Bengali

All summer the ant gathers food while the grasshopper sings and dances. When the monsoon comes, the hungry grasshopper knocks on the ant’s door. The kind ant shares her food, and the grasshopper promises to work ahead next year.

Ramu, a poor woodcutter, drops his only axe into a river. A water goddess offers him a golden axe and then a silver one, but he honestly refuses both. When she shows his plain iron axe, he claims it, and she rewards his honesty with all three.

Golu the little elephant is teased for his big ears and slow walk. When a flood traps baby monkeys, rabbits and deer on a small sandbank, only Golu dares to wade through the current and carries them all to safety. No one teases him again.

During Durga Puja, Titli notices that the house of Grandma Binu, who lives alone, is dark amid the festive lights. Titli and her mother bring her a lit clay lamp and a plate of coconut sweets (naru). Grandma Binu is overjoyed, and it becomes Titli’s most beautiful Puja.

A hungry dog finds a bone and, crossing a small bridge, sees his reflection holding another bone. Greedy for both, he barks and drops his own bone into the river. He goes home hungry, having learned that greed leads to loss.

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.