Moonlit Indian Tales

Tonight’s bedtime story is about Gilu, a very small squirrel with a very big idea. Rama and his friends need to cross the sea to reach Lanka, so Hanuman and the monkeys build a bridge out of stones. Everyone says Gilu is too small to help, but she finds a way, one roll in the sand at a time.

A cozy Dussehra story about how every little helper counts, for ages 3 to 8.

Tonight’s bedtime story is about Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, and a promise that sent them to live in the forest. Rama’s father the king has made an old promise, and Rama keeps it, even though it means leaving home for fourteen years. Then the ten-headed king Ravana takes Sita away, and the long journey to Lanka begins. This is the start of the story we remember on Dussehra.

A gentle story about keeping your word, for ages 3 to 8.

Mira loves to dance, but only when no one is watching. On the eighth night of Navratri a storm silences the drums, and she must choose whether to stay hidden or step into the rain and dance for everyone.

The lamp is the Goddess, and the dance is how we say thank you and keep her close. It ends with the tenth day, the day Durga wins, which leads straight into Dussehra.

The origin of Navratri!

A big, loud bully named Mahishasura won’t stop scaring everyone, and no god can stop him. So they all give a little of their light, and together it becomes Durga. She fights him for nine nights. Nav means nine and Ratri means nights. And that's how we came to celebrate Navratri i.e. Nine Nights.

Emperor Akbar sets a challenge for his entire court: cover him from head to toe with one small piece of cloth. Every courtier fails, until Birbal steps forward with a beautifully simple solution.

A kind merchant gives a limping stranger a ride on his horse, only for the stranger to claim the horse is his! In the royal stables, Birbal lets the horse decide who the true owner is.

A kind poet performs his very best verses for a stingy merchant and is rewarded with nothing but empty promises. Birbal's delicious plan for justice involves a grand feast... with no food at all.

When Akbar trips over a stone and sentences his loyal gardener to death in a fit of rage, Birbal comes up with the most surprising plan to save him by making things worse first.

Emperor Akbar is sure his subjects love him. Birbal isn't so sure. A simple tub of milk — and one very revealing night — is all it takes to settle the debate once and for all.

A thief is hiding among a merchant's employees, and Birbal has a plan to catch him — using nothing but a handful of ordinary wooden sticks and a clever trick of the mind.