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.

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)

Grapes are sour

(a short story)Once a hungry fox was searching for food in the forest. After a while he came to vineyard. He was tempted by the bunches of ripe grapes. The grapes were hanging high. The fox thought of having a good meal of the ripe grapes. (a short story) So he jumped and jumped to reach the grapes. But the grapes were too high for the fox to reach. The poor fox became tired. So he went away dejected. (a short story)He consoled himself by saying that the grapes were sour and he did not want them.