Emma's stories
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Emma had kept her secret for so long, letting it grow in her heart. But the secret was so big, she knew she couldn’t keep it inside much longer. She wanted to show people how beautiful it was, like Heaven on Earth, but she wasn’t sure how.
At first she noticed the secret trying to get out when she began smiling at everyone, and they smiled back. Oh, that felt good. So she did it some more. Then she saw her secret working its way out when she talked to people in the grocery store, or on the school playground, or in the neighborhood. She’d say simple things to them like, “Nice weather,” or “I like your baby,” or “Where’d you get those cool shoes?” And they would answer with simple “Yes it is,” or “Thank you,” or “At Penney’s. They’re real comfortable too.” She found that being friendly to others made them friendly to her. Next she tried telling some of her best jokes to someone she thought might need a good laugh. Then she would get to laugh along with them. And she made and sent cards to people she thought might enjoy some mail. These were things she’d appreciate from others herself. Then she’d use her imagination to pretend to be a bird, flitting on her tiptoes down the sidewalk, singing happy songs. She liked the way the breeze brushed against her body. Next she tried being a puppy and explored the walking trail in the city park, looking under bushes and growling at squirrels. She would write silly stories in her notebook and paint watercolor pictures on a tablet to make herself smile. Then she would neatly tear them out and give them to her friends. Her secret was getting out. She was sharing her happiness with others. At first she was a little afraid she might run out of good feelings for herself, but what she soon discovered was it was quickly being refilled as others shared their happiness with her. |
Greedy Boy
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There lived a twin brother called Sam and Tom! They were identical twins, even their mother found it too hard to differentiate between them during the initial months of birth. However, they were like two poles when it comes to everything other than their appearance. They neither agree with anything nor do they share even one single trait!
Sam had no friends, whereas for Tom the world was friendship. Sam loved sweets and Tom loved to eat spicy foods. Sam was mommy’s pet and Tom was daddy’s pet. While Sam was generous, Tom was greedy! As they grew up, their father wanted to share his fortune equally. However, Tom did not agree and he argued that whoever is more intelligent and strong, will gain higher share of wealth than other. Sam agreed. Their father decided to organize a competition between the two. And they ordered the two sons to walk as long as they can in and they should return home before the sunset. Whoever covers the longer distance and returns home before sunset will get huge amount of wealth proportionate to the distance they covered. They don’t carry watch to calculate time. Both started to walk a long way during a sunny day. Sam walked slowly and steadily, while Tom urged to win over Sam started to run instantly. The distance they cover until mid-noon will be equal to the distance they would reach home before sunset. It was mid-noon and Sam decided to return back as he could reach home on time. However, Tom, with his greediness to earn more wealth, did not turn his way back home even after mid-noon. He walked two times longer distance that what Sam was covered and decided to return back before the sunset. He urged to return home as the Sun turned orange in the evening. Unfortunately, he could not even make half way to home and the moon rises. He lost the race and was defeated because of greediness! |
Friends
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Bunny rabbit lived in the forest. He had many friends. He was proud of his friends.
One day Bunny rabbit heard the loud barking of the wild dogs. He was very scared. He decided to ask for help. He quickly went to his friend deer. He said: “Dear friend, some wild dogs are chasing me. Can you chase them away with your sharp antlers?” Dear said: “That is right, I can. But now I am busy. Why don’t you ask bear for help?” Bunny rabbit ran to the bear. “My dear friend you are very strong, please help me. Some wild dogs are after me. Please chase them away,” he requested the bear. Bear replied: “I am sorry. I am hungry and tired. I need to find some food. Please ask the monkey for help”. Poor Bunny went to the monkey, elephant, goat and all his friends. Bunny felt sad that nobody was ready to help him. He understood that he has to think of a way out. He hid under a bush. He lay still the wild dogs went their way. |
True Wealth
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Once upon a time, there lived a very rich and wealthy man in a big town. He had all sorts of wealth and led a luxurious life. He had every luxury at his footstep and could afford to feed for the entire people of his town. He always boasted his luxurious life to his friends and relatives.
