TALES FROM READERS

• A Parrot and A Crow NEW
• Speaking Garden and Speaking Well NEW
• The Mysterious Voice NEW
• Be Helpful
• When Trees stopped speaking
• Gujarati Dhokala
• Village Leader and the Fallen Berries
• Lucky Pandit Tida Joshi
• The Coconuts story
• A Dream Saved the King!
• Lazy Pigeon
• A Scary Cold Water Drop
• Intelligent Merchants
• A Clever Old Woman
• Father, Son and a Crow
• The Mystery of Twin Town
• Miracle
• Bhola Bear Gets Honey
• Fear of LIZARD
• Rinku Rabbit Teaches A Lesson
• Every Tiger Has It's Day
• Mrs. Squirrel's Beachy Holiday
• Bella, Billu And The Billi
• A Suitable Match
• Chimpu- The Jungle Detective
  The Case of The Hidden Treasure
• Daring Sia and The Theft of The Twisted Candles
• Chimpu-The Jungle Detective
  The Case of The Stolen Honey
• The Princess of the Blue lotus
• Inspiration
• A Better Place to Live
• Sid And The Pirates 1
• Sid And The Pirates 2
• Sid And The Pirates 3
• Rinku
• Tula Wants To Grow Up!
• Shining In The Dark
• The Guru
• O.D.D.
• The Girl With X-Ray Eyes
• An Eerie Experience
• Scared Speechless!
• The Haunted House
• The Lily Pad(dle) Boat
• Little Tom And His Pets
• Deepa And The King of The Ocean
• Magic Rose
• Charlie's Pet Lion
• The Three Princesses
• The Ring
• Traitors You Can't Sustain!
• Friends And Enemies
• Bruno, The Sheep Dog
• Roses And Cacti
• Hardwork Pays
• No Pain, No Gain!
• The Magical Pond
• Everything For Something
• The Eavesdropper
• The Crow That Boasted
• The Golden Bird
• Asha And Aadesh In Frogindom!
• Moon's Magic
• Baby Tree Wants Ice Cream!
• Jackal And Birds
• Roll Model
• When The Teacher Became The King
• The Blind Beggar
• A Night of fun in the Desert Village
• The Blind Woman
• The Pirate's Mistake
• Team Work Wins
• Bobby Turns Brave
• The Two Princess
• God Everywhere
• The Mongoose And The Snake
• The Missing Sweetmeat
• The Mule
• The Wishing Tree
• The Magic Potion
• King And The Three Sons
• An Old Lady And The Lamp
• The Kindhearted Villager
• Christopher's Encounter With The Aliens
• The Mysterious School
• The Coconut Tree
• Count The Blessing Not The Curses
• Wonderful X'mas Gift
• Tikku and the Rats
• The Magic Hole
• A Mysterious Memory
• The Lost Ball
• Gundu and Mithu
• Home Alone
• Holidays
• Sleepovers
• The Secret of Work
• Little Friend
• Mr. Twinkle Transforms
• April Fool
• The Call
• The Thief Caught Atlast
• The Monkey And The Dolphin
• Toko Castle
• Elephant, Croc And Toad
• Vice of Dice!
• Laughter Is The Best Medicine
• My Meet With God
• The Impossible Magic!
• Encounter with the Friday Ghost
• The Last Wish
• A Fearful Event
• A King's Costly Mistake
• The Clever Pussy Cat
• The Dangerous Silky Bed!
• The Magical Ink
• The Magic Of The Map
• The Stormy Night with my Cousins

Elephant, Croc And Toad

Many years ago, believe it or not, the elephant had a little pug nose.
It was a large beast, of course, and it roamed the jungles of Asia and Africa, hoping to become the king of all beasts!
Now it had not rained for some time, and the elephant decided to go down to the river, hoping for a drink.
There, swam a long, bright green crocodile... back and forth...its eye out for a tasty bite of something or another!
Now it so happened that a shiny green toad liked to tease the crocodile. It would often hop onto its back and let the croc take it for a spin down the river.
Croc soon got tired of giving free rides and would often shake its body to rid itself of the toad pest. Unfortunately, it could not.
So, each and every day it would yell out to the toad, "Get off of my back!"
Not only was the croc irritated with the toad, but it also resented that large beast of an elephant drinking the very water that it swam in each day...especially since water was getting scarce!
So, as soon as the large head of elephant would reach into the water for a drink... SNAP! The croc would tug at elephant's nose.
Elephant would pull back to protect its little nose, but alas, each time this happened, Croc would tug a little more. It soon seemed as though elephant's nose was becoming a hose!
"Le go of my nothe, pleathe," shouted the elephant, nicely, of course.
Oh dear, poor elephant's voice was changing as well!
"I thed, pleathe le go of my nothe!"
And with that, the elephant pulled away with all of its might!
Its nose soon drooped onto the ground.
Kerthud! It had a trunk!
Elephant glared at the croc and that pesky little toad, hopping along its back with glee.
Elephant then stuck its nose into the river and sucked what was left of all of its water, mud, and sediment... leaving croc and toad high and dry.
With one full blow of its trunk, the elephant sprayed croc and toad, completely.
To this day, this is why croc and toad are not bright green anymore. They're just muddy looking. And our pug nose elephant has a hose for a nose!

- Pam Steadman