The Prophet’s advice

(a short story)Once there lived in Arabia a notorious thief. He did not fear anybody. On the other hand, everybody was afraid of him. One day the Prophet (Sm) called him and advised him not to steal.

 “Stealing is a great sin,” said the Prophet, “and nobody respects a thief.” (a short story)

 “O Prophet, ask me to do any other thing. I will so it. But stealing! No I cannot give it up” said the thief.

(a short story) “All right, said the Prophet, “then follow this simple advice : Do not tell a lie.” (a short story) The thief promised that he would not tell a lie from that day.

(a short story)At night the thief went out to steal as usual. On the way a man asked him, “Where are you going?”

(a short story)The thief remembered the advice of the Prophet. So he could not tell a lie. He also could not speak the truth. So he came back home.

(a short story)Next night, too, the thief went out to steal. Again a man met him on the way and asked him. “Where are you going?”

The thief could not tell a lie. He also could not speak the truth. So came back home that night too.

(a short story)The same thing happened to the thief every night. And he could not tell a lie. He also could not speak the truth. So he could not go to steal. As a result he gave up the habit of stealing. And finally he beams a great saint.

An ant and a dove

(a short story)Once a stream ran through a green field. There lived an ant beside the stream. One day the ant went to stream to drink water. While drinking water, suddenly the ant fell into the running water.

(a short story) “Help! Help!” shouted the ant. But no one heard him. A dove was sitting on a tree near the stream. He saw the miserable condition of the ant and felt pity. Very quickly he broke off a wide piece of grass. He flew over the stream and dropped the grass right before the ant.

(a short story)The little ant climbed onto the grass. Soon the grass struck in some reeds and the ant climbed onto the bank. What a lucky escape!

(a short story)After a few days the ant was looking for food beside the stream. He stood still hearing the cooing of a dove. He saw that it was the same dove that saved his life. (a short story) He was very happy to see the dove and wanted to show his gratefulness by waving but of no use.

(a short story)Then to his utter horror he found a boy carrying a bow and an arrow. The boy quietly drew the bow and aimed at the dove. Just at that moment the ant bit very seriously on the boy’s leg. (a short story)So, the boy’s aim failed and it hit a branch of the tree. The dove flapped her wings and flew off in a hurry.

(a short story)The boy bent down to look. There was a tiny red mark on his leg. And the ant? He was nowhere to bee seen!

The greatness of Sultan Salahuddin.

(a short story)One day in the battle of Jaffa, the Christians were wining and the Muslim soldiers were falling back before the Christian horsemen. The Christian General was Richard the first of England. (a short story) He was a brave man and a fierce enemy of Sultan Salahuddin. In one of his fights, a Muslim soldier knocked him off horse but he got up and started fighting on foot. One of Salahuddin’s men saw this and shouted to Salahuddin, “Richard has lost his horse. (a short story)Why don’t we kill him now?” Salahuddin replied, “No, he is a noble soldier. Give him my best steed so that he can fight properly again.” Salahuddin’s behavior charmed Richard. He said, “I am proud that I am fighting against a noble enemy like him.” (a short story)

The cunning fox

(a short story)One evening a hungry fox came to a farm-house. There was a big dog lying outside the house. It was tied to a tree by a rope. A woman came out of the house and put a plate of meat on the ground. She put it near enough for the dog to reach it. (a short story) Perhaps the dog was not hungry, because it did not eat the meat.

(a short story)The fox had not eaten anything for two days, but it was afraid of the dog. The fox began to walk slowly round the tree. The dog was very angry and tried to attack the fox. (a short story)But the rope was not long enough. The fox walked round the tree, and the dog followed it, round and round. The rope was also going round the tree and becoming shorter and shorter. (a short story)At last the rope was too short for the dog to reach the plate. Then the clever fox ate up the meat and ran away.

He prayeth best who loveth best both great or small

(a short story)Once upon a time there was an honest and a pious man. He name was Abu-Ben-Adhem. He was once sleeping peacefully. Suddenly he woke up and saw an angel writing the name of the persons who loved God. (a short story) He inquired on him whether his name was there. But the angel said. “No, your name is not here”. He then requested to put his name in the list; because he loved mankind and his fellow brethren. (a short story)The angel took down his requests and went away. He again appeared the next night and showed Abu that his name was at the top of the list of those who received the blessing of God. (a short story)

Greed brings in disaster

(a short story)Once upon a time a greedy dog stole a piece of meat from nearby house, and holding it in his mouth he began to cross the river over a narrow bridge. While doing so he chanced to look down, and saw his own shadow reflected in the clear water of the river. (a short story)He mistook it for another living dog with a bigger piece of meat. He decided to snatch that away from that dog and thought to make a feast with the two. But while he tried to do that, he dropped down his own piece of meat, which was swiftly carried away by the current of the river. Thus, he lost his own. (a short story)