Cool stuff and Why Not

Change is the only constant thing is well known to all of us. But are we always able to look at the way in which its affecting us. Because if we cannot foresee change then we might just perish in the change. Music industry could not foresee the change named Internet and lost out to piracy of music on Internet. Camera company could not see the change that the Mobile companies would sell  more camera (in built in phone) then themselves. Watch is another of the example of a product losing out because of innovation in another industry.   

Watching the change in just you own industry is simply not enough in today’s world. You never know when and how an innovation in another industry will effect you own industry. and if you are not flexible enough then you will be the breakfast of that new innovation. Today companies are more and more open to venture out in new area’s.

Google which was primarily a search Engine now has ventured into mail, Maps, Smartphone, operating system, free web services, programming language and so many other things. Apple which was mostly focused on computers today has a bigger focus on music player IPOD, smart phones iPhone, selling music iTunes, Selling advertisement iAd etc…

Microsoft the makers of most used operating system have already ventured into Gaming, Music Player, smart phones, search engine, web portals, touch based device (Microsoft surface) etc.

All the major player are looking at new ways and areas to move to. today’s competitor are not the only people to at when making a vision for tomorrow. because you never know who will be your real competitor tomorrow. Foreseeing the future is not easy, But this is not a luxury anymore, its more of a necessity if we want to foresee a future.

In the world of technology this keep changing every other year. Many of the top most sought after jobs in 2010 did not exists in 2004 like. New services grow at a rate never heard of before. Facebook launched about 6 years back has already beaten Google and Yahoo for the number of unique user. Twitter which started with free service has reached a 50 million posts every day in no time. New products are hyped and sold on the first day to extreme. iPad was sold 300,000 units on the first day, even before any once had actually touched and checked it out.

The amount of data available to everyone to every one through different medium is so huge that today’s requirement is not about finding the data but about finding the right on required data and ignore others.  business models have also changed in a big way. People are trying to venture in making application on new platform like iphone and Aneroid. More and more service based, social networking based sites are coming out daily. Advertisement on the web is becoming more and more mature in becoming a standard revenue model.

In the chronicles of the ancient dynasty of the Sassanidae, who reigned for about four hundred years, from Persia to the borders of China, beyond the great river Ganges itself, we read the praises of one of the kings of this race, who was said to be the best monarch of his time.  His subjects loved him, and his neighbors feared him, and when he died he left his kingdom in a more prosperous and powerful condition than any king had done before him.

The two sons who survived him loved each other tenderly, and it was a real grief to the elder, Schahriar, that the laws of the empire forbade him to share his dominions with his brother Schahzeman. Indeed, after ten years, during which this state of things had not ceased to trouble him, Schahriar cut off the country of Great Tartary from the Persian Empire and made his brother king.

Now the Sultan Schahriar had a wife whom he loved more than all the world, and his greatest happiness was to surround her with splendour, and to give her the finest dresses and the most beautiful jewels. It was therefore with the deepest shame and sorrow that he accidentally discovered, after several years, that she had deceived him completely, and her whole conduct turned out to have been so bad, that he felt himself obliged to carry out the law of the land, and order the grand-vizir to put her to death.  The blow was so heavy that his mind almost gave way, and he declared that he was quite sure that at bottom all women were as wicked as the sultana, if you could only find them out, and that the fewer the world contained the better.  So every evening he married a fresh wife and had her strangled the following morning before the grand-vizir, whose duty it was to provide these unhappy brides for the Sultan. The poor man fulfilled his task with reluctance, but there was no escape, and every day saw a girl married and a wife dead.

This behaviour caused the greatest horror in the town, where nothing was heard but cries and lamentations.  In one house was a father weeping for the loss of his daughter, in another perhaps a mother trembling for the fate of her child; and instead of the blessings that had formerly been heaped on the Sultan’s head, the air was now full of curses.

The grand-vizir himself was the father of two daughters, of whom the elder was called Scheherazade, and the younger Dinarzade. Dinarzade had no particular gifts to distinguish her from other girls, but her sister was clever and courageous in the highest degree. Her father had given her the best masters in philosophy, medicine, history and the fine arts, and besides all this, her beauty excelled that of any girl in the kingdom of Persia.

One day, when the grand-vizir was talking to his eldest daughter, who was his delight and pride, Scheherazade said to him, "Father, I have a favour to ask of you.  Will you grant it to me?"

"I can refuse you nothing," replied he, "that is just and reasonable."

"Then listen," said Scheherazade.  "I am determined to stop this barbarous practice of the Sultan’s, and to deliver the girls and mothers from the awful fate that hangs over them."

"It would be an excellent thing to do," returned the grand-vizir, "but how do you propose to accomplish it?"

"My father," answered Scheherazade, "it is you who have to provide the Sultan daily with a fresh wife, and I implore you, by all the affection you bear me, to allow the honour to fall upon me."

