Forests are enchanting, peaceful places. With stories and creatures with deep and dark secrets. At the center of one such forest, a king had strayed from his usual path. Wandering the forest, he was worried he would never find his way out. Just then, he came upon a strange looking man. His back was bent, he held a stick to stand and his beard went all the way to the ground. That old man said, “Who are you? What are you doing here in my forest? Are you lost peasant? " The king replied, “I am not peasant. I am the king of these lands. These forests are mine, but I am lost. Can you help me?" Old man said, “Ash, you are the king. How very good for you. Well, my king. This forest is mine and only I know the path out of here. I can show you the way if you like. But I would want something in return." The king surprised by the old man's behavior, but he needed to return home. He needed to be with his wife and his newborn child.King said, “What would you want in return?" Old man said, '' You must promise me that when I make sure you reach the gates of your kingdom, whatever walks out of it first, you will give me that in return. I will give you one day. You must promise that it will be mined forever." The King thought himself. But then he knew that he had been wandering for too long, everyone would be worried about him. He made up his mind. He shook the hand of the old man, agreeing to his deal. Following the hunched old man through the forest, the king was at times amused and surprised by the old man's speed and flexibility. Almost he would lead the king through lakes and tiny spaces, but somehow moving forward. At the end, the old man stayed true to his word. Finally, making him sure the king found his way home. He said," Remember your promise, my king." The king was greeted with flowers and screams. The people were ecstatic to see him in one piece. But one person was crying in joy, His Queen. Before the King, could say anything. She rushed towards him with their first born son in her arms. And crosses the gate. She handed over the son to king so he could see him. Now the son became the first thing to cross the gate and meet the king. As the Old man saw the child, he smiled. The king turned around and looked at him as he walked into the forest. Now the king was worried. When the King was in his room looking out of the window, the Queen asked, “My king, you look worried. What is it? Tell me what is troubling you? Are you not happy to be home? " The king said," No, that is not true. I am overjoyed to be home. But I have made a grave mistake my dear." The king told his Queen everything. Every little detail that she was unaware of. The Queen was shocked by the story and they both wondered what they would do know.  The king had an idea. The king called upon his minister and asked if there were any children born the same day as his son. The minister confirmed that a little girl was burned to a peasant couple on the same night as the prince. The king summoned the couple and their baby to his chambers. The king spoke to the peasant, explaining everything. Knowing it would be a difficult decision for him to make. He asked for the peasant's newborn daughter to take his son's place with the old man. The King promised to take care of the peasant couple forever, if they would make their sacrifice. The couple handed their child to the king. They were very sad. The next morning, the old man stood at the edge of the forest. Waiting for the king to arrive. Sometime had passed and then, the gates opened. The King strode on his horse towards the old man, looking angrily at him. He got off his high horse and in small basket, covered in white cloth. He delivered the crying, little baby to the old man. The Old man had an evil smile, but pleased he had gotten what he wanted. Clutching the basket, he limped into the forest and took away the baby girl. Years later, the prince had grown. He was kind, smart, grateful and helpful to everyone around him. He was pleased to see the kingdom his father had built in good shape. The people were happy; they had food to eat and livelihood to keep them going. One day, the prince was walking happily through the streets, at a distance peasant's wife starred at him. She looked at her husband, who shook his head. But as he turned around, her wife ran to the prince. Standing in front of him, blocking his way. She said, '' You don't know me, my prince. But I must say this to you. Yes, the king is good man. He has taken care of his kingdom. But at what cost? At yours? Or at ours? Ask him about my child." The prince was worried; he did not know about what the woman was talking about. At the dinner table that night, the prince asked his parents about what had happened. The king revealed everything about the journey into the forest, about the old man. A promise and the sacrifice for the glory of the kingdom. After listening his father, prince said, “I must find her. It is only because of her sacrifices, that I stand here today. I cannot be a prince or a king, until she is free. I will either bring her back or take her place." King said, " You must do what you think is right." Then, the next morning, the prince got ready for the journey. Taking with him a box of beds. So that he was to get lost in the forest, he could find his way home. After meeting his parents, he went to that peasant's house. He said to them, “I am very grateful to you that you sacrificed for me and the kingdom. I am going in the forest to save your daughter."   Listening this peasant couple became very happy and prayed for his success and health. So once again, just like his father, the prince wandered into the unending forest. The prince wandered around for a day. One day, he listened the voice of Lion roaring in pain. When he went closer to the lion he saw that the lion was lying. Some kind of thorn was stuck in his paw. First, he was scared then he decided to help him. He took out that thorn from his paw. Now the lion was in some relieve from pain. But his paw was still bleeding. So, he bandaged it. Then suddenly, that lion changed into an old man. The prince was shocked and surprised. The Old man said, “Don’t be afraid from me. I am a wizard. I had transformed myself into Lion, but that thorn stuck in my foot and I can't use my magic spell to help myself. Thank you for helping me. Tell me what do you want from me?" The prince at once recognized that old man. He was same as described by his father. The prince said, “So, you are the wizard. You will give me whatever I'll demand from you?" Old man said, “Yes, I will. You owned my life.'' The prince said, " Then give me that child who you had taken from the king years ago." The old man was surprised. He said," How do you know?" The prince said, ' My father had told me." Now what the wizard could do. He had a promise with prince. So he gave the daughter of that peasant back. And was disappeared in the forest. The prince along with that peasant's daughter came back home safely by following the seeds that prince had thrown on his way. The peasant couple was very happy as they got their daughter back. The King was happy that his son had done a very good work. Now they all lived happily ever after. MORAL LESSON We should be grateful.We should be kind to others.We should sacrifice our wealth or even our lives for the protection of our country.

