- The Crows And The Serpent
- The Cat, Partridge And The Hare
- The Gold Giving Serpent
- The Heron And The Crab
- The Day Dreaming Priest
- The Sage’s Daughter
- The Moon Lake
- The Bhrahmin And The Three Thugs
- The Giant And The Helpless Bhrahmin
- The Owls Became Enemies Of The Crows
- The Trader Dantila And The Sweeper Gorambha
- The King And The Parrots
- Town Visit Of A Village Mouse
- The Mongoose And The Baby In The Cradle
- The Hermit And The Jumping Rat
- The Thief, The Giant And The Bhrahmin
- The Fox And The Elephant
- The Hunter And The Doves
- The Stag And His Antlers
- The Lapwings And The Sea
- The Talkative Tortoise
- The Bird With Two Heads
- The Bhrahmin And The Diamonds
- The Cat, The Rat And The Hunter
- The Falcon And The Crow
- The Monkey And The Crocodile
- The Golden Bird And The King
- The Power Of Unity
- The Louse And The Bad Bug
- The Useful Thief
- The Dog In A Foreign Country
- The Little Mice And The Big Elephants
- The Bhrahmin And The Delicious Dishes
- Three Fish And The Fisherman
- The Visit Of The Swan
- The Golden Goat
- The Donkey Who Sang A Song
- The Lion And The Woodcutter
- Dharambuddhi And Paapbuddhi
- The Shepherd And The Wolf
- The Merchant’s Son
- The Donkey And The Leopard’s Skin
- The Mice That Ate Balance
- The Foolish Jackal
- The Wise Crab
- The Revenge Of The Elephant
- The Cunning Judge
- The Bullock And The Lion
- The Bad Lady And The Wolf
- The King Nanda And The Vararuchi
- The Dhobi’s Donkey
- The Fool And The Crooks
- The Peacock And The Fox
- The Marriage Of A Snake
- The Old Greedy Crane
- The Foolish Monkey And The King
- The Rotating Wheel
- Two Fish And A Frog
- The Clever Jackal
- The Frog And The Serpent
- The Fake King
- The Rabbits And The Elephants
- The Prince And The Seedling
- The Wind And The Sun
- The Bear And Golu And Molu
- King Chandra And The Monkey Chief
- The Four Friends And The Hunter
- The Cow And The Tiger
- Bhrahmadatta, The Crab and The Snake
- Beware Of Mean Friends
- The Donkey And The Cunning Fox
- The Crow And The Monkey
- When The Lion Came Back To Life
- The Devta And The Weaver
- The Potter’s Truth
- The Prince And The Bear
- The Monkey And The Log
- Somilaka The Weaver
- The Merchant And The Barber
- The Giant And The Horse Thief
- The Crow And The Water Pitcher
- The Four Foolish Bhrahmins
- The Rich Mohan And The Poor Sohan
- The Bats
- Who Will Bell The Cat?
- The Cunning Snake
- The Wolf And The Lamb
- The Old Wise Crow
- The Mouse And The Bull
- The Lioness And The Young Jackal
- The Camel With A Bell Round His Neck
- A Poor Bhrahmin’s Dream
- Death And Lord Indra’s Parrot
- The Lion And The Hare
- The King Cobra And The Ants
- The Bhrahmin And The Snake
- The Thief And The Sanyasi
- The Lion’s Bad Breath
- The Monkeys And The Red Berries
- The Jackal And The Arrow
- The Trick Of The Crow
Long, long ago, there lived a huge crocodile in the river Ganges. The river flowed through a dense jungle. On both sides of the river there stood tall jamun and other fruit trees. In one such tree there lived a big monkey by the name of Raktamukha.
He ate fruits from the tree and passed his days happily jumping from one tree to another. Sometimes, he climbed down the tree; took a bath in the river and rested for a while on its bank.
One day, the crocodile came out of the river and sat under the big jamun tree in which the monkey lived. The monkey who was sitting high on a branch saw the crocodile taking rest under the tree. He became very eager to talk to the crocodile and cultivate a friendship with him.
“Since you’re taking rest under the tree”, said the monkey, “you’re my guest. It’s my duty to offer you food.”
The monkey gave jamuns and other fruits to the crocodile to eat. The crocodile ate them and thanked the monkey for his hospitality.
The monkey and the crocodile talked together for hours and soon they became friends. They developed such friendship that neither of the two was happy to miss each other’s company even for a single day.
Early since morning, the monkey would start looking for the crocodile, and the crocodile would also swim up to the jamun tree as early as possible. They would sit together, have a hearty chat and the monkey would offer him the delicious jamuns. This became their daily routine.
One day, the monkey gave some fruits to the crocodile for his wife, as well. The crocodile took the fruits happily to his wife and also narrated the whole story to her.
The next day, the crocodile’s wife said to her husband, “Dear, if these fruits are so tasty, then the monkey who eats these fruits must be ten times more tasty. Why don’t you bring the heart of this monkey for my meals?”
The crocodile was shocked to hear these words from his wife. He said, “Darling, the monkey is my friend. It would not be fair to take his heart away from him.”
“That means, you don’t love me”, said the crocodile’s wife and began to weep.
“Don’t weep, dear”, said the crocodile. “I’ll bring the monkey’s heart for you.”
The crocodile swiftly swam to the other bank of the river and reached the tree where the monkey lived.
“My wife and I invite you to our home for a dinner. My wife is very angry with me for not having invited you earlier,” the crocodile said in a sad tone.
“But how will I go with you?” asked the monkey. I don’t know how to swim.”
“Don’t worry”, said the crocodile. “Just ride on my back. I’ll take you to my house.”
The monkey happily sat on the back of the crocodile and the crocodile started his journey in the water.
While in mid stream, the monkey became frightened to see the water all around him and asked the crocodile to swim at a slow speed so that he did not fall into the river.
The crocodile thought that he could reveal his real intentions to the monkey, since it was impossible for him to escape from the middle of the river.
So he said to the monkey, I am taking you to my home to please my wife. She wants to eat your heart. She says that since you eat tasty fruits day and night, your heart must be ten times more tasty than those fruits.”
The monkey was taken aback to hear these words. He had never expected this type of a request from a friend. He kept his mental cool and said wittingly, “Very well friend.
It would be my privilege to offer my heart to your charming wife. But alas! you didn’t inform me earlier, otherwise, I’d have carried my heart with me. Which I usually keep in the hollow of the tree.”
“Oh!” said the crocodile, “I didn’t think of it earlier. Now we’ll have to go back to the tree.”
The crocodile turned and swam back to the bank of the river where the monkey lived.
Upon reaching the bank the monkey jumped off the crocodile’s back and quickly climbed up his home tree.
The crocodile waited for hours together for the monkey to return carrying his heart.
When the crocodile realized that the monkey was taking too long searching for his heart, he called him from the ground and said, “Friend, I believe, you must have found your heart by now. Now, please come down. My wife must be waiting for us and getting worried.”
But the monkey laughed and said sitting at the top of the tree, “My dear foolish friend. You’ve deceived me as a friend. Can any one take out his heart and keep that in a hollow.
It was all a trick to save my life and teach a lesson to a treacherous friend like you. Now get lost.”
The crocodile returned home with his head bent down.