The jackal who saved the lion:

Once upon a time there was a lion in a jungle. Once when he had gone to drink water in a stream, his feet got stuck into the wet slushy mud of the stream and he could not get out. He had to lie without food for days like that as he saw no help coming by. One day, a kind jackal came by and the jackal dug a way out from the sand and with the extra force from the lion helped him get out of the slush and set him free. The lion was grateful for this and thanked the jackal for the saving of his life. He then offered the jackal to live close to him and also promised to feed him whenever he caught food. So the jackal started living with the lion and they shared the hunt. Soon they expanded their families and had cubs and kid jackals.

After a long time, the lioness, lady of the lion's house, grew tired of the friendship of the jackal and her master. She conveyed the message to her cubs who conveyed the message to the jackal kids who complained to the lady jackal. The lady jackal told of this to her husband. The jackal went to the lion, and told him that if he did not want the jackal to stay with him, he should have told him long time back.

The lion was surprised at this and assured the jackal that no such ill-feelings existed between the lion and the jackal and assured him that he would talk to the lioness. But the wise jackal then said, "Friend, I know you are sincere. But our families may not exactly reciprocate the same level of friendship. So let us stay apart, and meet often as friends and even may be kill together. But it is better if our family stays apart from yours." The lion agreed to this and the two families parted as friends and the jackal and the lion were still close friends and used to go for kills together.

Moral: Don’t expect your family to reciprocate the same level of friendship you have with someone.

The greedy crow:

Once upon a time there was a fine pigeon who used to live on a nest close to a kitchen. The cooks of the kitchen used to like her very much and often used to feed her grain. She liked the place and her life was fine. One day a crow saw the pigeon and saw how it was getting wonderful food from the kitchen. Then one day she made friends with the pigeon, and under the pretext of friendship, she somehow made the pigeon to share the nest with the crow. The pigeon then told her that they could spend time together discussing politics, religion etc. but when it came to food both had their own ways. So she suggested the crow to search for her own food. But the crow was impatient and the very reason she had made friends with the pigeon was for the food. The crow wanted meat and all the pigeon got was grains from the kitchen.

Moral: Greed Numbs intelligence.

The doe who saved her husband's life:

Once upon a time there was a fine stag who ruled a herd of deer in a forest and it had a beautiful wife. The doe was very devoted to her husband and helped him in all matters of life.

One day, the stag was caught in the trap of a hunter and the doe was very frightened as was the stag. All the friends of the stag left him. But the doe remained steadfast next to him and waited for the hunter to come. She was very devoted to her husband. As soon as the hunter came, she fell on his knees and begged, "Sir! please make a nice bed of leaves for me and my husband and then kill me first and then my husband and you can have a nice feast."

Moral: Great love can achieve anything.

The story of King Vessantara:

When Prince Vessantara was born he showed great kindness to others, giving away every ornament from his cradle to less fortunate children. At age 16, Prince Vessantara married beautiful Princess Mahdi. They had two children and Vessantara’s father gave up the throne to his son.

Throughout his childhood, a highly auspicious pure white elephant lived as Vessantara’s companion. One day King Vessantara was visited by ministers from a neighboring kingdom that suffered from severe drought and famine. They asked King Vessantara for the gift of his white elephant and explained their conviction that only the presence of an auspicious white elephant could restore their people’s health. King Vessantara gladly gave his elephant to the ministers and poured water over their hands to show that it was a gift without expectation of repayment.

Upon learning of the gift, King Vessantara’s subjects lost faith in his leadership. Without a white elephant they feared their kingdom would experience great suffering. In response King Vessantara relinquished the throne to his father and gave away all of his possessions, including 700 of every type of object. Vessantara brought his family from the city to live a simple ascetic life in the forest. On the way, four Brahmins asked for the gift of his horses and Vessantara gladly gave them away. Another received the gift of Vessantara’s chariot. Vessantara practiced meditation in a forest hut while his wife and children lived in a nearby hut.

A greedy old Brahmin, knowing of Vessantara’s generosity, found him in the forest and asked for the gift of his children as servants. Vessantara complied and the children were tied with vines and led away by the Brahmin. Vessantara wept at their departure, but regained his composure through meditation. The gods observed these events from the Heavens and Indra disguised himself as a Brahmin asking for the gift of Vessantara’s wife as a servant. Again Vessantara complied. Meanwhile the gods protected and nourished the children.

In spite of the darkness of these events, they are played to great comic effect in performances. The Brahmin is a weak and bumbling man constantly nagged by his young wife. Audience members taunt him on the stage and in marionette performances children may sneak up and grab his feet so that the puppeteer cannot maneuver him. Vessantara’s children use clever ruses to escape but are returned to the Brahmin by Vessantara.

Eventually the Brahmin became lost on his way home and ended up in the city ruled by Vessantara’s father. The children were recognized and the king was so overjoyed by the reunion with his grandchildren that he welcomed the Brahmin to the palace. Unaccustomed to the luxuries there he greedily gorged himself with food and fell over dead. In time Vessantara resumed the throne and the kingdom was peaceful and prosperous.