The stories La tells....

Two fish lived in a pond.
Their names were Satabuddhi (having the understanding of a hundred) and Sahasrabuddhi (having the understanding of a thousand).
The two of them had a frog for a friend, whose name was Ekabuddhi (having the understanding of one).

For a time they would enjoy friendly conversation on the bank, and then they would return to the water. One day when they had gathered for conversation, some fishermen came by just as the sun was setting. They were carrying nets in their hands and many dead fish on their heads.

When the fishermen saw the pond, they said to one another, "There seem to be a lot of fish in this pond, and the water is very low. Let us come back here tomorrow morning!" After saying this, they went home.

These words struck the three friends like a thunderbolt, and they took counsel with one another.

The frog said, "Oh, my dear Satabuddhi and Sahasrabuddhi, what shall we do? Should we flee, or stay here?"

Hearing this, Sahasrabuddhi laughed and said, "Oh, my friend, don't be afraid of words alone! They probably will not come back. But even if they do come back, I will be able to protect myself and you as well, through the power of my understanding, for I know many pathways through the water."

After hearing this, Satabuddhi said, "Yes, what Sahasrabuddhi says is correct, for one rightly says: Where neither the wind nor the sun's rays have found a way, intelligent understanding will quickly make a path. And also: Everything on earth is subject to the understanding of those with intelligence. Why should one abandon the place of one's birth that has been passed down from generation to generation, just because of words? We must not retreat a single step! I will protect you through the power of my understanding."

The frog said, "I have but one wit, and it is advising me to flee. This very day I shall go with my wife to another pond."

After saying this, as soon as it was night, the frog went to another pond.

Early the next day the fishermen came like servants of the god of death and spread their nets over the pond. All the fish, turtles, frogs, crabs, and other water creatures were caught in the nets and captured, also Satabuddhi and Sahasrabuddhi, although they fled, and through their knowledge of the various paths escaped for a while by swimming to and fro. But they too, together with their wives, fell into a net and were killed.

That afternoon the fishermen happily set forth toward home. Because of his weight, one of them carried Satabuddhi on his head. They tied Sahasrabuddhi onto a string and dragged him along behind.

The frog Ekabuddhi, who had climbed onto the bank of his pond, said to his wife, "Look, dear! Mr. Hundred-Wit lies on someone's head, and Mr. Thousand-Wit is hanging from a string. But Mr. Single-Wit, my dear, is playing here in the clear water."

The 3 Princes who were Blockheads

A Folktale from India retold by La

Once there was a wise king who had three sons, but they were………hmmm, well there is no nice way to say it, all three of his sons were Blockheads.
Not only did they know nothing (really I mean absolutely nothing), but if anyone
tried to teach them anything they closed their ears and their minds and sat looking
as dumb as, well as dumb as chucks of wood.

The king was in total despair.
Finally, at his wits end he called all of his counselors together,
and told them how worried he was about his sons.
"What can I do?" he cried.

The counselors began giving him all of the same old well used suggestions,more tutors etc.,
"No, no, no!", the king cried. "I have tried all of those things before!"
At long last, one of the counselors asked, "Why not trust them to Vishnusharma, the sage? It is said that he is so full of wisdom that he can make even the greatest truths clear to the mind of a child."

The king thought this a marvelous idea and summoned the sage from his hermitage.
When Vishnusharma arrived the king said, " I beg you, O Vishnusharma, waken the
minds of my three sons.
If you can do this and I will reward you with tracts of land."

Vishnusharma replied, "I have no need for land, but in six months time I will waken the sleeping mind of the three princes."
On hearing these words, the kings heart lightened.
And so the sage was given a small home in the corner of the palace garden.

The three blockhead princes had no idea who the old man living in the garden was.
In spite of themselves, they became curious about him.
And as no one would tell them about him, they spent a great deal of their time watching him.

Eventually the youngest prince asked the sage if there were lions and tigers where he came from.
The sage replied that there were, and quite naturally began to tell them a story about a lion.

Now it happened that above all else the three princes loved to be entertained.
When the old man, began telling his story the three sat with their ears and their minds open,
never suspecting that they were being taught anything by a story.

The first story ended in such a way that it led into another story, and the princes eagerly asked "What happened next?"
And so Vishnusharma told the second story, and the princes listened to him for the rest of the day.
When night fell, they made him promise to continue telling stories the next day.

The sage was wise enough to choose stories full of laughter, common sense, and wisdom.
The stories were full of wise saying from literature and the sacred writings of India.

After the first set of stories, the princes were overjoyed with their new friend and begged his to tell them the stories again and again until they knew them by heart.
Then the old man began another set of stories and so it continued for six months.

At the end of the six months, the princes who were blockheads, and proud of it,
knew all five sets of stories, and many of the wise sayings from literature and sacred writings.

And the princes who had once proudly closed their ears and their minds,
now permanently had their ears and minds wide open.

The king was greatly pleased with his sons and found that they were now ready to take their place in assisting him with the ruling of the kingdom.

The stories that the sage told to the three princes are in the Panchatantra, or Five Books, which has been translated into many languages.

So if there are any of you who desire a simple(?) path to wisdom you may read the stories in the Panchatantra yourselves.

Retold by LaurenLanita