"Have you lost your senses?" cried the grand-vizir, starting back in horror.  "What has put such a thing into your head?  You ought to know by this time what it means to be the sultan’s bride!"

"Yes, my father, I know it well," replied she, "and I am not afraid to think of it.  If I fail, my death will be a glorious one, and if I succeed I shall have done a great service to my country."

"It is of no use," said the grand-vizir, "I shall never consent. If the Sultan was to order me to plunge a dagger in your heart, I should have to obey.  What a task for a father!  Ah, if you do not fear death, fear at any rate the anguish you would cause me."

"Once again, my father," said Scheherazade, "will you grant me what I ask?"

"What, are you still so obstinate?" exclaimed the grand-vizir. "Why are you so resolved upon your own ruin?"

But the maiden absolutely refused to attend to her father’s words, and at length, in despair, the grand-vizir was obliged to give way, and went sadly to the palace to tell the Sultan that the following evening he would bring him Scheherazade.

The Sultan received this news with the greatest astonishment.

"How have you made up your mind," he asked, "to sacrifice your own daughter to me?"

"Sire," answered the grand-vizir, "it is her own wish.  Even the sad fate that awaits her could not hold her back."

"Let there be no mistake, vizir," said the Sultan.  "Remember you will have to take her life yourself.  If you refuse, I swear that your head shall pay forfeit."

"Sire," returned the vizir.  "Whatever the cost, I will obey you. Though a father, I am also your subject."  So the Sultan told the grand-vizir he might bring his daughter as soon as he liked.

The vizir took back this news to Scheherazade, who received it as if it had been the most pleasant thing in the world. She thanked her father warmly for yielding to her wishes, and, seeing him still bowed down with grief, told him that she hoped he would never repent having allowed her to marry the Sultan. Then she went to prepare herself for the marriage, and begged
that her sister Dinarzade should be sent for to speak to her.

When they were alone, Scheherazade addressed her thus:

"My dear sister; I want your help in a very important affair. My father is going to take me to the palace to celebrate my marriage with the Sultan.  When his Highness receives me, I shall beg him, as a last favour, to let you sleep in our chamber, so that I may have your company during the last night I am alive.  If, as I hope, he grants me my wish, be sure that you wake me an hour before the dawn, and speak to me in these words:  "My sister, if you are not asleep, I beg you, before the sun rises, to tell me one of your charming stories."  Then I shall begin, and I hope by this means to deliver the people from the terror that reigns over them." Dinarzade replied that she would do with pleasure what her sister wished.

When the usual hour arrived the grand-vizir conducted Scheherazade to the palace, and left her alone with the Sultan, who bade her raise her veil and was amazed at her beauty.  But seeing her eyes full of tears, he asked what was the matter.  "Sire," replied Scheherazade, "I have a sister who loves me as tenderly as I love her.  Grant me the favour of allowing her to sleep this night in the same room, as it is the last we shall be together."  Schahriar consented to Scheherazade’s petition and Dinarzade was sent for.

An hour before daybreak Dinarzade awoke, and exclaimed, as she had promised, "My dear sister, if you are not asleep, tell me I pray you, before the sun rises, one of your charming stories. It is the last time that I shall have the pleasure of hearing you."

Scheherazade did not answer her sister, but turned to the Sultan. "Will your highness permit me to do as my sister asks?" said she.

"Willingly," he answered.  So Scheherazade began.

Once upon a time, a clever monkey lived in a tree that bore juicy, red rose apples. He was very happy.

One fine day, a crocodile swam up to that tree and told the monkey that he had travelled a long distance and was in search of food as he was very hungry. The kind monkey offered him a few rose apples. The crocodile enjoyed them very much and asked the monkey whether he could come again for some more fruit. The generous monkey happily agreed.

The crocodile returned the next day. And the next. And the next one after that. Soon the two became very good friends. They discussed their lives, their friends and family, like all friends do. The crocodile told the monkey that he had a wife and that they lived on the other side of the river. So the kind monkey offered him some extra rose apples to take home to his wife. The crocodile’s wife loved the rose apples and made her husband promise to get her some every day.

Meanwhile, the friendship between the monkey and the crocodile deepened as they spent more and more time together. The crocodile’s wife started getting jealous. She wanted to put an end to this friendship. So she pretended that she could not believe that her husband could be friends with a monkey. Her husband tried to convince her that he and the monkey shared a true friendship. The crocodile’s wife thought to herself that if the monkey lived on a diet of rose monkeys, his flesh would be very sweet. So she asked the crocodile to invite the monkey to their house.

The crocodile was not happy about this. He tried to make the excuse that it would be difficult to get the monkey across the river. But his wife was determined to eat the monkey’s flesh. So she thought of a plan.

