Story 38!

Story Number 38

Today Phileas decided to spend the day at the zoo. While he was there he saw so many different animals from Elephants to Monkeys to Lions and Tigers. While Phileas was at the Tiger pen a worker came along called Abbey Ledger-Lomas and told him a story about one the tigers, and he wanted to share it with you as well

Aharsi the Bengal Tiger

Aharsi the big Bengal Tiger was having a good think. It was winter and he was still getting used to the feeling of ice on the pads of his paws. He shivered a little, missing the warm ooze of mangrove mud. Aharsi was missing lots of things. He missed the way the sun made his coat glow a regal orange, or how the glare of midday brightness made his black stripes look so bold and striking like black lightening bolts. He missed dozing in the evening heat and catching the last shafts of sunlight as they cut through the jungle vines. He wondered if he would ever again hear Doyel birds chattering in the trees, or catch the scent of ripe mangoes on the breeze. It was these fleeting, poignant moments that the Bengal tiger was trying so hard to picture in his mind. Aharsi missed his home.

His whiskers bristled as he let out a big sigh, sending the starlings that had been pecking at the frozen ground scattering up into the grey sky. Three hours had passed, and despite his intense concentration, all the tiger had managed to remember was some vague half images of mangoes and mangroves. He was worried that he was forgetting about his old home all together.

When Aharsi first arrived at the zoo in England with his mother and father, everything was so exciting. He lapped it all up; his amber eyes burned with curiosity as he jumped from tree to tree or smelled each flower or pawed at each tiny insect.

‘Now just calm down, Aharsi,’ his mother would say. ‘You have come a long way. There is plenty of time to explore; now you must rest.’

But the young tiger was too busy to rest. There were new animals to meet, new trees to climb. There was so much to learn about his new home. Before the sun went down on that first day, Aharsi had bounded around all of the animals’ cages, asking them question after question, absorbing the strange exotic colours of the paradise birds and smelling the sweet and unfamiliar smell of the hay in the rhino stalls. But the more he explored, the more Aharsi realised how different his new home was to where he’d come from. And now the young tiger was worried that he’d lost all of the precious memories he had of his homeland. He was worried that he had forgotten all about being a Bengal Tiger.

Aharsi squeezed his eyes closed and flicked his tail purposefully from side to side: ‘Remember,’ he told himself. ‘Try to think harder!’

Hours passed, the day grew dimmer and the rest of the animals started to settle down in the twilight. After a while, Aharsi felt someone looking at him. He opened one eye, keen to stay as focused as he could on reclaiming his lost memories. It was Zody the Leopard.

‘What are yoooouuu doing?’ came the deep, purring voice.

‘I’m remembering,’ Aharsi answered. ‘Now if you don’t mind…’ Aharsi closed his eye once more and tried to concentrate even harder.

‘Reeeemembering?’ asked Zody.

‘Yes. I’ve forgotten all about being a Bengal Tiger, and where I’ve come from, so I’m trying to remember it before it’s all gone forever. Now if you don’t mind…’

Once again Aharsi squeezed his eyes shut and tried to summon images from his homeland.

‘You won’t get faaaar with your eyes closed,’ said Zody.

Aharsi opened his eyes wide and looked quite annoyed. ‘I won’t get anywhere unless you leave me alone to think!’ he said. ‘You wouldn’t understand anyway, you’re not even a tiger, let alone a Bengal Tiger! You’re a leopard!’

‘You silly animal!’ said Zody, rattling with laughter. ‘Look there!’ She pointed to a shiny slick patch of ice on the hard ground.

Aharsi stared back at Zody in some confusion. ‘I think you may have gone a bit bonkers, Zody,’ he said, and just then he almost wanted to laugh himself.

‘If you want to remember how to be a tiger,’ said Zody in a kind voice ‘just look.’

‘Fine, if you’ll leave me alone then I’ll look.’

Aharsi bent his neck a little and peered into the glassy ice mirror on the ground. Zody purred over his shoulder.

‘What beautiful stripes you have,’ she said. ‘When I look into the mirror I see my spots. Nobody else has spots quite like mine. My mother had spots, and my mother’s mother, and my mother’s mother’s mother… all the way back to when my great great great Grandma prowled the grasses of South Africa!’

