Once upon a time, there lived a widow with her only son in the hills of Khasi. In spite of his good looks, the boy was dumb. In fact, the villagers would refer to him as “U Bieit” or idiot. The poor mother did the menial chores to support herself and her son. When she Read more…

Long, long ago, there lived a poor barber named “Him”. He had twelve kids – seven girls and five boys. Unfortunately, his income just wasn’t enough to provide three square meals a day to his family. Depressed, Him decided to find out how we could get enough food for his children. Walking aimlessly until it Read more…

The word “mama” means “maternal uncle”, the brother or male sibling of one’s mother. In Himachal Pradesh, an adult guest is politely referred to as “Mama”, too. Once upon a time, there lived a Garhwali family in the Kumaon village of Himachal Pradesh. The couple had a young son. One day, there was a bitter Read more…

A long time ago, there was a poor Brahmin who lived on alms. He would generally return home with things that did not help him feed his four children. Most of the time, the kids would go to bed on an empty or a half-empty stomach. One day, his wife asked him to go seek Read more…

A long time ago, there lived an old man with his wife near a jungle. One day, while working in his field, a deer limped across from his field. The deer had apparently been wounded by a hunter. The old man killed the deer by hitting the animal on its head with a hoe. He Read more…

Once upon a time, there lived a fowler, who earned his livelihood catching and selling birds. One day, the fowler’s wife asked him to bring home whatever bird he caught that day. The couple went around the woods, but were unable to catch any birds by the sunset. However, on their way back, they happened Read more…

A lion, who was the king of a vast forest, fell ill due to old age. All animals of the forest gathered in front of his den to pay their respects and check on his health. Well, all animals, except for Mr. Fox, who kept chasing hens at a nearby farm. He believed that the Read more…

Once upon a time, a baniya, or a moneylender, overtook a farmer on his way down a country road. The moneylender was constantly muttering something to himself. Apparently, he hadn’t had a single chance to make money that day. Suddenly, it dawned on him that he could probably use the farmer to earn some money. Read more…