His son was studying in a distant place and he returned home for vacation. The rich man wanted to show off to his son how rich his father was and how he made him very proud. But his son wasn’t ever fond of any luxurious lifestyle. However, the rich man wanted to make his son realize that his lifestyle was extremely rich and how the poor people did suffer. He planned for a day visit to the entire town to show him off the life of the poor people. The father and the son took a chariot and visited the entire town. They returned home after two days. The father was happy that his son was very quiet after seeing the poor people honouring the rich man and after seeing the sufferings of the poor ones due to lack of facilities. The rich man asked his son, ‘Dear boy, how was the trip? Have you enjoyed it?’ ‘Yes my dad, it was a great trip with you.’ The son replied. So, what did you learn from the trip? – The Father asked. The son was silent. Finally you have realized how the poor suffer and how they actually are – said the father. No father – replied the son. He added, ‘We have only two dogs, they have 10 dogs. We have a big pool in our garden, but they have a massive bay without any ends! We have luxurious and expensive lights imported from various countries, but they have countless stars lighting their nights. We have a house in a small piece of land, but they have abundant fields that go beyond the sight. We are served by servants, but they serve people. We are protected by huge and strong walls around our property, but they bond with each other and surround themselves. We only buy food from them, but they are so rich to cultivate their own food.’ The rich father was stunned to hear his son’s words and he was completely speechless. Finally the son added, ‘Dad thank you so much for showing me who is rich and who is poor and let me understand how poor we are!’ True wealth is not measured by money and property we have! It is in the friendship, relationship and good compassion we share with the others. |
Money Can’t Buy Everything
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Nick is a 10 year old boy. He is the only son to his parents. His father is a busy business man and he could hardly spend time with his son. Nick’s father would reach after he sleeps and move out before he wakes up or will sleep until he leaves for school. Hardly, his father would accompany him or join with family. Just like any other boy, Nick wanted to go outdoors with his father and have fun.
One day, Nick was surprised to see his father at home in the evening. “Dad, it is a big surprise to see you at home”. – Nick said “Yes, son my meeting was cancelled and my next flight is delayed by 2 hours. So I’m at home”. – His father replied. The conversation between Nick and father: Dad, I want to talk to you and ask you a few questions. May I please? Yes, my dear son, please proceed. When will you be back? Tomorrow noon! Dad, how much do you earn a year? Dear, it’s a very big amount and you won’t be able to understand it. Ok dad, are you happy with the amount you earn? Yes my dear. I’m very happy and in fact I’m planning to launch our new branch and a new business in a few months. Isn’t that great sweet boy? Yes, dad. I’m happy to hear that. So, do you have any other questions Nick? Yes, father, I do have only one more question. Ask me then! Dad, you don’t want to tell me how much you earn a year or a month. But can you tell me what you earn a day or even half a day? Nick, what are you asking? Don’t you have all the luxury provided to you? No dad, you have always given the best to me, but please answer me. It would be really nice if you can tell me how much you earn in an hour? Nick, this is not fair and you should be questioning your father about his income. Nick asked his mummy to support him. Nick and his mom requested to answer his hourly income, if not the daily income. Nick’s father replied, it will be around Rs.1000/- per hour. Nick ran to his room in the upstairs and reached down carrying a piggy bank with him. Dad, I have Rs.3000/- in this box. Can you spare me three hours with me? I want to go to beach and have dinner with you tomorrow evening. Can you please mark this in your schedule? Nick’s father was speechless! Running behind money makes children deprived of love and care from parents. Money can’t buy everything! |
Health is Wealth
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Once upon a time, there lived a generous and kind-hearted king. But, the people weren’t happy with their king. Because, the king was too lazy and would not do anything other than eating and sleeping.