One day, she pretended to be very ill and told the crocodile that the doctor said that she would only recover if she ate a monkey’s heart. If her husband wanted to save her life, he must bring her his friend’s heart.

The crocodile was aghast. He was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he loved his friend. On the other, he could not possibly let his wife die. The crocodile’s wife threatened him saying that if he did not get her the monkey’s heart, she would surely die.

So the crocodile went to the rose apple tree and invited the monkey to come home to meet his wife. He told the monkey that he could ride across the river on the crocodile’s back. The monkey happily agreed. As they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile began to sink. The frightened monkey asked him why he was doing that. The crocodile explained that he would have to kill the monkey to save his wife’s life. The clever monkey told him that he would gladly give up his heart to save the life of the crocodile’s wife, but he had left his heart behind in the rose apple tree. He asked the crocodile to make haste and turn back so that the monkey could go get his heart from the apple tree.

The silly crocodile quickly swam back to the rose apple tree. The monkey scampered up the tree to safety. He told the crocodile to tell his wicked wife that she had married the biggest fool in the world.

Once upon a time, there lived a big lion in a jungle. Every day he hunted and killed many animals to satisfy his hunger. The animals were worried that one day none of them would be left alive. They all decided to go to the lion and find a solution to this problem.

When the lion saw all the animals approaching, he was very happy as he thought that he would not have to take the trouble to hunt. He could just kill all the animals together once and for all.

One of the animals stopped him and pleaded that he listen to what they had to say first. He went on to explain that as the lion was king of the jungle, and all the other animals were his subjects, the lion would not be a king at all if he killed all his subjects. He would have no one left to rule over. He suggested that if the lion stayed home, one animal would surrender itself each day as food for the lion. The lion agreed to this offer on the condition that if they ever failed to send him an animal, he would go on a killing spree and finish all of them off.

From then on, each day an animal was sent to the lion and the lion was pleased.

One day it was the turn of a little rabbit to sacrifice his life to provide food for the lion. This little one did not want to be the lion’s meal. He thought of a plan that would save his life as well as the lives of all the other animals in the jungle.

The rabbit slowly made his way to the lion’s den. The lion was pacing up and down, extremely hungry. He was furious when all he saw was a little rabbit. He wanted to kill all the animals in a rage. The rabbit timidly explained that the animals had actually sent him six rabbits, but five of them were killed and devoured by another lion.

The lion roared in anger. He wanted to know who this other lion was who dared to steal his food. The rabbit stuttered that it was a very big lion. He had warned the other lion not to eat him as his king would be very angry and definitely come to fight him. The rabbit went on to say that that the other lion had called His Majesty an impostor and had challenged him to prove who was actually the king of the jungle. The lion was furious. He asked the rabbit to take him to the other lion as he wanted to kill him.

The little rabbit led the lion to a well and told him that the other lion was in there. The lion peered into the well and saw his own reflection. He thought it was the other lion. He let out a huge roar which echoed back at him. He immediately jumped into the well to attack what he thought was the other lion. The lion dashed his head against the rocks and drowned.

The jubilant little rabbit returned to other animals to spread the good news.

Once upon a time, there was a stork who caught the fish in a particular tank. The stork always had a full meal. As the years went by, the stork grew older and weaker. His ability to catch fish diminished. At times he would even starve. He knew he had to do something to survive.

One day he stood by the side of the tank with a very forlorn look on his face. The frogs, fish and crabs wondered why he was not trying to catch any food. A big crab asked him what the matter was. The stork answered that he was sad because all the fish in the tank were going to die and he would have to starve. He said that he had heard that people were going to fill the tank with mud and grow crops over it. The fish were very worried and asked the stork to help them.

The stork offered to take all of them to a bigger tank some distance away. But he said that he needed to rest between trips because of his age. He would only be able to carry a few fish at a time.

The stork took a beakful of fish on his first trip. He flew to a big rock and had a good meal. He rested awhile, and when he was hungry again, he took a second trip. In this manner, he took a trip each time that he was hungry.

The big crab in the tank also wanted to save himself and he requested the stork to take him too. The stork thought it was a good idea to try a new dish. He agreed to take the crab on his next trip.

After the stork flew up with him, the crab looked down to see what his new surrounding would be like. All he could see was dry land. He questioned the stork about this. The stork laughed wickedly and pointed to the rock below where the crab saw a heap of fish bones. The crab realized that he was to be the stork’s next meal. So the crab dug his claws into the stork’s neck and would not let go till the stork fell to the ground. The crab then cut off the stork’s head and returned home to show it to all the other fish and share the story of his adventure.

Once upon a time a family of crows lived in a huge banyan tree. There was a Father Crow, a Mother Crow, and many baby crows.

One day a huge snake came to live in the hole at the bottom of the tree. The crows were unhappy about this, but could do nothing.