Along time ago, a seven-year-old Harry lived with his parents and grandfather in the city. Every morning Harry's grandfather dropped him at the school. And used to pick him up in the afternoon. One day as usual, while his grandfather was accompanying him on the way back from the school they saw a beggar on their way. He was wearing dirty clothes. It seemed that he had not taken bath for a long time. "Please sir! Give me some money since long I haven’t eaten anything." said beggar. Harry said to his grandfather "Grandpa, it seems he is very hungry. Can you please give him some money?” "You are right Harry. He looks very hungry. I should give him some money." said grandfather. Saying this grandfather took some money out of his pocket and gave it to the beggar. "I will always remain thankful to you sir." Said beggar. After giving him some money grandfather and Harry walked towards their home. Next day too, while they were on their way back from school they again saw the same beggar again and on Harry’s request the grand father gave beggar some money. This went on for many days. Next morning grandfather was not feeling well therefore, harry have to go school alone. That day School's principal came to Harry's class. Principal said, '' Kids we shouldn't give any money to the beggar who we find in our way". Harry said, " But Principal Sir, if we will not give any money to beggar then how will they eat the food?" Principal said, “You are saying it right Harry but the money they get every day from people will not make any difference in their life ever." Harry asked, “But Sir, what should we do then?" "Rather than giving money to beggars every day, it better to make them learn any work. So that, he can earn some money with it and have good food with that money." said Principal. Now Harry understood the wise ways of his principal that how to help the beggar. He was on his way back from school, since his grandfather was ill so he met that beggar alone. "Oh, little master where your grandfather is today? Now who gonna give me money for my meal?” Said Beggar.   “You don't worry at all. Today I will give you money." said Harry. “But in return you have to do some work for me." Harry took the beggar along with him to his father's toy factory. And listening everything from Harry. His father said," If this is so, then I shall surely help you out." Now he took beggar to spare parts of his toys and told him to make the toy model by joining the spare parts and if you succeeded then I will give you good money. The beggar right away started making toy because he was hungry and he had to eat food. Finally, after many mistakes beggar made a toy as he was told. "Hope you will like this, Sir!" said beggar. "Yes, very good you have done a great job." said Harry's father. "And here is your money as promised." After seeing the good amount of money the beggar was delighted. He said, " I am very thankful to you master. You gave me a lot of money." "I haven’t given you any money. You have earned this money by your hard work." said Harry's father. “Today I have learnt that hard work pays off." said beggar. Now I will stop begging and start doing work. MORAL LESSON Hard work pays.We should help the needy people.