He spent days and weeks and months in his bed either eating something or sleeping. He almost became inactive. The king became a potato couch and the people started to worry about the king. One day he realized that he couldn’t even move his body, unable to move his foot. He became very fat and his enemies made fun of him ‘fatty king’, ‘bulky king’ etc. He invited specialized doctors from various parts of his country and offered them generous rewards to make him fit. Unfortunately, none could help the king gain his health and fitness. Since the king was very cordial to his fellow people, many suggested renowned doctors to help him. He spent enormously but everything went in vain. One fine morning, a holy man, (Rishi) visited the region of the King. He heard about the ill-health of the king and told the minister to meet him at his place. When the minister met him, he informed the minister that he could easily cure the king. Hearing these promising words, the minister became very happy. He requested the king to meet the holy man to get rid of the ill health. The holy man resided at a distant place. Since the king could not move his body, the fatty king asked the minister to bring the holy man to the palace, but the holy man refused and ordered to come to meet him. After strenuous efforts, the king met the holy man. The holy man encouraged him and said he was good and very soon the king would gain his health. He asked the king to come for treatment every day from the next day of visit. Also the holy man told the king that he would treat the king only if he came on foot to his place. The King was unable to walk even a few steps on the road, but accompanied by his followers, he reached the holy man’s place. Unfortunately, the holy man was not available there and his devotee requested the king to come and meet him the next day for treatment. This was repeated for two weeks and the king never met the holy man, never had any treatment. Suddenly, the king realized that he felt a lot lighter, lost considerable amount of weight and felt more active than before. He realized the reason why the holy man asked him to reach his place by walking. Very soon, the king regained his health, and the people were very happy in his kingdom. The King had a lot of wealth, but no amount of wealth could make him healthy. Health is Wealth! |
Real Vs Fake
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Minnu is a sweet, lovable and beautiful girl, aged six years. She is an adorable kid as she obeys every word of the elders. Minnu’s parents loved her for her amazing behaviour.
One day her mother took her to grocery shopping. As they passed the shops, Minnu noted a cute plastic pearl necklace in dazzling pink! She asked her mother to buy her the necklace. Her mother told her it cost a few pennies and she asked her to do some chores, so that for every completed work Minnu will get some money and she could buy the pink necklace. Minnu prepared a to-do list and assisted her mom with all the chores. Her mom was so happy and she paid enough money to buy the pink necklace. Minnu happily purchased the desired necklace and wore it just everywhere, every time, except while taking bath. Her mom told that her neck would turn pink and the pearls would lose its sheen if she wore it while bathing. She wore it even while sleeping. Minnu was known for her kindness and respect to elders. Her dad wanted to play with her. Her daddy used to tell her bed time stories frequently. One day, after completing a story, her dad asked how much she loved him. Minnu replied, ‘you know how much I love you’. Dad asked, ‘Then give me your pearl necklace please!’ Minnu replied, ‘Please daddy, I love you so much but please don’t ask pearls. I will give you the pink Barbie which you bought me a month ago.’ Dad replied, ‘Fine sweetheart.’ and left. After a few days, the same conversation was held between Minnu and her dad. Again, Minnu refused to give her pearl necklace and instead asked her dad to take her pet. Dad kissed her and left with smile. This conversation was repeated several times. One day, she slept while her dad was reading her a story. As he was about to leave her room, Minnu in her sleep, said, ‘Here dad, please don’t take the pearl necklace.’ She was holding the necklace in her hands. Her dad with a big smile gently without disturbing her sleep, took off the pearl necklace from her hand. The next moment, she woke up and asked, ‘Dad what are you doing?’ Dad replied, ‘darling your pearl necklace had fallen on the floor, I was just picking!’ Dad, by hiding the plastic necklace taken by Minnu’s hand, immediately opened the jewel box placed near her bed and handed over the real and precious pink pearl necklace to Minnu, and said, ‘Sweetheart, here is your necklace!’ She replied, ‘Thank you dad!’ Minnu’s dad had been trying for a long time to make her give up the cheap pearl necklace for the real one. Finally, she gave-up fake and grabbed the real one. God wants us to give up all those fake and cheap things we hold very preciously in our life. It can be habits, hatreds, harming relationships, activities, negative thoughts, etc. He will provide us genuine things to give up the fake! |
Think Before You Speak
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It was a sunny day, but the climate was enjoyable. Everyone in the railway station was waiting for the train to arrive. Among the crowd, there was a group of friends, youngsters who were on board for vacation.
