Fable

The hoopoe summoned the birds of the forest from early morning to an emergency meeting, and it seemed that something grave had happened or was about to happen. Such summonses occur only in rare cases. The birds hurriedly wiped the traces of sleep from their eyes and set off on their way toward the large square, trying to guess the reason for this sudden summons. When the attendance was complete, the hoopoe stepped forward and spoke. “You know, my dears, that this forest is our home and the home of our ancestors, and it will be for our children and grandchildren.” ...

We must all recognize that cooperation is an important value we should learn, acquire, and practice. Especially because this beautiful value can take the form of helping others or helping ourselves by others’ aid to us—all are different forms of cooperation and care in carrying it out. It may ward off some evils from us and, in its wake, send the wicked away. We have long heard that unity is strength and that the many prevail over individual courage alone, making those who cooperate together like a tightly knit building, each part supporting the other, as happened in our story today. ...

The two friends, the small-sized fox and the large bull with big horns, agreed to spend a day wandering in the areas of the green forest. The fox was smart, evasive, and cunning, while the bull, despite his size, was stupid and dull. Half the day passed, the sun’s heat intensified, and the two friends felt extreme thirst, so they went in search of a water spring to quench their thirst. ...

On a cold winter day, Abu al-Husayn was suffering from pain and regret as he returned to his den. He had searched most of the day for food for his little ones but didn’t find anything. While he was wandering right and left, he saw the fur of one of the shepherds hanging on an olive tree trunk. It was close at hand, so he took it and wore it, walking proudly with it. ...

It is told that in ancient times, a crow lived in its nest. The days passed by the crow in calm and tranquility, enjoying what was around it. Then one day, he saw a hunter. He said: My God, who brought this hunter here? I who thought I was safe, but wait, it seems this hunter is on a mission. The hunter was setting his net on the ground and scattering grain on it, then the hunter hid behind one of the trees. The crow said: What a treacherous one. ...

It is told that the wise Shuparnasiti sat with his disciple Chakradara and began recounting his usual stories. The topic of today’s story was about accepting advice and taking action when angry. He told him the story of the bird with two heads, saying: There was a large bird called Bharunda living on the shores of a lake. It had two heads and one body. Once, when the bird was wandering on the shores of that lake, it found some delicious fruit. One of its heads turned and said: Oh, how lucky I am. This must be a gift from the heavens to me. ...

A farmer had a large garden that he cared for completely. He strove to arrange, organize, irrigate, and fertilize it. It bore much fruit, and he profited greatly from it. The man knew that his three sons hated agriculture and despised the cultivation of orchards. Their goal was to learn something else to get rich quickly. When the father grew old and felt the end of his life approaching, he called his three sons and said to them: My dear sons, I have left you a large fortune of gold. I placed it in a large pot and hid it in the garden’s land. After my death, dig the earth and search for this fortune if you desire it. The three sons tried to make their father tell them the place where he had put this gold fortune or even show them the direction where it was hidden, but he didn’t answer their request. ...

There was a beautiful lake surrounded by lush green grass, beautiful trees, and mountains from all sides. On the shores of this lake grew the most delicious banana trees. On top of these trees lived a large monkey for a period of time. In that lake also lived a small number of crocodiles. There was one crocodile who came every day to collect banana fruits that fell from these trees. This crocodile visited the trees every day until he became an intimate friend of the monkey. The crocodile and the monkey met every day and played together. The monkey also helped the crocodile by providing more fresh banana fruits from the tree. Their strong relationship with each other continued until they became close. ...

In one of the ancient kingdoms lived a miserable king who was very fat and fleshy. He suffered greatly from his increased weight, so he gathered the wise men to look for a solution to his problem. He couldn’t walk and move much, and pains and ailments gathered upon him. The king lived in misery and torment because of his sick body. But unfortunately, none of the wise men could do anything for the king, so he was afflicted with grief and worry and lived in misery that spread throughout the entire kingdom, until a wise physician came to the kingdom. When the king learned of his matter, he summoned him and asked him to treat him from his condition, in exchange for pouring out money and gifts upon him. ...

It is told that in a distant kingdom, for a long time people lived happily under the rule of a good king. In his reign, the kingdom was prosperous and the people felt comfortable and satisfied. There was no hungry or needy person in his time, because the king was always thinking of his people and trying to please them. One time, the king decided to take a tour of his kingdom and visit historical places and distant places of worship. Because he was a just ruler who felt for the people, he decided to travel on foot so that he could interact with the people and see them and be seen by them up close. ...