Aharsi noticed Zody’s eyes get brighter as she pictured the sun baked savanna and plush green jungles of her home. ‘When I see my spots,’ she continued, ‘I see my whole history. And I will always have my spots.’ She winked at Aharsi. ‘After all,’ she said, ‘a leopard never changes its spots!’

‘But don’t you ever get homesick or sad?’ the young tiger asked in a slight mewl. ‘Everything is so different here.’

‘We all get homesick,’ Zody replied while pawing at the ice, ‘but look here at our reflections. We are not so very different. You are from Bengal and I am from Africa, but see how we have the same whiskers. And see here…’ Zody cut an impressive jagged line in the ice with her sharp claws and then raised them up so that they shone in the fading light. ‘We both have these,’ she said with a grin.

Just then there was a great trumpeting sound from the elephant’s enclosure in the east corner of the zoo.

‘Well that’s not so amazing,’ said Aharsi. ‘We are both cats. But I’m nothing like the elephants over there, am I?’

Zody giggled. ‘They might look different and sound different, but I’ll bet even elephants get homesick too. That is something you have in common.’

Aharsi looked unsure as he thought that the elephants were far too big and strong to ever be sad. ‘I bet they still remember where they are from,’ he said. ‘My mother told me that an Elephant never forgets.’

Zody hissed and giggled and rolled around on the hard ground. ‘That’s true!’ she admitted. ‘An elephant never forgets!’

‘And I bet the Zebras don’t get scared,’ Aharsi continued, still a little bit sulky but starting to smile at his friend’s antics.

‘Haven’t you seen them running from the zookeeper’s tractor?’ asked Zody

‘And… and the crocodiles? Do they get scared and sad too?’ Aharsi asked.

‘Haven’t you seen them hiding beneath the water?’ Zody replied as she gave her friend a playful bump with her nose. ‘We all miss home sometimes, Aharsi. But that is why we all look different. We are different so that we can remember. Look at me. I have this beautiful tail which reminds me that we leopards are the best at balancing up high in the trees.’

Aharsi felt much better and soon began to rumble with a deep purr. ‘And I will always have my stripes for hiding in the tall grass. We tigers are the best hunters in all of Bengal!’

‘Your stripes go wherever you go, Aharsi,’ Zody said with a smile.

‘And when the elephants feel sad they can look at their trunks to remember that they are the best at splashing in the water,’ said Aharsi. ‘And when the crocodiles feel sad or scared they can look at their webbed feet and remember that they are the fastest in the river…’

The young tiger trailed off a little, his eyes were growing heavy and he yawned without noticing. It was evening now and the zoo was alive with the crooning calls of countless animals. Some were stripey, some were spotty. Not any one of them was the same as the other. As night fell and a million stars filled the sky, Aharsi began to understand that though all of the animals were different, they all felt the same sometimes. That is when he knew he would never be alone, and that is when he knew he would always carry his home in his heart forever.

This story can be found at http://www.worldstories.org.uk/stories/story/120-aharsi-the-bengal-tiger

Story 37!

Look at this lovely illustration of Phileas travelling from Kholby to Allahabad found at http://christineparkdesign.com/blog/?p=1217

Below you can see the railway journey from Bombay to Allahabad, look how far it is! Phileas traveled most of this by elephant...what a long way to travel! The line is 1,322 miles long!

Visit http://maptal.es/tales/9#step9 to see an interactive map of Phileas's journey!!!

Now for Story 37! 

The Four Fox Cubs

This can be enjoyed in Punjabi, just follow http://www.worldstories.org.uk/stories/story/44-the-three-fox-cubs/english

A Punjabi Story by Mohindro Ram Thaper & Kamleish Ram Parfect

There was once a family of foxes who lived in the woods. There was a mother fox, a father fox, and four baby fox cubs. The cubs were named Arjan, Surjan, Ganji, and Bulbul.

One day, the daddy fox said to his four cubs, ‘I must go out to work and I may be gone for many days. You must promise me that you will be good and do what your mother tells you while I am gone.’

The fox cubs all agreed to do as their mother instructed. And when it was time for their father to leave, the cubs all gathered at the door and waved goodbye and wished him luck on his journey.