It was a busy station with juice shop, mobile restaurants, coffee and tea stalls, newspaper shop, restaurants, etc. The announcement regarding the arrival of the train was made and everyone prepared to get into the train to their appropriate places. The group of friends made loud noise to welcome the train as it entered the station. They ran to get their reserved seats before anyone could get into the train. The empty seats were filled and the train whistled to move. An old man with a young boy aged around 15 years came running to catch the train. They entered the train and the train started to move. They had their seats just adjacent to the friends’ group. The young boy was so surprised to see everything. He acclaimed at his father, ‘Dad, the train is moving and the things are moving backwards.’ His father smiled and nodded his head. As the train started moving fast, the young boy again screamed, ‘Dad the trees are green in colour and run backward very fast.’ His father said, ‘Yes dear’ and smiled. Just like a kid, he was watching everything with great enthusiasm and happiness loaded with tons of surprises. A fruit seller passed selling apples and oranges. The young boy asked his dad, ‘I want to eat apples.’ His father bought him apples. He said, ‘Oh apple looks so sweet than it tastes’ I love this colour.’ The group was watching all the activities of this boy and asked the boy’s father ‘Is your son having any problem? Why is he behaving very differently?’ A friend from the group made fun of him and shouted, ‘His son is mad I think.’ The father of the young boy, with patience, replied to the friend-group. ‘My son was born blind. Only a few days before he was operated and got the vision. He is seeing various things in his life for the first time.’ The young friends became very quiet and apologized to his father and son. Think Before You Speak |
Real Solution to Problems
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A group of employees was working in a software company. It was a team of 30 employees. This was a young, energetic and dynamic team with keen enthusiasm and desire to learn and grow. The management decided to teach the employees about finding real solution to the problems.
The team was called to play a game in a banquet hall. The group was quite surprised as they were called for playing game. All reached the venue holding various thoughts. As they entered the hall, they found the hall decorated beautifully with colourful decorative papers and balloons all over the place. It was more like a kid’s play area, than a corporate meeting hall. Everyone was surprised and gazed at each other. Also, there was a huge box of balloons placed at the centre of the hall. The team leader asked everyone to pick a balloon from the box and asked them to blow it. Every one happily picked a balloon and blew it. Then the team leader asked them to write their names on their balloon, carefully so that the balloons didn’t blow up. All tried to write their names on the balloons, but not everyone was successful. A few balloons blew up due to pressure and they were given another chance to use another balloon. Those who failed to mark their names even after the second chance were ruled out of the game. After the second chance, 25 employees were qualified for the next level. All the balloons were collected and then put into a room. The team leader announced the employees to go to the room and pick the same balloon that had his name on it. Also, he told them that no balloon should blow up and warned them to be very careful! All 25 employees reached the room, where the balloons carrying their names were thrown here and there. They were searching for the respective balloons carrying their names. While they were in a rush to find the respective balloons, they tried not to burst the balloons. It was almost 15 minutes and no one was able to find the balloon carrying his own name. The team was told that the second level of the game was over. Now it is the third and final level. They asked the employees to pick any balloon in the room and give it to the person named on the balloon. Within a couple of minutes all balloons reached the hands of the respective employee and everyone reached the hall. The team leader announced; this is called real solutions to the problems. Everyone is frantically hunting for solutions to the problems without understanding the ideal ways. Many times, sharing and helping others give you real solutions to all problems. Help out each other to ease things. |
Sand and Stone
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John and James were best friends. They fought for many reasons and but never gave up their friendship. They went in search of a job and visited many places to earn more money. They passed through various places, villages, towns, forests, beaches, and were supporting each other all the way through out their journey.
One day they reached a desert and they had a very little food and water. John told James to eat half the quantity of food and then once they get very tired and feel like they cannot make a step they can eat another half and save water for later use. However, James disagreed. He wanted to drink water as he was very thirsty. They quarrelled each other to have water. John slapped James and they walked in silence. They decided to have food and continue their journey. James wrote in sand, ‘My best friend slapped me!’ They shared the meagre amount of food and water and finally reached an oasis. They were very tired after passing through the dry and hot desert. James was so happy to see the oasis and had a lot of fun in the water. While they both were bathing, James was a bit careless and began to drown. John rushed to him and saved James. James hugged his friend and thanked him. They had a little nap and decided to leave the place. They were about to leave and James carved something on the rock. It was ‘My best friend saved my life!’ John asked ‘why you were marking all these here James?’ James replied, ‘You slapped me, I wrote in sand. It was definitely not good. However, if you go and see the sand you can find no letter wrote on the sand. Now I carved the good thing on the stone, and it will remain forever!’ We have to forget the bad things done to us and engrave the good things in the stone. |
A Glass of Milk
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There was a poor boy who made a living with selling various objects door to door, to pay for his school. He was very hungry and felt he couldn’t walk even a few steps. He decided to ask for food at a house. He knocked the door and was stunned to see a beautiful young girl at the door step. With so much hesitation, in spite of his hunger, he asked the girl to offer a glass of water.
