Short Stories for Children
for
Spoken English Program
Short Stories for Children
LEVEL 1: STORIES FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN.......................... 5
THE Wind AND THE SUN.. 5
THE VILLAGER AND THE SPECTACLES....................... 5
AS YOU SOW, SO SHALL YOU REAP.......................... 6
THE FARMER AND HIS SONS.................................. 6
BIRBAL THE WISE.............. 7
THE WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING......................... 7
HARE AND THE TORTOISE. 7
NOBODY BELIEVES A LIAR. 8
WORK IS WORSHIP............ 9
NEVER BE UNGRATEFUL... 9
KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN... 10
LIVE AND LET LIVE........... 10
TIME IS VALUABLE.......... 11
HAVE FAITH IN GOD........ 11
BLIND IMITATION IS BAD 11
A FOX AND A CRANE....... 12
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE........................ 13
THE STORY OF LORD GANESHA........................ 13
EAGLES IN A STORM....... 14
THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER................ 14
MOTHER’S DAY............... 15
MOUNTAIN...................... 15
THE MISER....................... 16
TWO FROGS.................... 16
SAND AND STONE........... 17
LEVEL 2: STORIES FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CHILDREN........................ 18
A BOX FULL OF KISSES..... 18
THE PRAYING HANDS...... 18
THE FOUR WIVES............ 20
WAIT FOR THE BRICK...... 21
PUPPIES FOR SALE........... 22
THE MAN, THE BOY AND THE DONKEY................... 23
THE WOODEN BOWL...... 24
TREES THAT WOOD......... 25
PENCIL............................. 27
DAD’S BLESSINGS............ 28
THE GREEDY CLOUD........ 29
A MAD MAN IN THE CITY 29
NEVER MAKE FUN OF A RHINO.............................. 31
THE MATH DUNCE.......... 32
THE WHITE ROSE............. 33
THE RUBY THIEF.............. 34
THE DRAWING THAT TALKED............................ 35
THE SINGING HIPPO........ 37
THE INCREDIBLE BLACK RAIN................................. 38
MY LITTLE WORLD HAS BROKEN........................... 39
THE UNFRIENDLY RIVER.. 40
THE TICKLING SCALES..... 41
A DAY WITH PIGS............ 41
THE WARM WHALE......... 42
THE MAGIC WINDOW..... 43
LEVEL 1: STORIES FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
THE WIND AND THE SUN
Once the Wind and the Sun had an argument. “I am stronger than you,” said the Wind. “No, you are not,” said the Sun. Just at that moment they saw a traveler walking across the road. He was wrapped in a shawl. The Sun and the Wind agreed that whoever could separate the traveller from his shawl was stronger.
The Wind took the first turn. He blew with all his might to tear the traveller’s shawl from his shoulders. But the harder he blew, the tighter the traveller gripped the shawl to his body.
The struggle went on till the Wind’s turn was over.
Now it was the Sun’s turn. The Sun smiled warmly. The traveller felt the warmth of the smiling Sun. Soon he let the shawl fall open. The Sun’s smile grew warmer and warmer... hotter and hotter. Now the traveller no longer needed his shawl. He took it off and dropped it on the ground. The Sun was declared stronger than the Wind.
Moral: Brute force can’t achieve what a gentle smile can.
THE VILLAGER AND THE SPECTACLES
There was a villager. He was illiterate. He did not know how to read and write. He often saw people wearing spectacles for reading books or papers. He thought, “If I have spectacles, I can also read like these people. I must go to town and buy a pair of spectacles for myself.” So one day he went to a town. He entered a spectacles shop He asked the shopkeeper for a pair of spectacles for reading. The shopkeeper gave him various pairs of spectacles and a book. The villager tried all the spectacles one by one. But he could not read anything. He told the shopkeeper that all those spectacles were useless for him. The shopkeeper gave him a doubtful look. Then he looked at the book. It was upside down! The shopkeeper said,
“Perhaps you don’t know how to read.”
The villager said, “No, I don’t. I want to buy spectacles so that I can read like others. But I can’t read with any of these spectacles.” The shopkeeper controlled his laughter with great difficulty when he learnt the real problem of his illiterate customer.
He explained to the villager, “My dear friend, you are very ignorant. Spectacles don’t help to read or write. They only help you to see better. First of all you must learn to re