Soon Mother Crow hatched a few more eggs and some more baby crows were born. When the crows flew out in search of food, the snake ate up the babies. When the crows returned, they could not find their babies. They hunted high and low, but to no avail.

After a few months, Mother Crow gave birth to some more baby crows. This time Mother Crow stayed home when Father Crow went out in search of food. Ignoring the fact that Mother Crow was keeping a watchful eye on her babies, the snake still slithered up the tree and attacked the babies. Mother Crow tried to fight the snake off, but she was not strong enough. Other crows came to her aid, but the snake had already eaten the little ones and crawled back into its hole.

When Father Crow returned, he found all the crows weeping. He consoled his wife who wanted to leave the tree house immediately. Father Crow said that this tree had been their home for many years and they must live here. He thought of asking a wise old fox for help in order to get rid of the snake.

The old fox came up with a brilliant plan. He told them to go to the river bank the next morning where the ladies of the royal family would be bathing. Their clothes and valuables would be kept on the river bank while the servants would be watching over them from a distance.

The fox asked the crows to pick up a necklace and while away making a raucous noise. This would make the servants chase them to the tree where the crows would drop the necklace into the snake’s hole.

So the next morning when the crows flew to the river bank, Mother Crow picked up a pearl necklace and flew off as Father Crow cawed loudly to attract the servants’ attention. The servants ran after Mother Crow and reached the banyan tree where they saw her drop the necklace into the snake hole. As the servants were trying to take the necklace out with the help of a long stick, the snake came out of the hole and hissed at them menacingly. The servants beat the snake to death. And so Mother and Father Crow lived happily ever after in the banyan tree.

Once upon a time, there was an old thin donkey that worked for a washerman by day. At night he was free to wander as he liked.

One night, he made friends with a jackal and they both went out in search of food. They found a garden filled with cucumbers and helped themselves to a delicious meal. After that they returned every night to the garden to eat cucumbers. And so the donkey started looking healthy and fat.

One night, after a particularly tasty meal, the donkey was overwhelmed with happiness. So happy was he, that he told the jackal he wanted to sing a song. The jackal immediately told him not to do any such thing! He warned the donkey that they were thieves so it was not a good idea to make noise and attract the farmer’s attention. If they were caught, they would be beaten.

But the donkey insisted on singing. The jackal told him that his voice was not sweet. The donkey was upset and thought that the jackal was jealous of him. The jackal warned that donkey again that if he did sing, the farmers would come and reward him in a way that he would not like.

But the donkey started singing, and the jackal decided to wait outside the garden. When the farmers heard the donkey braying, they rushed out to beat him. The donkey fell down and the farmers tied a heavy stone around his neck.

Somehow the donkey dragged himself out to the waiting jackal. The jackal congratulated him on his reward. The donkey realised his mistake and apologised to the jackal for not listening to good advice.

Once upon a time, there was a tortoise who lived in a tank. He made friends with two geese who used to come and visit him at the tank. They were happy for many years.

Then there was a drought that lasted for months. The tanks and rivers started drying up under the burning sun. The people and animals were starving and the birds were migrating to more fertile lands. The two geese decided to save themselves and go away. So they came to say a sad goodbye to their friend the tortoise.

The poor tortoise could not believe that they could leave him behind to die. The geese wondered how they could save their friend too. The problem was that they did not know how to take him along because the tortoise could not fly. The tortoise came up with an idea. He told the geese to get him a stick that he could hold between his teeth. The geese could then take him to a more fertile land flying slowly while holding the two ends of the stick.

But the geese were worried that if the tortoise opened his mouth by mistake to speak, he would lose his grip on the stick and would fall down and die. So the tortoise promised not to open his mouth.

The geese flew off carrying the tortoise with them. They flew higher and higher, over hills, valleys, fields and plains. Finally, they flew over a city. The people of the city were amazed to see such a strange sight. They clapped their hands and commented how wonderful it was too see the geese carrying the tortoise like that. The people’s shouting and clapping annoyed the tortoise. He wondered aloud why these foolish people were making such a racket. But as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, he lost his grip on the stick and fell to the ground. And so the poor tortoise was killed all because of his foolishness and intolerance.

Once upon a time, there lived an old lion who was, of course, the king of the jungle. However, he was old and he could not hunt for food. With each passing day he grew weaker and weaker. He realized that he needed an assistant to bring him his food, else he would surely die.

He thought that a fox would be the best person to hire in this situation. He summoned the fox and offered him the post of Minister because he was so clever. The fox did not trust the lion, but he could not refuse the king. He agreed and the lion was pleased.

The old lion told the fox that as he was the king of the jungle, he should not have to hunt for his food. Therefore, the fox’s first duty as Minister was to bring him an animal to eat every day.

