The Deer and the Tiger
by
Nadia

(A fable adapted from Aesop’s “The Wind and the Sun”)

          Once upon a tale, the Deer and the Tiger were fighting about who is the cuter one. Suddenly they spotted a girl with a picnic basket. The Deer said, “I see a way to solve our problem. Whoever can make the lovely girl feed us her pie is the cuter one. You begin.” So the Deer hid behind a towering tree, and the Tiger jumped out in front of the girl and began to roar as furiously as he could. The little girl grasped a few sticks and smacked the Tiger three times on his head! The Tiger ran away in tears and without the pie. The Deer leaped out of its hiding place and gracefully walked towards the girl. She put down her sticks and petted the Deer. She also shared the pie from her basket. It was getting dark and the girl decided to take the Deer home and keep it as her pet. The Tiger, who was very sad, thought, “If you want to win something, kindness is the way to go!”

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The Elephant and the Peanuts
by
Riya

(A fable adapted from Aesop’s “The Boy and the Nuts”)

          In a zoo lived an elephant named Jumbo. Jumbo was an unusual elephant. He had a big trunk. His favorite food was peanuts. While Jumbo was standing in the zoo, looking around, his eye caught a jar of peanuts. Reaching into the jar with his trunk, he grabbed a huge number of peanuts. Jumbo tried to pull out his trunk bulging with peanuts, but he was unable to remove his thick trunk. Sadly Jumbo began to cry. Seeing Jumbo cry, the zookeeper told him, “if you take fewer nuts, your trunk will be free.” Jumbo let go of some of the peanuts and was able to pull out his trunk. Sometimes you have to let go of a little to get what you want.

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Safe for Now
by
P.K.

          The FBI spy was anxiously examining the streets for the vicious enemy. He suspiciously boarded the plane to London. Sitting on the plane was uneasy. Anyone could be the enemy, or the enemy’s goons who wanted the special secret code. The agent had no idea what was so valuable about that dumb code. Because of the code the spy was in grave danger.

          After he de-boarded the plane, the agent walked slowly and observantly across the streets of London. Harold the spy eyed a mysterious person in a mask as if the man were going to the masquerade in town. Suddenly, the masked man halted. The sinister villain had cleverly caught a glimpse of Harold.

          “He is so stupid,” the enemy thought.

          “He is a wicked man. And now because of him I’m in grave danger,” Harold muttered.

          Harold charged toward a nearby movie theater where he found a cotton candy container giant enough to hide an elephant. The spy searched for the terrible enemy, or the enemy’s goons. He leaped into the container. It was warm and stuffy, and it smelled like sugar, but it was worth it not to be seen. Beginning to become reckless, he forced himself to chillax. Harold sighed a sigh of relief, then peeked through the crunched up hole, and breathed heavily. “I’m safe for now,” thought Harold.

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Spying Around
by
Varun

          Two days ago, an officer was joking that if he quit the Agency, he would be deemed a villain. One day ago, the officer who was joking, quit for real. Now the U.S.A, or the Undercover Secretive Agency, put me back in the field to hunt down this dangerous traitor and his matron leader. Now the risk of world war 3 sat in my hands. Only I, Ronald, could stop it. Now the notorious Mr. L would send ninjas, goons, and henchmen to stop me. Ronald the Brave was back in the spy business.

          I was running from the stealthy goons in the crowded suburbs of China. Among the crowds of people, I stood low, trying to hide, knowing they would find me eventually. I quickly ran to the art museum and glimpsed a huge vase. A thought occurred to me. Could Ronald hide in that vase? While pondering about that, the goons were nearing. Desperately, without thinking, I jumped into the vase. Mr. L’s spies looked to see where I was hiding.

          However, thankfully they did not check inside the vases. Calmly I hid in the vase, strategizing a plan to foil Mr. L’s inner workings. When I was working on that, the henchmen almost found me. I eagerly jumped out of the vase. Mr. L’s assassins were there when I escaped. Luckily I knew what I was doing and started fighting. The battle did not last long, because the assassins were new to the job. After escaping, I ran to my getaway motorcycle. But when I reached the motorcycle, I was being chased by Mr. L’s henchmen. I finally swerved away, confusing his enemy. I entered a haircut store from the back, arriving into USA H.Q.

          “He is a wicked man. And now because of him I’m in grave danger,” Harold muttered.