Once upon a time, in a small village far away, lived James. James was an honest man and skilled painter. He painted walls, boats, and houses and did his work with honesty and diligence. There were nights when he would go to bed hungry. He would work all day and be satisfied with whatever he earned. One fine day, a rich businessman came for a visit. He and his family had planned for a short stay in the village. The businessman entered the village in the most expensive cart. And many more carts followed him. They were full of fruits and clothes. The villagers stood in awe as the entire procession passed right in front of them. The following day, The Businessman called for James. As James walked to the Businessman's house, he met his friend, Tom. Tom said, “Hey, James! Where are you going?" James said," Hello, Tom. I am going to the Businessman's house. He has some work for me." Tom said," Listen, he is a very wealthy man. This is a good opportunity. You must charge him more than what you charge others. It's only fair. And I am sure he won't mind paying you." James said," No, Tom. It's not fair. I can't charge him more than I charge others. That's cheating! If he likes my work, then he can decide to pay me more. But I have to be honest and tell him the right price." Tom said," I am your friend, James. I respect your honesty. But honesty alone cannot feed you. You work so hard but people in this village will never have enough money to pay you. Take my advice. You should ask for at least five hundred bucks for the work he has for you." James was shocked and said, "Five hundred bucks? NO! I have never charged five hundred bucks to anyone! I understand your concern, my friend. And thank you for caring about me. But I have been doing just fine with whatever I earn." “Well... I did my part. It's up to you now." James waved goodbye to his friend and walked ahead. As James entered the house of Businessman, he was mesmerized. It was nothing less than a palace. “Oh, hello! You must be James - The Painter!” said Businessman. James said, “Yes, I am, Sir. You had some work for me? " The businessman said, “Oh, yes! The caretaker for my boat has gone out. He will be back only by tomorrow afternoon. But I need the boat to get painted. Will you be able to paint it by tonight?" "Yes, I can", said James. “Where is the boat? I will get started right away." "But you never told me how much it will cost.” said Businessman. “I charge one hundred bucks to paint a boat", said James. The businessman laughed and said," Only a hundred bucks! That's it. You can have a hundred bucks right away and that boat is near the river. You can call me when it is done." He handed over a hundred bucks to James. He took the coins and went to the paint shop. He bought paint for the boat and went straight towards the river, where the boat of Businessman was present. As he was about to begin, he saw that the boat had a hole in the center. He thought it could be dangerous. So, he filled the whole first. Then he painted the boat. He worked for hours without eating anything. He left and called the businessman to see the boat. After seeing the boat. The businessman said, “Oh! This is wonderful! You work well, James. Here take these thirty bucks. You deserve it. If I have anything else to paint, I will call you at once." James said, “You are a generous man, Sir. I shall leave now." The next morning, the businessman's family went for a ride in the boat. The Businessman waved goodbye to them at the river and went back home. As he reached, he saw the boat's caretaker walking towards him. The caretaker said, “Sir, you are here a week early." “Oh! Yes, my family insisted to see the village. They just left for their trip in the boat." The caretaker said, “What! No! We have to call them back. Right now! The businessman said, “Why are you so worried?" The caretaker said, “There is a hole in the boat.  Your family will drown. I was going to repair it today." The businessman became worried. The Businessman and the caretaker rushed towards the river. But the boat was nowhere to be seen. They searched for hours. They shouted their names. But there was no response. The Businessman knelt there and cried. The businessman said, "What have I done! My family! I should have never let them on the boat." Just as he sat there blaming himself, her wife and kids returned in the same boat. Her wife said," What happened, my dear? Why are you crying?" The businessman said," you are all safe! I was so worried. There was a big hole in the boat. I thought I have lost you." She said," But there was no hole in the boat. It's as good as new."   The caretaker said, “I’m glad that you are all safe. But I don't understand how that is possible? I know for a fact that there was a big hole right in the center of the boat. I didn't get a chance to repair it before I left. Who repaired it?"The businessman thought for a while. He then understood what had happened and immediately sent to call James the painter. James came to the businessman's house. The Businessman gave him a bag of twenty thousand dollars and said," This is your reward, James." James was surprised and said, “Reward! Reward for what?" The businessman said," Reward for your honesty and hard work. You saved my family's life. You filled up the hole in the boat. That was not your job. And you didn't even charge me for that." James couldn't believe his fate. Just yesterday, he was a painter who could earn just enough to survive. But today, he had owned gold.  MORAL LESSON Honesty is the best policy.