The fox went out to find an animal and came across a fat ass. He told the ass that the king of the jungle had invited the ass to act as his Chief Minister and had been searching for him for days. But the ass was scared of the lion and told the fox that he was not fit to be Chief Minister. The fox flattered the ass, praising the fact that he was so wise and hardworking. And so he convinced the ass to go along with him.

When they reached the lion’s den, the poor ass’s nerve failed him again and he refused to move forward. The fox informed the lion that his new Chief Minister was feeling shy. So the lion himself came forward. The poor ass ran for his life. The lion was very angry. The fox told him to be patient and leave it to him. The fox went back to the ass and told him that if the lion had wanted to kill him, he could easily have done so before. He said that the lion had approached him to share some secret that he did not want the fox to hear. He tempted the ass telling him that he would be very powerful as the lion’s second in command. In this way, the fox managed to entice the ass to go back to the lion.

The lion welcomed them graciously. As the ass drew nearer, the lion pounced on him and killed him. He then thanked the fox. As the lion sat down to eat, the fox suggested that the lion take a bath before his meal. The lion thought it was a good idea and went off to have a bath. He instructed the fox to watch over the carcass of the ass.

The fox obediently sat down to keep watch. But the fox was hungry and his mouth watered as he looked at the ass just waiting to be eaten. He thought to himself that since he had taken all the trouble to bring the ass to the lion, he was entitled to the best portion of the meal. So he ate the ass’s brain.

When the lion returned, he felt that there was something amiss. The fox reminded him that he had given the ass a powerful blow on his head. Satisfied with this explanation, the lion settled down to his meal. He soon realized that the ass had no brain. He questioned the fox about this. The fox replied that if the ass had had a brain, he would never have returned with the fox to meet the lion.

Once upon a time, there lived a Brahmin and his wife who had no children. They prayed to God every day in the hope that they would be blessed with a child.

One fine day, the Brahmin’s wife did give birth to a baby, but it was a snake! All the villagers, their friends and relatives advised them to get rid of the baby snake. But the Brahmin’s wife did not care that her baby was a snake. She loved it all the same and refused to get rid of it.

She reared the baby snake with tender loving care and gave him the best of things. After many years had passed, the Brahmin’s wife decided that it was time to get her baby married. But which girl would marry a snake?

One day, when the Brahmin returned home, he found his wife sobbing. She refused to tell him the reason, but just continued weeping. Finally she told him that she was crying because she realized that he did not love his son because he was not even thinking of his son’s marriage.

The Brahmin was shocked. He asked her which person in his right mind would agree to marry his daughter to a snake. But seeing his wife crying ceaselessly, he was forced to go out in search of a bride for his son.

He traveled far and wide, but with no success. Finally, he arrived in a big city where his best friend lived. The Brahmin decided to pay him a visit. They were both thrilled to see each other after such a long time. His friend asked him what brought him so far from home. The Brahmin replied that he was searching for a bride for his son. His friend told him to look no further and immediately promised his daughter’s hand in marriage. The Brahmin told him to first take a look at his son. His friend refused saying that as he knew the family, it was not necessary. So he sent his beautiful daughter with the Brahmin.

The Brahmin’s wife was thrilled and immediately started making preparations for the wedding. Everyone advised the girl not to marry the snake, but she insisted that she must keep her father’s word.

And so the girl and the snake were married. After marriage, the girl was the epitome of a devoted wife. She looked after the snake well. The snake slept in his box at night.

Then, one night, when the girl was going to sleep, she found a handsome young man in the room. She was scared and was about to run for help. The young man stopped her saying that he was her husband. Of course, she did not believe him. So he proved it by getting back into the snake skin. She was so happy that she fell at his feet. After that, every night the young man would shed the snakeskin and spend time with his bride. At daybreak, he would slip back into the snakeskin.

One night, the Brahmin heard noises in his daughter-in-law’s room. So he kept a watch and saw the snake turning into a handsome young man. He rushed into the room and threw the snakeskin in to the fire. His son thanked him profusely saying that he was freed from a curse that forced him to stay in the snakeskin until someone destroyed it without his asking.

And so the handsome young man and his beautiful bride lived happily ever after. 

Once upon a time, there was a rich merchant called Naduk. But times were bad and his business was suffering. He decided to leave the city and find his fortune in a new place. He sold off all his possessions and paid off his debts. All that he had left was a heavy iron beam. Naduk went to say goodbye to his friend Lakshman, and requested him to keep the beam for him till he returned. Lakshman promised to look after it for him.

For many years, Naduk traveled far and wide, building his fortune. Luck was with him, for he became rich once again. He returned home and bought a new house and started his business again. He went to visit his friend Lakshman who greeted him warmly. After a while, Naduk asked him to return his beam. Lakshman knew that the beam would fetch him good money so he was loath to return it. So he told Naduk that he had kept his beam in the store-room and the mice ate it.