The young girl understood his hunger through his eyes and offered him milk in a huge glass. With astonished look he drank the milk very slowly. And asked how much I owe you for this milk? The girl replied ‘I don’t accept anything for kindness.’ With big smile in his face, the boy thanked the girl from the bottom of his heart and left the place. Years passed by. The young girl fell ill and was diagnosed with the rarest kind of nervous condition, which was a complicated condition to treat. While many experienced doctors baffled at her condition, she was taken to a big hospital to study about her condition. Dr. Kevin, a renowned specialist was called in by the hospital to examine her. He gave a visit to the hospital where she was admitted to learn about the rare condition. As he entered her room, Dr. Kevin immediately identified who that woman was! With all his efforts and knowledge, Dr.Kevin battled hardly with the disease for weeks and months. At last, he won over the disease and the woman was completely cured. Everyone praised the doctor, while the woman was quite afraid about the hospital bill as she could not afford to pay. Dr. Kevin asked the hospital to send the bill to him as he would add his charges. After receiving the hospital bill, he wrote a note and sent it to her. With lots of fear, she opened the bill and had no idea how much she was charged. Her eyes filled with tears and happiness once she opened the bill. She found the bill cancelled and that was not the reason for her happiness. She saw the note written by Dr.Kevin - “Bill Paid years ago with a glass of milk!” |
Foolish Monkeys
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Before several centuries, there was a very large, dense and dark forest. A group of monkeys arrived at the forest. It was winter season, and the monkeys struggled hard to survive the freezing cold nights. They were hunting for fire to get warm.
One night, they saw a firefly and considered it a dab of fire. All the monkeys in the group shouted ‘Fire, Fire, Fire, Yeah we got fire!’ A couple of monkeys tried to catch the firefly and it escaped. They were sad as they could not catch the fire. They were talking to themselves that they couldn’t live in the cold if they didn’t get the fire. The next night, again they saw many fireflies. After several attempts, the monkeys caught a few fireflies. They put the fireflies in a hole dug in the land and tried to blow the flies. They blew the flies very hard without knowing the fact that they were flies! An owl was watching the activities of the monkeys. The owl reached the monkeys and told them, ‘Hey those are not fire! They are flies. You won’t be able to make fire from it!’ The monkeys laughed at the owl. One monkey replied the owl, ‘Hey old owl you don’t know anything about how to make fire. Don’t disturb us!’ The Owl warned the monkeys again and asked them to stop their foolish act. ‘Monkeys, you cannot make fire from the flies! Please hear my words.’ The monkeys tried to make fire from the flies. The Owl told them again to stop their foolish act. ‘You are struggling so much, go take your shelter in a nearby cave. You can save yourself from the freezing cold! You won’t get fire!’ One monkey shouted at the owl and the owl left the place. The monkeys were simply doing the foolish activity for several hours and it was almost midnight. They were very tired and realized that the words of the owl were correct and they were trying to blow a fly. They sheltered themselves at the cave and escaped from the cold. We may go wrong many times and should seek and accept the advice / suggestions provided by others. |
Change Yourself and not The World
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Long ago, people happily lived under the rule of a king. The people of the kingdom were very happy as they had a very prosperous life with abundance of wealth and no misfortunes.
The king decided to go on a travel to visit places of historical importance and pilgrim centres at distant places. He decided to travel by foot to interact with his people and accompany them. People of distant places were so happy to have a conversation with their king and they were proud that their king was so kind with a good heart! After several weeks, he returned to the palace. He was quite happy that he visited many pilgrim centres and could see his fellow people leading a propitious life. However, he had regret. He had intolerable pain in his feet as it was his first trip by foot to longer distance. He complained to his ministers that the roads weren’t comfortable and were very stony. He could not tolerate the pain as he walked all the way through the rough path. He said he was very much worried about the people who used to walk along those roads as it would be painful for them too! He made an order to cover the road of the whole country with leather so that people might feel comfortable, immediately. The king thought that he had to change this for the betterment and happiness of the people. His ministers were stunned to hear his order as it would destroy the life of thousands of cows to get the sufficient quantity of leather and it would cost a huge amount of money also. A wise man from the ministry came to the king and said that he had another idea. The king asked - what was his alternative idea. The minister told, ‘Why do you want to kill the holy animal cow to cover the road with leather? Rather, you can just have a piece of leather cut in appropriate shape to cover your feet?’ The king was very much surprised by his suggestion and applauded the minister. He ordered for a pair of leather shoes for him and requested the countrymen to wear shoes. Many of us criticize the world for many things. We curse and blame the things in our surroundings and never understand that we need a change in us. Changes are inevitable in the world, and the changes should be from us. We cannot or should not force others to make a change. |
Gold Coins and a Selfish Man
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Sam was a greedy and a selfish man. He always desired to have lots and lots of wealth and never hesitated to cheat others to earn money. Also, he never wished to share anything with the others. He was so selfish that he would like to own everything for himself.
