Home > Mind , Body & Soul > Grandma stories >Some famous bedtime tales The sun and the wind

One day many years ago the sun and the wind got into a big fight just like how you and your sister get into. Each said that he was stronger than the other. To see who was stronger, the sun and the wind challenged each other to strip the clothes off the first passerby.

Soon there came along a man. The wind puffed with all the air in its lungs; but the more he blew, the more the man drew his clothes tight around him. Feeling a bit cold, he even put on a warm cloak.

Then came the turn of the sun. He didn't do anything so strenuous; all he did was shine. And gradually the man felt hotter and hotter, until he took off all his clothes to go for a swim.

Which just goes to show that gentle persuasion is more effective than violence.

The cat and the old mouse

A black cat happened to wander into a warehouse where lived many, many mice.

'This is the place for me,' thought the cat. 'I can find a lot of food. I will eat many mice today. In order to fool the mice, I will pretend to be dead.' And the cat lay down on the ground.

The younger mice who saw the cat on the floor ran towards it shouting, 'There's a dead cat.'

But a wise old mouse stopped them and said, 'Don't you know that a cat has nine lives?' Saying this the old mouse climbed up on a table under which the cat lay. There was a huge sack of flour on the table. Slowly he chewed open the sack. The flour poured out and covered the cat, which lay still for a moment. Then, there came a sneeze and out of the flour came a white cat.

All the mice ran away and thanked the wise old mouse who had saved their lives

The sick lion

Once a lion had a very bad indigestion. Zebra, Hyena and Fox who were the doctors in the forest visited him.

'What bad breath you have, your majesty!' exclaimed the zebra.

'How dare you!' said the indignant lion and knocked down the zebra.

'What a pleasant smell!' said the hyena, who had seen what had happened to the zebra.

'Do you think I'm stupid?' roared the angry lion, and killed the hyena as well.

'And what do you think?' the lion asked the fox. 'Unfortunately, your majesty,' replied that shrewd animal, 'my nose is completely blocked with a cold, and I can smell nothing!'

Thus the clever fox saved himself from the wrath of the stupid, sick lion.