Fable

Once there was a rich king who enjoyed strength and intelligence, but what attracted attention most was his extreme arrogance. Due to his great pride, he thought there was no worthy competitor to share his favorite hobby, which was chess. Therefore, this king sent a message across the land announcing that he would give a tenth of his wealth to anyone who proved worthy of playing against him, and in return, if the king considered that person unworthy of trust, he would cut off his head! ...

Jamila was a young girl living in a small village with her grandmother. She had two cows and was accustomed to milking her two cows daily, carrying the milk container on her head to the city to sell it, then returning to her home in the evening. The girl took care of the two cows—she would feed them and clean them. The grandmother loved Jamila, and Jamila was always dreaming of becoming richer. ...

The lion was living in a forest and was very proud of his strength, and thus he killed many animals in the forest without reason. One day, all the animals of the forest went to the lion and requested from him, saying: Oh lion, oh king of the forest, we came here to ask you a favor. There is no doubt you are our king, you are the king of the forest, but why do you kill so many of us every day without reason? And if the matter continues this way, a day will come when no animal remains alive in the forest, and then you will starve. ...

Qatuta is a beautiful white cat, and Fatuta is a beautiful black cat. Each of Fatuta and Qatuta lives in a wide farm with the mouse Farfour. Farfour is a naughty mouse who loves wheat; he pierces the wheat bags of the farmer Qasim. Qatuta and Fatuta expelled the mouse Farfour from the farm because of his bad behavior. Farmer Qasim brought the two cats eight apples—four red apples and four yellow apples. Qatuta said: I want the red apples, and Fatuta said: I want the red apples. The two cats went to the cow to judge between them. ...

The dove was building her nest on one of the garden trees, and she laid two eggs and cared for them until they became two small chicks. During the dove’s absence, a snake came and climbed the tree and swallowed them! The dove mourns her two small chicks: When the dove arrived, she was devastated by her two small chicks. She moved her nest to another tree, then laid two eggs and cared for them until they became two chicks. The snake came again by sneaking onto the tree, raided them, and swallowed them. ...

The night passed and dawn broke, and the golden red rooster crowed to announce the beginning of a new day. There in his burrow, the cunning fox awoke early to the rooster’s crowing and shook the traces of sleep from his eyes. The cunning fox wakes early: Then he looked into the distance and said: Oh, oh, oh… how beautiful it is to wake up early to the rooster’s crowing, but even more beautiful is when the rooster is on my table for my breakfast! Oh, oh, oh, the rooster’s voice is wonderful, and even more wonderful is to tear his flesh between my fangs. ...

One day, while the rooster was walking alone on the road, he met his friend the owl at sunset. He said to her: Hello, hello, how are you, dear owl? The owl said: Fine, my beautiful friend. The rooster said: Do you see this luminous disc in the sky that sends heat to the earth? The owl answered with annoyance: No, I don’t feel warmth when I see it; rather, it makes me feel cold. ...

It is told that in ancient times, in days of old, there was a dense forest full of green grass. When the morning sun rose, the animals would come out—some would frolic and play in the sunlight and enjoy the beautiful nature, while others searched for food. On one such day, two happy mice came out to enjoy and play, and what happened to them is told as follows. The two mice play and frolic in the forest with happiness: In a small spot, at the edge of that vast, sprawling forest, under the shade of one of the dense trees, the two mice began playing on the grass and jumping on rocks, with joy, playfulness, and peace of mind. ...

The bear sat under the mulberry tree feeling tired. Then the fox passed by him and heard him speaking complaining: Cursed be it, what does she think of herself? Let her think I’m a bear, and a bear is a bear. Yes, I’m a bear, and this is… The fox stopped near him and said: It seems that the lice have been infesting your head, oh bear. The bear woke up and stood up, saying: She told me, oh my friend, that there’s no benefit from me. ...

Once upon a time, there was a swarm of evil goblins who lived in a forest. They had spent a lot of their time mocking an old man who couldn’t move, see, or hear. They didn’t show him any respect and kept mocking and making fun of him, until his condition became so terrible that the great physician decided to teach the goblins a lesson they wouldn’t forget. Where a strange amulet fell on the goblins’ heads, since that moment every mother of theirs would turn toward the old man and make his condition better. This had a strange effect on the scold who was in charge of them. And naturally, the goblins didn’t know anything about that amulet or what was happening. Whenever they described the goblin to the man as foolish and old, his head became smaller and softer, while the scold who burned and boiled him became angrier and angrier. ...