          Then the commander of these operations wanted me to tell the info I had retrieved. “Sir, Mr. L is planning to bring USA, England, France, and Russia to its knees with bombs, humanoids, and our own weapons. Also Mr. L sent new recruits against me,” I explained. Then the general said, “Well go take them down with your troop.” So I, armed with my troop, rushed to the secret layer that protected Mr. L. The troop attacked the guards while I ran safely to the base. I was thrilled about the mission, and being back in the spy business. Happily, my crew disabled the missiles and robots in time. Ronald had thwarted Mr. L’s scheme for world war 3. The hip-hop star spy danced off his victory. The name for this file was called “Spying Around.”

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The Philosopher and the Wrestler
by
Ananth

          Long ago, in the kingdom of Anartha, there lived a Philosopher named Devadatta. He was as smart and wise as Chanakya, the political strategist and teacher from ancient India. Devadatta was a genius. He had a great sense of humor and wasn’t that strict, though you may think that he was from his serious expressions. Chanakya was a friendly, kind and generous man.

          Pradyumna, the Wrestler, also lived in Anartha. He was as strong as Balarama, the brother of Sri Krishna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who is the preserver in Indian mythology. Balarama is an incarnation of Anantha, the serpent on which Lord Vishnu reclines. Unlike other wrestlers, Pradyumna was kind and generous.

          Anartha was ruled by Maharaj Raivata, an excellent leader and able administrator. Raivata was a highly skilled warrior, except for one problem – a Maharshi, or sage, once cursed him that he would have poor eyesight. That unfortunate incident took place several years before when Raivata became a prince.

          Once, while Raivata went hunting in the forest, he aimed at a deer. A little distance away, a hunter aimed at the same deer. However, the hunter was not a good marksman, and his arrow pierced the Maharshi’s eyes. The Maharishi, who was meditating, opened his eyes and cried out in pain. Raivata, being a caring person, rushed to the Maharishi and helped him. The hunter had fled the scene. The Maharshi glanced at Raivata’s fine clothes, bow and arrows, and said, “Why have you, a kshatriya (King), come to help me, a rishi, or ascetic?”

          Raivata answered, “Oh, learned one, you were moaning in agony, so I came to help you.” But the Maharishi did not believe him.

          He uttered, “You are a demon. You wounded me. You will be cursed!” This sent a shiver down Raivata’s spine.

          He pleaded, “No reknowned one! That was not what happened! My arrow did not hurt you. It pierced a deer’s heart. There deer lies over there, lifeless. Your eyes were wounded by a hunter’s arrow.” But the Maharishi was in no mood to listen.

          He said, “Do not try to weave stories now. That won’t work with me. I hereby curse you that you will have poor eyesight from now on. But since you tried to help me, I do not want you to suffer too much. You will still be able to be the king and rule your kingdom. You will also be able to use your weapons. You will not be able to see that well though.”

          Raivata was loved by his subjects and feared by his enemies. No Asura, or power seeker with evil intentions, or Rakshasa (demon) dared to lift a finger against him. Devadatta, Pradyumna and Raivata followed the path of dharma. Dharma is the regulatory order of the universe. The threesome helped everybody in distress.

          One day Devadatta went fishing in a deep lake. But when he was at the lake, he suddenly tripped over a huge rock and fell into the water. He cried for help but nobody heard him. At that time, Pradyumna was having lunch at his house. While enjoying his tasty meal, he heard these screams. He knew right away that the cries were from someone in distress. He soon reached the lake and was shocked to find that his dear friend Devadatta was almost drowning. Pradyumna jumped into the lake and after a few minutes, pulled the frightened Devadatta out of the water. Devadatta thanked the compassionate wrestler profusely for saving his life.

          Meanwhile, Raivata noticed this from afar. He saw a drenched and weak Devadatta, and a smiling Pradyumna standing by the lake hugging each other. He thought that Pradyumna was trying to kill Devadatta. Soon, Raivata’s men grabbed Pradyumna and took him to the palace. Raivata ordered his guards to kill Pradyumna the next day by tying him to an enormous, sharp rock and whipping him multiple times. Raivata also ordered his ministers to announce the verdict to the people that night. When Devadatta heard the verdict, he anxiously thought of a way to save his friend. He immediately rushed to Raivata’s palace and told him that Pradyumna had carefully rescued him, and did not try to kill him.

          When Raivata heard this, he realized his folly and told his men to release Pradyumna. He also rewarded Devadatta and Pradyumna with some gifts as he was please with both of them. Pradyumna thanked Devadatta for saving his life. Raivata later proclaimed the two men as the Royal Scholar and Royal Wrestler, because they were so trustworthy, smart, and strong.

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