Several days passed in which the cubs played and did their chores and behaved as their father had instructed. But one day, mother fox realised that the cupboards were all empty of food and she would have to go to the market. She said to her young cubs, ‘I must go out to the market to get food, but I cannot take you with me as it is too dangerous and I cannot look after you alone. You must stay here at home even though I do not like to leave you. At least here you will be safe.’

The mother fox thought about how best to protect her cubs for the short while she would be at the market, then eventually she said: ‘You must keep the door locked the whole time that I am gone, and you must only open the door when I return.’

The youngest of the cubs asked, ‘Mother, how will we know that it is you at the door?’

And the mother replied, ‘I shall call out your names like so... Arjan, Surjan, Ganji, and Bulbul, open the door! And you will recognise my voice and let me in.’

Then the mother fox went off to the market and the cubs continued to play games at home, making sure to keep the door locked and not to open it unless they heard their names being called.

But there was a very sneaky and very greedy lion who was walking close by, and the lion had heard everything that the mother had said to her young cubs. The sneaky lion thought to himself, ‘Aha! I can go to the house where the cubs live. I can stand by the door. And I can call out... Arjan, Surjan, Ganji, and Bulbul, open the door! They will not know that it is me,’ thought the sneaky lion. ‘They will think that I am the mother fox and they will open the door and let me in. And then I will eat them all up!’

So the sneaky lion crept up to the door of the house where the cubs lived, took a very big breath, and called out, ‘Arjan, Surjan, Ganji, and Bulbul, open the door!’ 

When the young cubs heard the call they thought, ‘That is very strange. Those are our names being called, but that does not sound like our mother. What shall we do?’

Arjan, Surjan, Ganji, and Bulbul, grew very scared because they were not sure whether to open the door or not, and they wished that their father and mother were at home to protect them.

Luckily the cubs had very good neighbours. There were many fox families nearby, and there was also a monkey who was very brave and very strong. The family of foxes who lived closest to the cubs had heard the lion calling out and quickly found the monkey. They asked him, ‘Monkey, monkey, what shall we do? That lion is going to eat those little fox cubs while their mother and father are away!’

‘Do not worry,’ said the brave monkey, ‘I shall protect the little cubs from the lion.’ And with that the monkey searched the forest floor until he found a big, heavy branch. He raised the branch above his head and charged towards the sneaky lion. Whack, whack, whack, went the monkey with the big, heavy branch as he chased the lion away from the house and out of the forest.

When the mother fox and the father fox both returned home they were very grateful to the brave monkey and to the other foxes for protecting their cubs while they were away.

And that was the day that young Arjan, Surjan, Ganji, and Bulbul, learned a valuable lesson indeed. The young cubs learned that it is very important to know your neighbours and be kind to them because they will always look after you in return, and will offer help when you need it most.

Story Number 36

Here is a gruesome excerpt from Around the World in 80 days... When Phileas encountered a procession of Indian men, women and children whom were about perform a human sacrifice for the Goddess Kali, although the story may contain strong imagery it is a fascinating insight into a Hindu ritual.

...The guide unloosed the elephant and led him into a thicket, at the same time asking the travellers not to stir. He held himself ready to bestride the animal at a moment's notice, should flight become necessary; but he evidently thought that the procession of the faithful would pass without perceiving them amid the thick foliage, in which they were wholly concealed.

The discordant tones of the voices and instruments drew nearer, and now droning songs mingled with the sound of the tambourines and cymbals. The head of the procession soon appeared beneath the trees, a hundred paces away; and the strange figures who performed the religious ceremony were easily distinguished through the branches. First came the priests, with mitres on their heads, and clothed in long lace robes. They were surrounded by men, women, and children, who sang a kind of lugubrious psalm, interrupted at regular intervals by the tambourines and cymbals; while behind them was drawn a car with large wheels, the spokes of which represented serpents entwined with each other. Upon the car, which was drawn by four richly caparisoned zebus, stood a hideous statue with four arms, the body coloured a dull red, with haggard eyes, dishevelled hair, protruding tongue, and lips tinted with betel. It stood upright upon the figure of a prostrate and headless giant.

Sir Francis, recognising the statue, whispered, "The goddess Kali; the goddess of love and death."

"Of death, perhaps," muttered back Passepartout, "but of love-- that ugly old hag? Never!"

The Parsee made a motion to keep silence.

