Panchantantra is a compilation of ancient Indian fables and has been a good source of moral education for many years. Some of the most interesting as well as informative stories penned down by the saint Vishnu Sharma are quite enjoyable to learn. Both stories employ animates and put forward uncomplicated moral concepts for kids to consider making them significant for kids. These are ten of the best english Panchatantra stories for kids which are entertaining and educative for the young ones.
Once in a thicket of a great dense forest, there slept a great lion. One day a little mouse is scampering over the lion’s face and that is what wakes him up. The lion being disturbed by the small mouse is almost ready to pounce and kill the small mouse and that’s when the mouse begs for its life. The lion, who is angered by the attempts of the mouse, free him after hearing his begging. A few days later the lion is trapped in a hunter’s net. The same mouse, being informed that the lion was caught in a net now volunteers to free him by biting the ropes of the net. The lion is released, and so the lion and mouse become friends.
In this story, reader learns that everyone can be of help and that being kind will never go to waste. It draws attention to the importance of kindness, and the concept of a ‘random act of kindness’.
On the same day in a forest an ignorant hare met a slow-moving tortoise and boasted that he could outdistance the tortoise if they raced. As an example, to make his point, the hare decides to challenge the tortoise for a race. Relying on his speed the hare goes ahead and then dozes off when he feels that the race is not serious and that he could wake up and overtake the tortoise anytime he wanted. The hare sleep just to wake up later to find the tortoise nearing the line, he tries hard to catch up with the tortoise but the tortoise crosses the line first thus winning the race.
The story teaches that the slow and steady, the ones who didn’t boast and brag about what they could do but instead kept on going are the ones who got the prize. Socially it makes children appreciate the fact that hard work pays better than talent or pride often found in sporting personalities.
There once was a hungry fox that saw some grapes that were very much high up in the grape vine. Nevertheless, Paul keeps failing to get a hold themselves, although he tried several more times. It is one of Aesop’s fables and it shows that the fox gives up saying that the grapes must be sour anyway when it cannot get them.
This is the story of ‘sour grapes’ in which people downgrade what they cannot attain. It educates the children not to justify their failures and instead find how to work towards achieving their goals.
Anth motivated, connects to a pitcher in which there is a little water at the bottom: a crow is thirsty. however the crow can’t get to the water even after its attempts. Hovewever, finally he began to demonstrate his creativity by dropping pebbles into the pitcher – one at a time! The character swims from one pebble to the other with every pebble increasing the water level until it is deep enough for the crow to take a drink from.
Resourcefulness and hard work are the main themes in the learning points that the story sought to teaching to the learners. It also teaches the child to be creative in how one handles the puzzler; it also promotes the never-give-up attitude that is required to solve the challenging part of the puzzle.
An overweight elephant steps on the sparrow’s nest while grazing, or when trying to get a drink of water, and flattens it in a manner that is out of the sparrow’s control. Distraught, the sparrow goes on a quest to find other animals to help get the uppity elephant come back down to standard. So, fearing that the poor elephant will never be able to appreciate the consequences of what he had done, they attach themselves to the plan to teach him a lesson: even spiders and mice can give a lesson to those who seem to be superior.
This story promotes the ability of the weak to make a change if they are helped and guided in making the change. It furthers the concepts of unity and bravery irrespective of the external challenging situations.
The is the story of a smart monkey that made a new friend, a crocodile, which lived near the river. The greed takes over and the crocodile intends to trick the monkey and eat him. He takes the monkey in his home and on the way crossing the river, he discloses his evil plan. The monkey instills timely intelligence on crocodile where he is freed and he manages to escape from the scene.
The story is a cautionary one about “_selecting friends wisely” and serve also as a coming of age story focusing on the values of wit and intelligence to come out of suspect/harm’s way. It helps the children learn to be cautious and wise especially when faced with certain situations in life.
A jackal, by chance, develops a new color for it body after sleeping in a pot of blue paint. The other animals found in the forest, when they saw the blue jackal they think that he is a king and thus and thus they became very polite to him. The creature is given a nice life of luxury and is pampered by the other animals; however, this does not last as the other animals see that he is a jackal and attacks him.
The main object of this story is to show that lying and imitating one’s self is a wrong thing to do, and that one is bound to get into trouble. It is focused on the aspects of lying and telling the truth and being genuine.
A farmer uses a trap in his filed in order to capture the cranes that he found to be preferring his crops. Other birds ensnared include a stork in addition to the cranes. The stork appeals for let go saying it has never committed any crime and is merely en-route. In spite of the stork’s argument as to how it came to be in the company of the wrong fellow, it is held culpable.
This appears as a good moral lesson at the end where the focus is made on the fact that the company one chooses will determine if one will be judged or not. It put into practice for the children to select their friends well and know that whatever they do reflects them.
A cunning cat pretends to be dead to lure a group of rats into a trap. Once the mice are nearby, the dog jumps into action to catch them. But the mice soon learn from their narrow escape and make plans to defeat the wolf in the future.
This article emphasizes the value of learning from experience and being careful. It teaches children that tact and caution can help them overcome challenges and protect themselves from deception.
A shark holding a piece of meat notices how it shifts in the water and another shark, thinking it contains a large piece of meat, tries to snatch it away.
The story is a lesson against greed, and shows that pursuing what seems best can destroy what you already have. It teaches children to appreciate what they have and to avoid unrealistic desires.
The Panchatantra is not just words; They are rich with lessons about ethics, strategy and humanity. Each story, with its unique characters and stories, offers valuable insight into how we should live and interact with others. For children, these stories provide simple but profound guidance on dealing with social situations, making them not only interesting but helping to shape their attitudes and values Through people like on the journey of the lion, the tortoise and the tortoise, children learn the virtues of kindness, patience, loyalty and wisdom.
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The Monkey and the Crocodile
This Panchatantra story is about a monkey and a crocodile. The monkey lives on a jamun tree on the banks of the river, and every time the crocodile visits him, he gives him jamuns to eat. Over time, they become good friends.
Don’t Trust Anybody is a moral-filled story from Panchatantra tales, that talks of staying wary of everybody. The story goes on to talk of a camel who is stranded in a forest by his master as he falls sick. He is befriended by a lion, a fox and a crow.
Vishnu Sharma (Sanskrit: विष्णुशर्मन् / विष्णुशर्मा) was an Indian scholar and author who wrote the Panchatantra, a collection of fables.
The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose. The surviving work is dated to roughly 200 BCE – 300 CE which is based on older oral tradition. The text’s author had been attributed to Vishnu Sharma.
Panchatantra Talking Tree/Thirsty Crow 2in1 is a modern retelling of the age old Panchatantra books. These books are high in moral and impart a number of values to children. Panchatantra tales should be a part of every child’s library. Each of these books have 2 stories in them.
