There was once a king who had three stupid sons. A learned man visited the kingdom and offered to teach the boys the true qualities of kings-kindness, bravery and a sense of justice. He told them one story a day, and these became known as the well-loved Panchatantra tales.

Gulzar turns these stories into story-poems, to be read aloud or enjoyed alone. He describes how a rabbit outwits a hungry lion, and tells us why a girl married a mouse. There is a story about a mosquito who was an unwelcome quest, and another about the foolish donkey who could not stop singing.

Content - Preface, This is How the Panchatantra Began, The Mouse and the Girl, A Fool's Friendship, A Name Must Be Earned, A Pot of Halwa, Lies Cannot Run!, The Mongoose Pet, Put it Together, Piece by Piece, The Donkey, Uff, What an Ass He Is!, Who Shall Satisfy the Lion's Hunger?, The Scale, Even Imitation Needs Intelligence, Do What You Know to be Right, Don't Bring Trouble Home