A group of old fakirs were capering and making a wild ado round the statue; these were striped with ochre, and covered with cuts whence their blood issued drop by drop--stupid fanatics, who, in the great Indian ceremonies, still throw themselves under the wheels of Juggernaut. Some Brahmins, clad in all the sumptuousness of Oriental apparel, and leading a woman who faltered at every step, followed. This woman was young, and as fair as a European. Her head and neck, shoulders, ears, arms, hands, and toes were loaded down with jewels and gems with bracelets, earrings, and rings; while a tunic bordered with gold, and covered with a light muslin robe, betrayed the outline of her form.

The guards who followed the young woman presented a violent contrast to her, armed as they were with naked sabres hung at their waists, and long damascened pistols, and bearing a corpse on a palanquin. It was the body of an old man, gorgeously arrayed in the habiliments of a rajah, wearing, as in life, a turban embroidered with pearls, a robe of tissue of silk and gold, a scarf of cashmere sewed with diamonds, and the magnificent weapons of a Hindu prince. Next came the musicians and a rearguard of capering fakirs, whose cries sometimes drowned the noise of the instruments; these closed the procession.

Sir Francis watched the procession with a sad countenance, and, turning to the guide, said, "A Sati."

The Parsee nodded, and put his finger to his lips. The procession slowly wound under the trees, and soon its last ranks disappeared in the depths of the wood. The songs gradually died away; occasionally cries were heard in the distance, until at last all was silence again.

Phileas Fogg had heard what Sir Francis said, and, as soon as the procession had disappeared, asked: "What is a Sati?"

"A Sati," returned the general, "is a human sacrifice, but a voluntary one. The woman you have just seen will be burned to-morrow at the dawn of day."

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Jules_Verne/Around_the_World_in_80_Days

Page by Page Books.^TM

Jules Verne

Story 32!

In his first journey around the World in 80 Days, Phileas landed in some great difficulties leaving Bombay. He had been travelling on The Great Indian Penisular Railway and had discovered that the line ended in a little Hamlet called Khloby and started again 50 miles down the route at Allahabad. This caused Phileas much dismay, as he was then required to hire a guide and ride the next part of his journey by Elephant!
During his journey to Allahabad by Elephant, Passepartout and Phileas rescued an Indian woman Aouda, from her death! She then joined Phileas on his journey around the World!
As Phileaus arrived in Khloby, he remembered this moment and hired a guide to ride by Elephant once more.
Whilst journeying, his guide shared with him some stories. 
Here's one of those for you to enjoy!

The Clever Old Woman

Once upon a time there lived an old woman in a kingdom ruled by a beautiful queen.  She had four sons but they use to fight a lot and their wives were also unkind to each other.  They all lived in the same house but as they argued so much, everyone had separate kitchens. The old woman was very sad as she wished that they would be able to live as one big happy family, helping each other.  She threatened to throw them out of the house if they could not learn to live as a united family and in order to save money she told her sons and their wives that they would only be able to use one kitchen.  She hoped that this would mean that the wives would learn to live in harmony with each other.  The sons were also fed up with the situation and agreed to their mother’s command.

As the old woman was very poor, the sons all gave their daily earnings to their mother.   One day the youngest son went to find work in the city but had no luck. He saw a dead snake when returning home that evening and sadly he picked it up in order to take something back to his mother. When the old woman asked for his earnings, he told her that he had been unable to find work that day and passed the dead snake to her.  She consoled him and asked him to try again the next day.   But knowing that the snake would not make a good meal for them all, she threw the dead snake onto the roof of her mud house.

On that same day, the queen of the kingdom went to a beautiful pond to take a bath. She removed her expensive diamond necklace and left it near the bank in the care of her maids.  Suddenly, an eagle appeared overhead.  The eagle was attracted to the bright shining necklace and swooping down, she clasped it in her claws and flew away. The maids screamed but to no avail. The queen was so upset that she made an announcement that whoever could find the lost necklace would be granted a grand prize.

After flying for a while, the eagle saw the dead snake on the old woman’s roof.  Realising that the snake could be eaten while the necklace could not, she left the necklace there and took away the dead snake.

The next day, the old woman went up to her roof to put some clothing to dry in the sunshine when she spotted the necklace. She understood that this was the queen’s stolen necklace and that the queen desperately wanted it back.