Naduk did not seem to mind. He asked Lakshman to send his son home with him so that he could hand over a gift that he had bought for him. So Lakshman sent his son Ramu with Naduk.

Naduk locked up Ramu in a cellar in his house. By nightfall, Lakshamn was worried and came to ask about the whereabouts of his son. Naduk replied that on the way to his house, a hawk swooped down and carried the boy off. Lakshman accused Naduk of lying. He insisted that a hawk could not carry off a fifteen-year-old boy.

A big fight ensued and the matter was taken to court. When the magistrate heard Lakshman’s side of the story, he ordered Naduk to return the boy to his father. But Naduk insisted that a hawk carried off the boy. The magistrate asked him how it was possible. He replied,that if a huge iron beam can be eaten by mice, then a boy could definitely be carried off by a hawk. 

Naduk related the whole story. Everyone in the courtroom burst out laughing. The magistrate then ordered Lakshman to return the iron beam to Naduk and that Naduk return Lakshman’s son to him.

Once upon a time, there was a flock of doves that flew in search of food led by their king. One day, they had flown a long distance and were very tired. The dove king encouraged them to fly a little further. The smallest dove picked up speed and found some rice scattered beneath a banyan tree. So all the doves landed and began to eat.

Suddenly a net fell over them and they were all trapped. They saw a hunter approaching carrying a huge club. The doves desperately fluttered their wings trying to get out, but to no avail.

The king had an idea. He advised all the doves to fly up together carrying the net with them. He said that there was strength in unity.

Each dove picked up a portion of the net and together they flew off carrying the net with them. The hunter looked up in astonishment. He tried to follow them, but they were flying high over hills and valleys. They flew to a hill near a city of temples where there lived a mouse who could help them. He was a faithful friend of the dove king.

When the mouse heard the loud noise of their approach, he went into hiding. The dove king gently called out to him and then the mouse was happy to see him. The dove king explained that they had been caught in a trap and needed the mouse’s help to gnaw at the net with his teeth and set them free.

The mouse agreed saying that he would set the king free first. The king insisted that he first free his subjects and the king last. The mouse understood the king’s feelings and compled with his wishes. He began to cut the net and one by one all the doves were freed including the dove king.

They all thanked the mouse and flew away together, united in their strength.

In a forest, on the outskirts of Benaras, there lived a beautiful golden deer. He was called King Banyan Deer and was the leader of a herd of five hundred deer. Not very far off, in the same forest was King Branch Deer who was also the leader amongst another five hundred deer. He was also extremely beautiful with a coat of a shiny golden hue and sparkling eyes.

Outside this beautiful forest, in the real world, there reigned a King who loved to eat meat at every single meal. He was King Brahmadatta of Benaras. Not only was he fond of hunting, but he also enforced the same on his subjects. He forced them to leave their own businesses and join him regularly on his hunting spree each and every morning.

After awhile the villagers got sick of this regular routine as they had much better things to do with their lives. Besides, their work and means of livelihood had also begun to suffer. They realised that they must find a solution. Together they came up with a plan.

They decided to grow plants, sow crops and dig water holes in the royal park itself. Then they would drive a number of deer into the confines of the park and shut the gates. In this way the King could hunt at leisure and would not require any further help from his obedient subjects.

So at first they went about preparing the royal park for the deer. Then they went into the forest armed with weapons and sticks in order to drive the deer into the royal park. They surrounded the territories of both the herds, those of King Banyan Deer as well as King Branch Deer, and drove them into the royal park, with shouts of glee as they beat their sticks on the ground and waved them in the air. As soon as both the herds were in, the gates were shut and the deer entrapped.

They then went to their King and told him that as they could not accompany him any more on his hunts they had successfully managed to entrap a number of deer in the royal park for his royal pleasure. The King was absolutely thrilled when he set eyes on the great number of deer in the royal park.

While gazing at them his eyes fell on the two beautiful golden deer and he at once decided to spare their lives. He issued an order that they were not to be shot at any cost. Each day after that, either the King or one of his hunters would shoot arrows at the deer. The deer would scatter wildly in every direction and get hurt in the ensuing stampede. So one day King Banyan Deer and King Branch Deer put their heads together and came up with a plan. They realised that each day their herds were getting wounded in great numbers and some were getting killed. Even though death was inevitable they could at least try to save the living ones from unnecessary pain and torture.

So they decided to send a deer to the royal palace to be slaughtered and served to the king each and every day. The pact was to alternate between the two herds. In this way at least the rest of the deer would be spared unnecessary torture. This system continued for some time. Each day a deer was sent to the royal palace to be slaughtered by the royal cook. And the rest of the deer were allowed to live in peace until it was their turn.

