This is the story of the Elephant and the blind men. Only the men in this version are blindfolded. My kids joined me in the story telling.

nAnnA! puli! 

నాన్నా! పులి!

"The Boy who cried Wolf" 

In Telugu households, the story has a tiger instead of a wolf. 

putukku, jara jara, dubukku, mE

పుటుక్కు, జర జర, డుబుక్కు, మేఁ 

A thief unknowingly steps on a pumpkin vine and gets caught - the vine broke(పుటుక్కు), the pumpkin slid (జర జర)and fell on a goat (డుబుక్కు) and the goat screamed in panic(మేఁ ), waking the whole family.

Taught to me by my grandmother, I thought it was lost in print until I found it here.

Edu Chepala Katha 

ఏడు చేపల కథ

An interesting cause and effect story. Can you believe that a little kid messing with anthills kept the sun from drying up a fish?

Follow seven princes on their journey through an interesting sequence of events.

kaaki katha

కాకి కథ

Perhaps Aesops made this story popular. I bet he overheard it from a grandmother or grandfather entertaining a group of enchanted children on a summer afternoon in a Telugu hosehold. It is the story of a thirsty crow dropping pebbles in a jug to make the water rise up.

aikamatyam

ఐకమత్యం

Unity is strength. A bundle of sticks is hard to break while individula sticks may break easily. A father teaches this important lesson to his four sons literally.

kundelu - taabelu

కుందేలు, తాబేలు

"Slow and steady wins the race." Another popular story about how a slow but persistent tortoise wins its race with a proud though fast hare.

andani draakshapallu pullana

అందని ద్రాక్షపళ్ళు పుల్లన

"Don't be a sore loser", this story seems to say. It might be a comfort to think that what we do not have is actually not worth having. But it definitely clouds the truth. One can be content without diminishing the significance of something that is beyond one's means.