Reading list
Panchatantra stories in English: 14 of the best
The Panchatantra is India's great book of animal fables, written to teach young princes how to live wisely. These fourteen are from Arthur W. Ryder's 1925 English translation, which keeps the stories lively and the verses witty.
14 stories, all free to read
Ryder's English is richer than a children's retelling, so most are marked Intermediate. They are in order from the easiest. The whole book has more than eighty stories, one inside another.
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1. The Brahman's Dream
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
A poor Brahman dreams of the riches his pot of meal will bring, and kicks it over. A dream of a few lines.
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2. The Lion-Makers
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
Four friends, three of them learned, bring a dead lion back to life. The one with common sense climbs a tree.
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3. The Monkey and the Crocodile
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
A crocodile's wife wants a monkey's heart, and the monkey has to think fast. A Panchatantra favourite.
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4. The Heron That Liked Crab-Meat
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
A heron tricks the fish of a drying pond, one by one, until a crab sees through him.
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5. How the Crow-Hen Killed the Black Snake
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
Two crows whose eggs a snake keeps eating, and the clever plan of a jackal. Brains beat strength.
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6. The Loyal Mungoose
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
A mongoose kills a snake to save a baby, and the mother kills him in haste. Think before you act.
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7. The Plover Who Fought the Ocean
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
The ocean steals a plover's eggs, and the little bird declares war on it. Never give up.
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8. The Jackal and the War-Drum
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
A hungry jackal hears a frightening noise in the forest and goes to see what it is. Big noise, little inside.
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9. The Musical Donkey
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
A donkey insists on singing in the cucumber field at night. Know when to keep quiet.
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10. Leap and Creep
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
A flea and a louse share a king's bed. The careless guest brings trouble on both.
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11. The Mice That Set Elephants Free
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
Elephants spare a town of mice, and the mice later gnaw them free from the hunters' ropes.
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12. Numskull and the Rabbit
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
A small rabbit outwits a lion who eats an animal a day, with the help of a well. The best known Panchatantra story.
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13. How the Rabbit Fooled the Elephant
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
Rabbits use the moon in a lake to scare away a herd of elephants. Wit against size.
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14. The Blue Jackal
by Vishnu Sharma · from The Panchatantra
A jackal falls into a tub of dye and makes himself king of the animals, until he howls. Be yourself.
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