It happened that the festival of light known as Diwali was in 2 days time.  At that festival, everyone lights oil lamps and candles to appease the Goddess of Wealth. The old woman made a plan. She went to the queen’s palace and asked the guard if she could see the queen. When the queen saw her necklace, she was very happy and promised to give the old woman a large sum of money.  

But the old woman declined.  Instead she said, “Thank you very much, my lady, for your offer but I am poor and won’t be able to guard this treasure.  If you agree, I want that on the night of Diwali only my household should be allowed to light oil lamps, and no one else should be allowed to light their lamps.”   

The queen was surprised at this request, but was so grateful that she granted the old woman her wish and issued instructions that only the old woman’s house would be lit at Diwali that year.

The festival of Diwali came.   The old woman asked all the members of her household to clean every nook and cranny of the house and decorate it with beautiful scented flowers.  Everyone worked together on these tasks and in the evening, the old woman lit lamps and candles in every part of her house.

At midnight, the Goddess of Wealth came for her annual visit.  She was disappointed to see pitch darkness everywhere in the kingdom.  Then she saw beautiful lights shining from the old woman’s house.  As the goddess loved lights, she quickly made her way straight to the old woman’s house and knocked on the door.  Hearing the knock, the old woman opened the door signalling her sons, daughters in law and grandchildren to welcome the goddess with flower garlands, perfume and sweets. This they did and the Goddess was very pleased. She asked them what they would like her to give them in return for their devotion to her.

The old woman came forward and said “We ask that you stay in our house forever so that we live in prosperity and happiness.”

The Goddess thought for a moment and said “I am happy to stay here in your house for ever but only if you all stay united, not fighting but loving each other. If anyone disobeys this condition, I will leave the house.“

Everyone was so happy to know that the Goddess was pleased, that they all agreed to her request and since then all the members of the family lived in harmony, filled with love and respect for each other.  The old woman was very happy as her desire for her children to live peacefully had finally been granted. And the Goddess of Wealth stayed in their house for all the coming generations. 

A Hindi Story by Mansha Sahay

Story from:

http://www.worldstories.org.uk/stories/story/156-the-clever-old-woman/english

Story 31!

Phileas has been delayed in his posting of this next story, as he has been thoroughly enjoying the culture of Mumbai! 

Image from http://kasamaproject.org/south-asia-revolution/902-34nepal-maoists-mumbai-attack-signals-intervention
Mumbai is in India. Above is a map of India, can you see Mumbai marked on? Whilst in Mumba, Phileas saw a remarkable sight...a man riding an elephant! After seeing this, Phileas had to have a go for himself and the man let him.  Upon finishing his incredible ride, the man told Phileas this story....

Why Elephants Can't Fly

A long time ago, much longer than most people can remember, elephants could fly! They had four enormous wings and they whizzed through the sky so fast that it amazed the other animals.  But these big beasts were sometimes also stupid.  But shhh… the other animals would keep quiet about it and never discuss it.

Because the elephants were so strong and so fast, God decided to take their help.  He could ride on these big beasts and they could help Him to put the finishing touches to the world.  In a moment He could be in China and from there, within the blink of an eye, He could zoom off to Iceland!  And these elephants were so strong that they pushed and pushed at mountains and icebergs, shifting them until everything in the world was perfect. For example, they helped God to put the Himalayas in India and in Tanzania, they had Mount Kilimanjaro.  By riding on these elephants, God sorted the whole world out and made it absolutely perfect.

Once this big job had been completed, God told the elephants that they could have a permanent holiday.  Uh… that is, until He had something else for them to do.  Now the elephants did not have very much to do.  Then do you know what happened?

The elephants became idle and to pass their time, they talked about the old days.  They talked about how strong they had been. They talked about how fast they were, and how God had favoured them. And the more they talked, the more they came to think that they were much, much better than all the other animals on earth.   They were definitely the most important!

The elephants chattered idly to each other.   ‘Look at that peacock,’ they would say unkindly. ‘See how ugly and brown his little wings are compared to ours!’ And they would always make sure to raise their voices high so that the little peacock could hear their mean words. And the poor peacock, who was kind and humble at heart, could not disagree with the elephants.  He thought – ‘The elephants are right.  I am small.  My wings are not beautiful like those of the fairies and nor am I strong like the elephants.’