One day it was the turn of a young female deer with a newborn baby. She belonged to the herd of King Branch Deer. She was worried that after she was killed there would be no one to take care of her child who was still too young to look after itself. So she approached her king with the plea that he send another deer instead of her that day and she would willingly go to the slaughter after her fawn was old enough to look after himself.

But King Branch Deer would not listen to her plea and told her to accept this as her fate as he could not ask another deer to replace her on the execution block. The mother doe looked at her baby and just could not take a step towards the palace. So she approached King Banyan Deer with her plea. King Banyan Deer looked at her with great compassion and told her to go look after her baby, as he would send another in her place.

Then King Banyan Deer himself walked to the palace and placed his head on the execution block. The royal cook was shocked to see him and remembering the King’s orders, went running to the King to ask him what was to be done. The King came down to see what was happening. On seeing King Banyan Deer he went up to him and gently asked why he was here. King Banyan Deer related the story of the fawn and the mother doe and told him that as he could not order another to take her place, he had decided to do it himself. The King was highly impressed with this supreme sacrifice and the great love and compassion that this King of deer possessed. So he decided to not only spare his life but that of the mother doe as well.

But King Banyan Deer was not satisfied. He asked that the lives of the other deer be spared as well. So the king granted him his wish. Then he asked about all the other four-footed animals in the forest and then about the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea. And King Brahmadutta agreed to spare the lives of all.
King Banyan Deer thanked him from the bottom of his heart and returned joyfully to the park. The gates were opened wide and both the herds were set free. Needless to say they lived peacefully and happily ever after.

Once upon a time there lived a queen in the city of Benaras. Her name was Khema and she was the wife of King Bahuputtaka, which means ‘father of many sons’. One night, the Queen had a dream of a beautiful golden goose that spoke with great wisdom, almost as if he was a sage. She told her husband that she desperately wanted to see a bird just like the one that she had seen in her dream.
So the King asked his ministers to find out all that they could about a bird such as this. He was told that such a bird did exist but was extremely rare and difficult to find. They advised him to build a beautiful lake on the outskirts of Benaras so that he may attract such rare and lovely creatures to reside there. In this way the queen might have her wish.
Towards the north, on Mount Cittakuta, there lived about ninety thousand wild geese headed by a beautiful golden goose called King Dhatarattha. He got to hear of this exquisite lake that was surrounded by flowers and trees and had lovely water lilies and lotuses floating on the surface. The king had named this lake after his wife Khema and had invited all the birds to come and live on it, promising that none of them would ever be harmed. Corn was scattered on a daily basis in order to attract the birds.
So a couple of geese went up to their King and told him that they were quite tired of living up on the mountains and would like to see this wonderful lake where they had been promised food and protection. 
The king agreed to their request and took the whole flock down south towards Benaras.
Meanwhile, at the lake the King had placed hunters all around in order to capture any golden goose that happened to pass by. So the next morning when the headhunter saw this flock of geese approaching he was very excited to see their golden leader. He immediately went about setting up a snare amongst the water lilies and lotuses, as he knew that the leader would definitely be the first to alight.
The whole flock came flying down in one mighty swoop and as expected it was the King’s foot that touched the water first. He was ensnared and could not escape. Seeing this the other geese flew into a panic and honked in distress. But none had the courage to try to free their king and so flew back to Mount Cittacuta for safety. All except one. He was the chief captain, Sumukha.
His King entreated him to fly to safety too, as he would surely be captured if he stayed by his side. But Sumukha replied that he would never desert his master in the face of danger and would either try to save him or die by his side.
At this point the head huntsman approached and as Sumukha saw him he decided to appeal to his compassion. The hunter asked the King how come he had not noticed the trap that was set. The golden goose replied that when one’s time was up it was no use to struggle against what was fated and one must just accept it. The huntsman was very impressed with his grace and wisdom. He then turned to Sumukha and asked why he had not fled with the other birds even though he was free to do so. Sumukha answered that this was his King, best friend and master and that he could never desert him even at the cost of his own life.
Hearing this the hunter realised that these were a couple of rare birds of great nobility. And were he to harm them, the gods would certainly punish him. Besides, he did not much care for his own King’s reward and decided to do the right thing and set them free. He told Sumukha that as he was ready to die for his King he would set them both free to fly wherever they may. 
He then set loose the foot of the golden goose and washed the wound clean. And when he made an attempt to fix the dislocated muscle "lo behold".. the foot was miraculously whole again as if it had never been hurt. Sumukha greatly blessed the hunter for his act of compassion and his King asked whether he had set the trap for himself or at someone else’s command. The hunter answered that he had done it on the orders of his own King. He then went on to narrate to them the whole story about the queen’s dream and her wish to see this rare golden goose. 
On hearing this, the golden goose decided to go and meet the monarch, as he knew that the hunter would receive his reward. He had also heard about the wisdom and goodness of King Bahuputakka and thought that if he appeared out of his own free will, the monarch might allow him and his flock to come visit the lake. He therefore asked the hunter to take him to his King. The hunter advised him against it because he was worried that his monarch might imprison these two lovely creatures.
But the golden goose explained that just as they had been able to soften a hunter’s heart it should not be too difficult to do the same to a great and noble King. He asked him to do his duty and leave the rest to him. 
So the hunter set out to go to the palace accompanied by these two noble, gorgeous creatures. Needless to say that the King and Queen were absolutely delighted to see these two beautiful birds. The King set them on a golden perch and fed them himself, with honey, grain and sweetened milk. Then he spent the whole night discussing kingship and all its duties with this King of Geese. The golden goose did his best to offer good advice and encouragement in accordance with his wisdom. 
In the morning he thanked the King and Queen for their hospitality and friendship and flew back to his flock accompanied by his faithful friend and chief captain Sumukha.

