought to himself, "My long time wish to taste elephant meat is going to be over today." He hungrily got ready to eat the elephant, but could not bite the tough skin of the elephant corpse.                 At that moment, he saw a lion coming that way. He ran to the lion and said, "Hey King of the forest, I want to taste elephant meat. I have seen a dead elephant. Can you tear it open for me?" The lion replied, "I am terribly sorry for you dear fox. I don't eat dead meat. Also, I don't eat leftover meat. And, I don't eat kills of other animals," and left the place. Now, the fox had to wait for some other bigger animal to come that way.              Soon, a tiger came that way. The need to taste elephant meat was very strong in the fox. He came with a plan. He ran to the tiger and humbly said, "Hey mighty tiger, I have seen an elephant sleeping

              It was a calm village. The people in the village were all dependent on the rich agricultural fields. Daily they used to cook very early and leave for their agricultural works and return home in the evening. To their surprise, at least one family found their vessels empty.                 They could not trace the culprit. A wicked jackal was in the habit of stealing food and other eatables from the villagers. The villagers somehow sensed that it was a jungle animal that came stealthily to their homes and ate their food. So, they set some traps around the village and waited patiently.          The next day, the jackal came to the village as usual. He fell into a trap. He tried with all his strength, but could not escape. A sanyasi happened to come that way. The cunning jackal pleaded, "Respected sanyasi, you are such a good and pious person. Can you kindly set me free?" The sanyasi took the effort to free the jackal. Once free, the jackal started shouting, "H

Bodhitva was a kind-hearted monk. He was very pious and God-fearing. He had many disciples who were always willing to follow his preaching.  Once a youngster with neat clothes came to him with a nice present and said, "Oh wise monk, my name is Kamath, I desire to my heart to be your disciple.  I shall be your ardent follower and faithful servant. Kindly take me to be one of your disciples." Bodhitva was pleased by Kamath's words and replied "Thank you, young man. I am indeed pleased by your dedication.              You shall stay with me from now on. Kamath stayed with the monk. He took good care of the monk's needs. He washed Bodhitva's clothes, cooked for him and made his bed. He even fanned for the monk to have nice sleep. The monk was very happy with Kamath.                             Days passed by. Bodhitva was becoming richer due to his popularity. He started to believe that all good time was because of the true disciple Kamath. Bodhitva started to r

       Once there were two friends in a village named Ram and Raj. They were not only friends but, also partners in their business. They were very successful in their business. Ram was intelligent and hard-working, but raj was very lazy.  Their fame had spread far and wide that they were invited by many businessmen from other kingdoms too. Both the friends travelled to these kingdoms and returned with huge money. They had to be constantly travelling to various kingdoms. So, Ram said to Raj, "Dear Friend, we have earned a huge amount of money.  We have to keep it safe while we are abroad.""That is true Ram. We shall dig a pit under the tree near the temple and go abroad. No one will have the courage to steal from the temple. Our money will be safe till we return," replied Raj. Taking heed of Raj's advice, they dug a pit under the temple tree and left abroad. Ram and Raj returned after a few months and dug the pit to take their money. But, they were shocked to see