As time went on, the elephants began to pride themselves.  They began to think that they could do whatever they wanted.  The greedy elephants would take all the bananas from the banana tree, leaving none for the other animals.   The other animals were sad because they did not get even one banana for their meal!  And you know what the elephants did with these bananas in their trunks?

The elephants would come down into a village, any village they liked – they would spread their wings like a carpet and sit down to have their picnic.  The whole village would be squashed under the weight of the elephants. The houses would be flattened and the fields would be ruined and the villagers would be deeply upset. 

The poor villagers were very angry at the destruction of their homes, and the animals with their empty stomachs were also very cross.  And so God decided enough was enough. These proud and greedy elephants had gotten far too big for their trunks, and needed to be taught a lesson!

God invited all the elephants for a chat. He said to them – ‘Oh mighty elephants, listen to Me.  I am very grateful to you for helping me make the world perfect.  So I want to throw a party. Only for the elephants.

All the elephants were very happy.  One elephant said to another – ‘See!  Even God can see how strong and brave we are.  How much we have helped Him.  It is right that He should have a party just for us!’

So the greedy elephants, all puffed up with pride and confidence, turned up to the feast one by one.  As promised, God had found the best food, and there were mountains of it!  Bright yellow bananas, deep red pomegranates, tangy guavas, juicy mangoes … whatever fruits you could imagine, they were there.  The greedy elephants were delighted.  And they ate it all up. Every last bit.

By the end of the meal the elephants were so full that one by one they dropped off to sleep surrounded by discarded banana peels and mango skins. This was the moment God had been waiting for.  When the last elephant had closed his eyes, God took out a very big knife.  Quietly, He went to each elephant and chopped off their wings.  And He gave these beautiful wings to the little peacocks.  The little peacocks were so happy that they ran into the forest to sing and dance.

Have you seen the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance?

Have you seen the peacocks dance, all around the trees?

Yes, I’ve seen the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance, the peacocks dance,

Yes, I’ve seen the peacocks dance, all around the trees.

And now think of the elephants.  When the elephants finally awoke from their long sleep, they were shocked to see the beautiful peacock swishing his impressive feathers at them.  They were really, really angry.  But God had no time to listen to their complaints. Instead He said, ‘I want you elephants to become nicer, kinder.  I want you to use your strength and help the villagers to  re-build their houses.’ 

The elephants felt very ashamed of what they had done.  They resolved to help the villagers as much as they could.  So even today, in every village, there are elephants that come and go, helping people as they pass by. 

Hindi Story by Becky Walker, can be found on http://www.worldstories.org.uk/stories/story/131-when-elephants-did-fly/english

Story 30 for you :)

Here's Number 30

Phileas decided that today would be a good day to meet new people. So Phileas set off into the streets of Mumbai to find people to tell. He arrived into the centre of Mumbai and found a big group of people and began to make a load of new friends. Phileas also began to tell everyone about his adventures, but as soon as one of the new people he had met started to talk of even greater adventures Phileas began to get a little jealous, and started to make up some stories about what had happened.

Everyone was amazed with these stories coming from Phileas apart from a wise old man at the back of the group. Phileas was telling all sorts of stories until it began to go dark, and everyone decided that this was the best time to go to bed. 

Once everyone had left the wise old man approached Phileas and warned him about telling lies, and even began to tell an Indian folk story himself about a boy who told lies.

Be Truthful

"There once lived a small boy called Pukhraj who was the son of a farmer. The one trouble with Pukhraj was that he often told lies to his family and to his friends. He would tell stories of monsters in the jungle, or he would pretend that there were deadly snakes in the fields, or that he was too sick to work when he was really not sick at all.

It was the young boy’s job to take his father’s cattle out grazing each morning in a clearing in the jungle on the edge of a nearby hillside. Pukhraj did not enjoy this job very much because he found the cattle very boring and often wished that his life was filled with more fun and adventure. But instead of fun and adventure, Pukhraj found himself doing the same boring jobs each and every day and this made the young boy very resentful. And it was this resentment which often caused naughty Pukhraj to invent stories that were not true.

One day, when the young boy was especially bored with looking after the cattle in the clearing, he decided to have a joke with the people of the village. ‘I shall pretend that I am being attacked by a lion,’ thought Pukhraj. And all of a sudden the young boy began to scream as loud as he could... ‘Help me, help me!’ he cried, ‘I am being attacked by a fierce lion!’

