All Stories
Browse our complete collection of folk tales, Panchatantra stories, and moral stories from around the world.
Jataka Tales
Ages 9-12
The Mouse Merchant
Following a treasurer’s passing remark, a penniless young man sells a dead mouse for a farthing and trades his way up to two hundred thousand coins.
Jataka Tales
Ages 9-12
The Firewood Gatherer
A stick-gatherer’s son proves he is the king’s child by sitting in mid-air, then grows up to rule as the Firewood Gatherer king.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Gray Hair
When his barber finds a single gray hair on his head, a king who still has thousands of years to live gives up his throne to become a hermit.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Happy Monk
A hermit who was once a king lies at ease before a visiting king, crying “Oh, happiness!”, and his teacher explains why the holy life brings such joy.
Jataka Tales
Ages 9-12
The Two Stags
An old deer king sends his two sons to lead their herds to the hills at harvest time, and only the careful one, who travels by night, brings every deer home.
Jataka Tales
Ages 9-12
The Banyan Deer (Nigrodhamiga Jataka)
A golden deer king offers his own neck on the block to spare a mother doe, and his courage moves the king to protect every creature in the land.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
How the Turtle Saved His Own Life
Frightened princes mistake a turtle for a demon, and when the court debates how to destroy it, the clever turtle begs not to be thrown into the lake.
Jataka Tales
Ages 3-5
The Story of the Merchant of Seri
A greedy tinware seller tries to cheat a poor grandmother out of a golden bowl, but an honest merchant pays her everything he has for it.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Ox Who Won the Forfeit
A boastful owner loses a bet when his strong Ox refuses to move for harsh words, then wins it back the next day with kindness and a garland of flowers.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Story of the Sandy Road
Lost in the desert after throwing away their water, a merchant’s caravan is saved when he refuses to give up and a serving boy breaks through to a spring.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Quarrel of the Quails
A flock of quails outwits a fowler by flying off together with his net, until a silly quarrel breaks out and they are all caught at once.
Jataka Tales
Ages 6-8
The Measure of Rice
A greedy king hires a foolish Valuer who prices five hundred horses at a measure of rice, until a bribe makes him value the rice at the whole city.