"Sometimes we need stories more than food to stay alive." This saying is especially applicable to this collection of stories from ancient Indian epics and the Puranas.

Culled from various time periods, the stories all teach us that we should never be disheartened under whatever circumstances may befall us, for the simple reason that things are bound to change for the better.

Swami Sunirmalananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order. He served as editor of Prabuddha Bharata, and English monthly of the Ramakrishna Order.