Children's story told in English

The red and blue coat Once there were two boys who were great friends, and they were determined to remain that way forever. When they grew up and got married, they built their houses facing one another across a small path. One day, a trickster from the village decided to fool them. He dressed himself in a two-colour coat that was divided down the middle. So, one side of the coat wa

Hercules and the lazy man A man was once driving a heavy load along a very muddy way in a cart. Finally, he came to a part of the road where the wheels sank half-way into the mud, the more the horses pulled, the deeper the wheels sank. So, the man threw down his whip, knelt down, and prayed to Hercules the Strong. "Oh Hercules, help me out of this mess." He said. But Hercules appea

The Dog and the Reflection. A Dog had got a piece of meat and was carrying it home in his mouth so that he could eat it in peace. Now, on his way home he had to cross a plank of wood lying across a running brook(小溪). As he crossed, he looked down and saw his reflection in the water beneath(在水底下). Thinking it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made up his min

The Wind and the Sun The Wind and the Sun were arguing over which of them was stronger. They saw a traveller coming along the road, and the Sun said: "I see a way to settle this argument. Whichever of us can cause that traveller to take off his cloak will be the stronger one. You begin." So, the Sun hid behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the travell

The Man Who Never Lied Once upon a time there lived a wise man by the name of Mamad. He never lied. All the people in the land, even the ones who lived twenty days away, knew about him. The king heard about Mamad and ordered his subjects to bring him to the palace. He looked at the wise man and asked: " Mamad, is it true, that you have never lied?" " It's true." "And you will never

The Wolf and the Kid A Kid, (the proper name for a baby goat) was perched up on the top of a house, and looking down, saw a Wolf passing by under him. Immediately he began to shout at his enemy. "You murderer! You rotten thief !" he cried, from the safety of his high perch. "What are you doing here? You’re lucky I’m up here, if I were down there, I’d kick you to bits and

THE SINGING BONE Once upon a time in a certain country there was great concern about a wild boar that was destroying the peasants' fields, killing the cattle, and ripping people apart with its tusks. The king promised a large reward to anyone who could free the land from this plague, but the beast was so large and strong that no one dared to go near the woods where it lived. Finall

THE RIDDLE Once upon a time there was a prince who had a sudden desire to travel about the world. He took no one with him except a faithful servant. One day he came to a great forest, and when evening fell, he could find no shelter, he didn’t know where he and his servant would spend the night. Then he saw a girl who was walking toward a little house, when he came nearer, he saw

THE MOON In days gone by there was a land where the nights were always dark and the sky spread over it like a black cloth, for there the moon never rose, and no stars shone in the deep darkness of sky. Four young fellows once went out of this country on a travelling expedition, and arrived in another kingdom, where, in the evening when the sun had disappeared behind the mountains,

Weighing the Elephant A long time ago, people who lived in China knew that a strange, amazing beast called an elephant, lived in a faraway land, but no one had ever seen one.  One day, a ruler from a distant country came to see the Emperor of China.  He brought a gift, and that gift was a real, live elephant! Never had anyone in China seen anything like it.  It