In a forest glade, by the side of River Ganges, high on the mountains there lived about eighty thousand monkeys along with their giant monkey king. And by the side of the clear gushing water stood a tall shady tree bearing big beautiful juicy golden fruits commonly called mangoes.

All the monkeys just loved these mangoes and ate them off almost as soon as they had ripened. Which was a very good thing as their wise giant king had warned them not to let a single juicy fruit fall into the river. Because if the current carried even one of these fruits down the river to the land where the men lived, they would surely come in search of this delicious fruit and destroy the peace in the land of the monkeys.

It so happened that a branch of this tree hung low over the river and a mango that was hidden behind an ant’s nest ripened and fell off without anyone’s knowledge. It was taken down south by the rapid flow of the river and reached the city of Benaras.

One fine morning when King Brahmadutta of Benaras was bathing in the river between two nets, a couple of fishermen found a bright golden fruit caught in the mesh of the net. Very excited they took it to show the King. The King examined the fruit carefully and asked where it had come from and what it was called. The fishermen did not know much about it but guessed that it must have flowed down the river from the valleys of the far-flung Himalayas.

He then asked them to cut the mango and tasted a slice. It was simply delicious. He shared the rest of it with his ministers and Queen who loved its divine flavour.

A few days passed, but the King could not get this exotic fruit out of his mind. He could not work; rest or sleep for want of some more. Finally he could bear it no longer and set sail in search of it. He organised a fleet of rafts and sailed up the river accompanied by his men and a few fishermen.

Many days and many nights went by and they passed many valleys until they finally came to the one where the mango tree stood. Mission accomplished, the King was delighted and began enjoying the mangoes to his heart’s content. Finally, that night, the King lay down to sleep under the mango tree while his faithful soldiers stood guard. Fires were lit on either side for protection against wild animals.

In the middle of the night when the guards had dozed off to sleep, the monkeys came and finished off all the mangoes that were left on the tree. The King awoke with all the noise and ordered his guards to shoot at the monkeys so that they could feast on monkey flesh along with the mangoes.

On hearing this, the monkeys trembled with fear and escaped to inform their King. They told him what had happened and he promised to save them. But for that he had to come up with a plan.

So he climbed up the tree and swung across the river with the help of a branch. He found a bamboo shoot which he measured and cut carefully, and then tied one end of it around his waist. The other end he tied around a tree trunk. He had decided to leap back to the mango tree and help the rest of the monkeys across over the bridge that he had made with the help of the bamboo shoot.

But alas… he had not taken into account the portion that he had tied around his waist. So when the monkey king sprang back into the mango grove he was just able to cling to a branch of the mango tree. He quickly summoned his monkeys to climb over his back and onto the reed in order to escape to the other side. In this way, eighty thousand monkeys climbed over his back one by one and made it to safety.

But unfortunately there was one evil monkey who hated his leader and wanted to destroy him. His name was Devadutta. This mean monkey purposely jumped hard over his poor king’s back and broke it, while he himself escaped to the other bank.

King Brahmadutta, who had been awake for awhile, had observed this whole episode. He felt extremely sorry for the monkey king and asked his men to help lower him to the ground. He then had him gently bathed and wrapped in a soft yellow cloth and asked him why he had sacrificed himself for his tribe. The great monkey answered that as he was their guide and chief, they were his children and it was his sacred duty to protect them. He had absolutely no regrets as he had ensured their safety. He also went on to say that the King should always be mindful of his subjects’ welfare even at the cost of his own. Saying this the monkey king died at peace with himself.

King Brahmadutta had learnt a great deal that day. He ordered his men to organise a funeral fit for a King. He then built a shrine in the monkey king’s memory where he offered flowers and lit candles and incense.

On returning to Benaras, he built another shrine there and asked his people to pay homage to this great soul. He always remembered the last words of the monkey king and ruled his subjects with wisdom and compassion. The people in his kingdom were eternally grateful to the great-hearted monkey.