Story of the Flea and the Bug
Once upon a time, lived a king who had a very beautifully decorated bedroom. It was decorated with shining lights, colourful curtains, and soft silk sheets that went rustle rustle when he lay down.
Once the king was fast asleep on the soft silk bed and everything went quite in the bedroom.
Only the curtains moved gently swish…swish as the wind blew.
Hidden deep in the mattress lived a little flea named Mandavisarpini. Every night she would gently creep towards the king and sip his blood sip… sip… so carefully that the king never felt the fleas’ bite and slept peacefully zzz… zzz…
One day, an uninvited guest arrived – a greedy bug named Agnimukha.
“Hello there!” said the bug, bouncing on the soft bed boing boing!
“I smell royal blood sniff sniff! I have tasted all types of blood so far. But I have never tasted the kings blood. I think it will be very tasty. Let me taste it!”
The flea frowned. “The king is very sensitive. You must be patient. You must wait for the king to be fast asleep before you bite. Promise me you will not bite too hard and wake him up!”
The bug agreed, ” I will be careful. The king will not even feel my bite.”
While they were talking, the king entered the room. He looked tired and lay down on the soft bed to get some good sleep.
The greedy bug licked his lips—slurp! “I cannot wait! I’m starving”
The flea whispered, “Wait!!!! Let the king fall asleep.”
But the foolish bug couldn’t control himself. His mouth was watering. He jumped and bit the king hard!
“OUCH!” shouted the king. He jumped up, slapping smack! smack! “Something bit me!”
Servants rushed in.
“Search the bed! Find the insect” the king cried…rustle! flip! thud!
The sneaky bug quickly escaped – hiding safely in a corner of the bed.
But the poor flea, who had done nothing wrong, was caught between the folds of the sheet.
The servants found it and squish! she was crushed.
By then, it was too late for the flea to learn an important lesson.
Bad company can get you into trouble. So, do not trust strangers too quickly and choose your friends wisely.
The flea might have survived if she had not blindly trusted that the bug would follow her advice.
If she had been more careful of strangers, she could have escaped early and avoided being caught by the servants.
Moral of the Story:
Beware of foolish friends. Their actions can bring you trouble.
Take a look at the engaging Panchatantra storybooks listed below, if you want to buy a physical book for your kid.