Once upon a time, in a small house in the forest, there was a couple living with their two daughters, Nami and Angela. The older sister Nami was very lazy and spent all day hanging out. Angela was very hard-working and cared about everyone. One day, the father went to the forest to cut firewood. He told his wife and children," I'll go cut firewood now. Please prepare a delicious meal and bring it to the forest for me." Mother said, “I’ll ask Nami to bring lunch to you." Father said, “The path there is confusing. I will spread the peas along the way so she can find me." At noon, Nami brought rice to the forest for her father. Along the way she saw a lot of peas that her father had left. She thought she could found her father easily with peas that were spread on the way. So she decided to walk slowly and enjoy the forest. Nami wandered around and had a lot of fun. She was distracted by the beauty of the forest, so she forgot her job. She didn't even realize that the birds ate all of the peas. It was dark and she couldn't found the peas that her father had left. Nami tried to find her way in the dark. She followed a glimmer of light and found a small house in the middle of the forest. She approached and knocked on the door, and then she heard a voice, "Come in!” Nami walked in the house and saw an old man sitting next to the fire. There were also three animals, a dog, a rooster and a hen. The old man asked, “Who are you? Why are you wandering through the forest?” Nami said, “Sir, I was lost on the way to bring lunch to my father. Could you please allow me to stay for a night?” The old man asked his pets whether he should allow Nami to stay a night in this house or not. The pets shook their heads in favor of Nami. The old man said to Nami, “We will let you sleep here for one night. There is a lot of food in the kitchen, please go and cook dinner for all of us!" Nami was very happy. She went to the kitchen and saw a lot of food there. But she was lazy; Nami only cooked a small pot of soup. Nami brought the soup to the living room to eat with old man .But she forgot to cook for the animals, leaving them hungry. They were all very sad about the girl's carelessness. After having the soup. She said to old man, “Sir, I'm tired now, I just want to go to sleep. Please show me where the bedroom is." Old man said, “There are two bedrooms here. Please go clean them up and make the bed for me as well, I'll come late.” Nami obeyed the old man, she went upstairs. There were two rooms. She went into one of that room and cleaned a bed for herself. She was lazy; she didn't clean the bed for the old man. She just lay down and slept without making the bed for the old man. By the time the old man went into his room, he found the bed still dusty and messy. He sighs and said to himself, “well, this is not the girl that I'm looking for! She is very lazy and disrespectful." The old man snapped his fingers. Suddenly the bed, where Nami was sleeping, split into two pieces. She fell down and disappeared, and then the bed returned to normal. Later the day, when the woodcutter returned home, he complained to his wife, “I have been starving all day today." Wife said, “I told Nami to bring food to you. She must have wandered around and went to his aunt house. This careless girl!” Father said, “Tomorrow, I will go the forest again. Tell Angela to bring food to me." The next day, Angela went to the forest to bring food to her father. Unlike her sister Nami, she followed her father's path very carefully. She reached her father in half an hour. The father was very happy to see her daughter, Angela.  Angela said, “Hello! Father, mother had cooked a very delicious meal for you. Now, I must leave, It's already getting dark." Father said, “Yes, You should leave and thank you for this meal." After saying goodbye to her father she started walking back to her house. But, the birds had eaten all the peas in the way. It was very difficult for her to find her way back home. She was lost and it was dark everywhere around. Angela followed a glimmer of light. She found a small house in the middle of the forest. She approached and knocked on the door. She said, “Is there anyone here?” She listened a voice, “Come in!” Angela went inside, and she saw the old man sitting in front of the fire with three pets. The Old man said, “Who are you? Why are you lost here?" She said," Sir, my name is Angela. I was coming back home after giving lunch to my father, and I got lost. Could you please allow me to sleep here for one night?” As usual, the old man asked the three animals beside him. He said, " Hey hen, rooster and dog, what do you think?” They said," Master, we are fine with that!” The old man said, “We will let you sleep here for one night. There is a lot of food in the kitchen, please go and cook dinner for all of us!” Angela obeyed him and went to the kitchen. She saw lots of good ingredients there. She decided to cook some delicious dishes to thank old man and for the pets for letting her stay. Then, Angela cooked a lot of delicious dishes. The old man and the animals were very hungry just by the smell. Angela invited the old man to enjoy the meal first and then went to feed the three animals. They happily thanked her. After that, she sat down to eat with the old man. Once every one had finished eating, Angela suggested, "We have finished the meal. Shall we get some rest now?”   The old man said to his pets, "Hey hen, rooster and dog, what do you think?" They said, “She treats us very well. Thank you very much! Have a goodnight!” The old man said to Angela, “There are two bedrooms in the house. Please go clean up and make the bed for me as well. I'll be right up". Angela obeyed the old man. She carefully cleaned up and made the bed in both bedrooms. After the old man went to bed, she went back her room to sleep. That night she slept very well. The next morning, she woke up early. Angela was very surprised to find herself in a luxurious and beautiful room. Suddenly, three servants entered the room. They politely asked her, “You are awake madam. Do you need anything?” She was still surprised, she said, “No, I have to get up to make breakfast for the old man and three friendly animals. The servants said, “You don't have to do anything anymore, mam. Our master is waiting for you, Ma'am". Following the servants instructions, Angela went into a room. She was surprised to see a young handsome man waiting for her. That man said to Angela, “I am Prince Garry, the owner of this castle. I was cursed by a witch so I became very old. The castle also turned into a small house and my three loyal servants turned into pets. The witch had said only a caring and responsible girl can lift this curse. So, I thank you for helping me." Angela was very happy after listening this. The prince then said, “When the castle was cursed, there came a girl named Nami, who was lost in the forest. She was lazy and irresponsible." Angela at once said, “She is my sister. Where is she, now?” Prince said, “Don’t worry. Your sister is fast asleep in the room. My servant will go wake her up." Then prince asked Angela that If she would marry him. Angela accepted the proposal of the prince. They welcomed Angela's parents in the castle and held a grand wedding in the castle. MORAL LESSON We should be responsible.We should take care of the people around us.We should be kind and respectful.