Krishna and the Pot of Butter

Told in English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Spanish, French, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese.

Come sit with me, sweetheart, and let me tell you about the naughtiest, most lovable little boy who ever lived. In a small town called Gokul, there was a baby named Krishna who loved butter more than anything else in the whole wide world. Every single day, his mother Yashoda would hang a fresh pot of butter high, high up from the ceiling, way out of reach of his little hands.

But guess what clever little Krishna did? He'd call all his friends over, and together they'd climb on top of each other's shoulders, forming a wobbly little tower of children, until the topmost one could just barely reach up and grab the pot! Can you imagine that little tower of giggling children?

The mothers of Gokul would pretend to be ever so cross. They'd tie a rope gently around his waist and scold him — but oh, my dear, one look at his mischievous, butter-smeared smile, and their hearts would melt like, well, butter! Even when he was caught red-handed, with butter smudged all over his little cheeks, Krishna would look up with big innocent eyes and say, 'It wasn't me!' And everyone in Gokul loved him anyway, because underneath all that mischief was the purest, most loving heart. Even today, all across India, children dress up as baby Krishna and play his butter-stealing game every single year. Isn't that wonderful?