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Aesop’s Fables or Aesopica is a collection of stories originally told by Aesop, a Greek slave and storyteller. Written over two millennia ago, the fables bring alive the most enduring tradition of European culture. For years the fables have continued to be one of the timeless stories for children. Despite being passed from one generation to the other across the timeline, the stories have not lost their relevance.

‘Gulliver’s Travels’ by Jonathan Swift is a masterpiece story. The book enjoys a unique status in the English literature as a travelogue, children’s storybook, a satire on the political state of affairs during the eighteenth-century England – the accolades, connectivity are endless. In short, Jonathan Swift’s classic is ageless, an all-time entertainer for the old and young at heart.

Happy Moments with Tenali is a collection of popular short stories about the well-known court jester from South India, Tenali Raman. Born in a Telgu family, Tenali Ramakrishna was one of the ashtadiggajas in the court of King Krishna Deva Raya. Though, there have been many court jesters who were known for their extraordinary sense of humour, Tenali Raman continues to be one of the top court jesters of India.

He lived peacefully with his wife Shaivya and son Rohitashva in his kingdom Ayodhya. But suddenly he fell prey to a terrible misfortune. The truthful King had to give away his kingdom and to sell his family to fulfil a promise he had made to the sage Vishwamitra. Mahatma Gandhi was deeply influenced by the virtues of telling the truth when he watched the play of King Harishchandra in his childhood days.

This book is a part of the AUP Mythology Series. Kumbhakarna is a highly interesting character in the Ramayana. He was the devil brother of Ravana, the King of Lanka. Kumbha means a kind of water pot; Karna means ear.

“Puss in Boots” is the story of one of the cleverest cats in the history of fairy-tales. Though different versions of the story can be found in almost all parts of the world, the current version of the tale was written by Charles Perrault in 1697 and was based on an Italian folk-tale. Perrault is also the author of such all-time favourites such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, etc.

“All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn”, said Ernest Hemingway speaking about the great American classic by Mark Twain. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written as a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which itself is considered as one of the greatest American classics. It tells the story of Tom Sawyer’s friend Huck and the runaway slave Jim, and their exciting adventure as they travel down the Mississippi River.

One of the best loved books of Mark Twain, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is acknowledged as one of the greatest pieces of American fiction and is as popular today as it was when first published in 1876. Set in St. Petersburg, Missouri, Tom Sawyer is an exuberant tale of youthful adventures, and recounts the escapades of Tom and his friend Huckleberry Finn.

The story revolves around Antonio, the merchant of Venice. Antonio borrows money from Shylock, the Jewish moneylender, in order to help his friend Bassanio to woo Portia, a rich heiress of Belmont. Shylock agrees to give the money without interest but makes a condition that if the loan is not repaid in three months, he will exact a pound of flesh from the merchant. Antonio agrees. He is confident that his ships will return in time.

The story of Pinocchio the walking talking puppet is amongst one of the most popular children stories of all time written by Carlos colloid in 1883 it had originally appeared in serialized form in an Italia children newspaper under the title the adventures of Pinocchio

‘The Ugly Duckling’, a popular fairy-tale, was written by Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published in 1843 as a part of a collection of stories titled New Fairy Tales and became instantly popular. It is a heart-warming story about a little duckling born in a farmyard whom no one loves because he is ugly.