Top Panchatantra Stories in English

Panchatantra stories are famous among Indian moral tales for children. These stories narrate many morals with the help of animal and bird characters. Here are some of the top Panchatantra stories in English for your convenience.

• The donkey and a horse

There lived a washerman in one town. He had a donkey as well as a horse. The horse was full of pride that the washerman considered it for superior reasons like traveling and commuting. While the donkey bore the loads, hence the horse looked at it inferiorly. 

On one day it happened that the donkey was sick. It could not bear any loads and asked the horse to help for that day. But the proud horse refused to help it saying learn with whom you are talking.

Later, the sick donkey could not do anything but to bear the load. Because of this, it died after two days. The washerman thought of using the horse for carrying its loads and did not buy another donkey in the dead one’s place. From that day onwards, the horse itself used to carry all the load. It cursed itself for being proud and not respecting the donkey when it was alive.

2. The Elephant and the Jackal

Once there lived a jackal in a forest. He wanted to get hold of food easily without much effort. For this, it devised a plan. It went to the cave of a lion and requested that it be its servant. All that the lion needed to do was to leave the left-over food for the jackal. The lion accepted this and let it be its servant.

After some days, the jackal started to grow arrogant. It thought it is also equal to the lion. Once, it saw a group of elephants coming towards the cave. It told the lion, see now, I will attack that elephant and bring it as food for us. The lion warned him not to do so. But the jackal never heeded its advice. It forged ahead onto the herd of elephants. The leader of the group of elephants warned them not to come. But the jackal was adamant. It didn’t listen. It started growling and forging onto the group of elephants. In no time, one of the elephants got angry with its foolish stunts and crushed it under its feet! The arrogance of the jackal thus ended its life.

3. The three fishes’ story

There lived three fishes – Aaju, Baju, and Raju in a pond. Raju was lazy and never listened to good advice. It didn’t even have its cleverness. Baju was wise but a little lazy in implementing any good ideas. Raju was clever, intelligent, and foresighted.

During the end of the winter season and the beginning of the summer, Raju guessed that the water in the pond was decreasing. It suggested the Aaju and Baju should leave the pond and join a river through the channel. If summer starts the pond may dry up and the channel may be closed, it said. But Baju and Aaju didn’t listen. However, Raju left the pond safely into the river.

Soon the summer started, and the water in the pond started drying up. There came a group of fishermen and started fishing. Soon, Aaju and Baju fell in their net. However, Baju being clever escaped from the boat with a knack and fell back into the pond, and swiftly went into the bed of the pond. It was the foolish and lazy Aaju that did not get any idea to escape and died at the hands of fishermen.