Short Stories - Set II

5.
The Golden Touch
Once there lived a greedy man in a small town. He was very rich, and he loved
gold and all things fancy. But he loved his daughter more than anything. One
day, he chanced upon a fairy. The fairy’s hair was caught in a few tree
branches. He helped her out, but as his greediness took over, he realised that
he had an opportunity to become richer by asking for a wish in return (by
helping her out). The fairy granted him a wish. He said, “All that I touch
should turn to gold.” And his wish was granted by the grateful fairy.
The greedy man rushed home to tell his wife and daughter about his wish, all
the while touching stones and pebbles and watching them convert into gold.
Once he got home, his daughter rushed to greet him. As soon as he bent down
to scoop her up in his arms, she turned into a gold statue. He was devastated
and started crying and trying to bring his daughter back to life. He realised his
folly and spent the rest of his days searching for the fairy to take away his wish.
Moral of the Story

Greed will always lead to downfall.
6. The Milkmaid and Her Pail
Patty, a milkmaid milked her cow and had two full pails of fresh, creamy milk.
She put both pails of milk on a stick and set off to the market to sell the milk.
As she took steps towards the market, her thoughts took steps towards wealth.
On her way, she kept thinking about the money she would make from selling
the milk. Then she thought about what she would do with that money.
She was talking to herself and said, “Once I get the money, I’ll buy a chicken.
The chicken will lay eggs and I will get more chickens. They’ll all lay eggs, and
I will sell them for more money. Then, I’ll buy the house on the hill and
everyone will envy me.” She was very happy that soon she would be very rich.
With these happy thoughts, she marched ahead. But suddenly, she tripped and
fell. Both the pails of the milk fell and all her dreams were shattered. The milk
spilt onto the ground, and all Patty could do was cry. “No more dream,” she
cried foolishly!
Moral of the Story
Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.
7. When Adversity Knocks
This is a story that explains how adversity is met differently by different

people. There was a girl named Asha who lived with her mother and father in a
village. One day, her father assigned her a simple task. He took three vessels
filled with boiling water. He placed an egg in one vessel, a potato in the second
vessel, and some tea leaves in the third vessel. He asked Asha to keep an eye
on the vessels for about ten to fifteen minutes while the three ingredients in
three separate vessels boiled. After the said time, he asked Asha to peel the
potato and egg, and strain the tea leaves. Asha was left puzzled – she
understood her father was trying to explain her something, but she didn’t
know what it was.
Her father explained, “All three items were put in the same circumstances. See
how they’ve responded differently.” He said that the potato turned soft, the
egg turned hard, and the tea leaves changed the colour and taste of the water.
He further said, “We are all like one of these items. When adversity calls, we
respond exactly the way they do. Now, are you a potato, an egg, or tea leaves?”
Moral of the Story

We can choose how to respond to a difficult situation.
8. The Proud Rose
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful rose plant in a garden. One rose
flower on the plant was proud of its beauty. However, it was disappointed that
it was growing next to an ugly cactus. Every day, the rose would insult the
cactus about its looks, but the cactus stayed quiet. All the other plants in the
garden tried to stop the rose from bullying the cactus, but the rose was too
swayed by its own beauty to listen to anyone.
One summer, a well in the garden dried up and there was no water for the
plants. The rose slowly began to wilt. The rose saw a sparrow dip its beak into
the cactus for some water. The rose then felt ashamed for having made fun of
the cactus all this time. But because it was in need of water, it went to ask the
cactus if it could have some water. The kind cactus agreed, and they both got
through summer as friends.
Moral of the Story

Never judge someone by the way they look.
9. The Tale of the Pencil
A boy named Raj was upset because he had done poorly in his English test. He
was sitting in his room when his grandmother came and comforted him. His
grandmother sat beside him and gave him a pencil. Raj looked at his grandma
puzzled, and said he didn’t deserve a pencil after his performance in the test.
His grandma explained, “You can learn many things from this pencil because
it is just like you. It experiences a painful sharpening, just the way you have
experienced the pain of not doing well on your test. However, it will help you
be a better student. Just as all the good that comes from the pencil is from
within itself, you will also find the strength to overcome this hurdle. And
finally, just as this pencil will make its mark on any surface, you too shall leave
your mark on anything you choose to.” Raj was immediately consoled and
promised himself that he would do better.
Moral of the Story

We all have the strength to be who we wish to be.
10. The Crystal Ball
Nasir, a small boy, found a crystal ball behind the banyan tree of his garden.
The tree told him that it would grant him a wish. He was very happy and he
thought hard, but unfortunately, he could not come up with anything he
wanted. So, he kept the crystal ball in his bag and waited until he could decide
on his wish.
Days went by without him making a wish but his best friend saw him looking
at the crystal ball. He stole it from Nasir and showed it to everyone in the
village. They all asked for palaces and riches and lots of gold, but could not
make more than one wish. In the end, everyone was angry because no one
could have everything they wanted. They became very unhappy and decided to
ask Nasir for help. Nasir wished that everything would go back to how it was
once – before the villagers had tried to satisfy their greed. The palaces and
gold vanished and the villagers once again became happy and content.
Moral of the Story

Money and wealth do not always bring happiness.

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5.

The Golden Touch

Moral of the Story

7. When Adversity Knocks

This is a story that explains how adversity is met differently by different

Moral of the Story

8. The Proud Rose

Moral of the Story

9. The Tale of the Pencil

Moral of the Story

10. The Crystal Ball

Moral of the Story

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