At once, the brave villagers all rushed up the hillside towards the clearing so that they could save young Pukhraj from the lion. But when they arrived in the clearing there was no lion at all, just the young boy rolling around on the ground, laughing to himself at what a joke he had made.

The villagers were very disappointed in Pukhraj and warned him that such jokes were not sensible. But the naughty boy was too busy laughing to pay any notice to such warnings.

A little time passed and life returned to its normal routine: Pukhraj took care of the cattle each morning by taking them out to graze in the jungle, and each evening he would return the cattle to his father’s field before dinner. But young Pukhraj was still restless, still resentful of his boring life of work and routine. And so, one quiet morning, he decided to play the same trick on the villagers.

Once he had reached the clearing in the jungle, once he was sure the timing was just perfect, he began to scream as loud as he could... ‘Help me, help me!’ cried the naughty boy, ‘I am being attacked by a fierce lion! Please come and save me!’

The men and women working in the fields at the edge of the village all ran up the hillside towards the clearing in order to save the cattle and the young boy from the fierce lion. But when they reached the clearing, there was no lion at all. Once again Pukhraj was found rolling around on the ground in fits of laughter. ‘You all look so funny!’ cried the naughty boy. ‘There is no lion; I was only joking with you, hee hee!’

The villagers were very angry with Pukhraj, and his father was forced to apologise for his son’s terrible behaviour because many of the people believed that Pukhraj should be punished for his actions.

‘You must not tell such lies,’ his father warned. But the young boy was too busy laughing to pay any attention to his poor father.

On the following morning, as Pukhraj was resting in the shade of a tall tree watching the cattle grazing in the clearing, he heard a gentle rustling of leaves behind him. When the young boy turned to see what was making such a noise, he came face to face with a huge lion. The lion had big claws and menacing eyes and very sharp teeth! Pukhraj jumped to his feet as quickly as he could and tried to run from the jungle towards the village, but the lion quickly blocked his escape. ‘Help me, help me!’ screamed the young boy as loud as he could, ‘I am being attacked by a fierce lion!’

But when the villagers heard the young boy’s cries for help, they did not rush up the hillside towards the clearing... not this time. Instead, they returned to their work in the fields as if nothing had happened.

And so poor Pukhraj was killed by the lion that day because none of the villagers believed the naughty boy was telling the truth. He had told too many lies and laughed at the villagers too many times, and so they did not believe him when he cried out for help. That is what happens if you tell lies."

And from that day forward Phileas swore never to tell a lie again!

Story Written by San Kalp Pandy. Find more exciting stories from around the world at www.worldstories.org.uk

Story number 29

Yama and Shiva

There was once a great sage who was a devout worshiper of Shiva, and his praises so pleased the god that he offered him a choice of boons; he would give him either a son who was incredibly brilliant and gifted but who would not live long, or a son who would be dull-witted but who would have a long life. The sage chose for his son to be brilliant, and soon he welcomed a son named Markandeya. Markandeya, though destined to die on his sixteenth birthday, still praised Shiva constantly throughout his entire life, and was praying to the god on the very day of his death; Yama's servants were afraid to disturb him while he prayed to the god of destruction, and so they returned to their master and explained that they could not kill him. Yama rose up to the world himself to collect the boy's soul, but as he reached to throw his noose around Markandeya's neck, he stumbled and accidentally threw it about the neck of the statue of Shiva the boy was praying to instead. Incensed by what he perceived as an attack against him, Shiva erupted out of the statue and battled Yama until he slew him. Seeing this, the other gods were distraught, for no more men or beasts on the earth could die and soon chaos reigned. They begged Shiva to forget his rage and bring Yama back to life, which he eventually agreed to; his anger appeased, he resurrected the death god but made him promise not to take the devout boy to the realm of the dead, granting Markandeya eternal life for his devoted service.

(The Video is Taken from Worlds Apart - Red Thread. Performed by 3rd year BA World Performance, East 15 Acting School. Choreographed by Amber Tuke and Hannah Baird. Dancers: Hannah Baird, George Boundy, Josephine Papworth, Dannie Pye, Alice Osmanski, Katie O'Connor. Storyteller: Tanya Dunford)