Bengali Short Stories

Piku, a baby owl, is afraid of the dark. His father takes him on a night flight to hear crickets and frogs, smell night-blooming jasmine and see the stars. Finding no ghosts, Piku flies a little on his own and discovers the night is beautiful.

Pupu’s grandfather gives her a seed. She’s frustrated when nothing appears, but he explains seeds need water, sunshine and time. She cares for it daily until it grows into a marigold plant. Good things take time.

A monkey befriends a crocodile and shares sweet jamun fruit with him. The crocodile’s wife wants the monkey’s heart, so the crocodile tricks him into a ride. Mid-river, the clever monkey says he left his heart in the tree, gets taken back to shore, and escapes. A Panchatantra classic.

Tupu, a raindrop, falls from a cloud onto a mountain, joins a waterfall and a river that waters rice fields, reaches the sea, and rises again as vapor into a cloud. A simple introduction to the water cycle.

A proud peacock mocks a crane’s plain feathers. The crane spreads its wings and soars above the clouds, while the peacock can only reach a low branch. The crane explains everyone has a special gift, and the peacock learns humility.

Robu the robot can do every chore but can’t laugh. Rishi and Tuli try jokes, funny faces and tickles with no luck. Then their puppy Bhulo slips on a banana peel and tumbles into a box, the kids burst out laughing, and Robu laughs for the first time.

A farmer owns a hen that lays one golden egg a day. Growing greedy, he ignores his wife’s advice and cuts the hen open to get all the eggs at once. There are none inside, and he loses even the daily golden egg. As the Bengali proverb says, too much greed ruins the weaver.

After a stormy night, Arka finds a fallen sparrow’s nest with three chirping chicks. He and his father place it in a basket and tie it to a strong, high branch. The mother bird returns, and later the young birds sing at Arka’s window every morning.

An ancient banyan tree, “Grandpa Banyan,” shades the village. When it’s marked to be cut for a road, the children draw pictures, write posters and appeal to the village council head, who reroutes the road. Children still swing from its hanging roots today.

On the kite-flying festival of Vishwakarma Puja, Tatai’s red kite soars high and complains that its string holds it back. When the string is cut, the kite tumbles into a tree. Tatai ties a new string, and the kite realizes the string helps it fly high.