The selfish man used to calculate each and every small aspect. He paid a very little amount of wages to his servants. Where ever he went, he calculated a lot to save money by deceiving others. He also told a lot of lies to protect his wealth. Simply, Sam was the antonym for the word; HONESTY. However, he was taught a nice lesson by his own act. One day, he missed a small bag, which contained 50 gold coins. He was searching for the bag of gold coins day and night. He sent his workers in search of the bag, but none could find it. He told his friends and neighbours that he had lost a bag of gold coins and requested them to inform if they found it. Sam was so sad that he had lost so many gold coins. After a couple of days, a ten year old girl, who was located near Sam’s house, told her father that she had found a small bag and it had 50 gold coins. Her father worked in Sam’s land. He told his daughter that it was his chief’s money and he had lost it before two days and added he would return the bag to his master. They weren’t very rich and the father could retain the gold coins with themselves and hide the fact of finding the bag. He was so honest that he should return the valuable coins to his master, who really owed it. He gave it back to his master Sam and asked him to check whether the bag had 50 gold coins. Sam who was literally happy to get the coins, decided to play a trick. He shouted at his worker, ‘There were 75 gold coins in this bag and you gave me only 50! Where are the other coins? You have stolen them!’ The worker was shocked to hear this and he pleaded to his master that he gave whatever his daughter had found. Selfish and greedy Sam did not accept it and they decided to take the issue to court to get the right judgment. The judge heard both the sides. He examined the daughter and the worker about the number of coins they had found in the bag and they assured it was only 50! He cross-examined Sam and Sam replied, ‘Yes lord, I had 75 gold coins in my bag and now they gave me only 50! They have stolen my 25 coins!’ Judge asked, ‘Are you sure you had 75 coins?’ and Sam nodded his head. Then the judge made his judgment, ‘Since Sam lost a bag of 75 gold coins, the bag found by the girl which had only 50 coins doesn’t belong to Sam and it was lost by somebody else. In addition, if anyone found a bag of 75 gold coins, I would declare it belongs to Sam. Also, there were no claims against the loss of 50 coins and I order the girl and his father to take those 50 coins as a token of appreciation for their honesty!’ Honesty is rewarded and greediness is punished! |
The Lion and the Mouse
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Once when a Lion was asleep, a little Mouse began running up and down upon him. This soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him and opened his big jaws to swallow him.
"Pardon, O King!" cried the little Mouse, "Forgive me this time. I shall never repeat it and I shall never forget your kindness. And who knows, but I may be able to do you a good turn one of these days?" The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Sometime later a few hunters captured the King and tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, ran up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "Was I not right?" said the little Mouse, very happy to help the Lion. MORAL: Little friends may prove great friends. |
Love and The Time Story
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Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.
Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment. When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?” Richness answered, “No, I can’t. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.” Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. “Vanity, please help me!” “I can’t help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered. Sadness was close by so Love asked, “Sadness, let me go with you.” “Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!” Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her. Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come, Love, I will take you.” It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, “Who Helped me?” “It was Time,” Knowledge answered. “Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?” Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is.” |
The Tree and the Travellers
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There was a big tree more than hundred years old located in the middle of a dry land. It gave rest and shelter to hundreds and thousands of travellers. The tree was located at the centre of four different towns, act as a connection point of all towns and villages in the nearby area. However, except the big old tree, there was no other tree that can offer rest to the people. The tree has a huge and broad trunk with innumerable branches which spread the shadow covering a wide space.
One day, two travellers were travelling from a distant place and tried to reach a town located at the east of the tree. They were walking for several miles on a hot and sunny day. They started their journey from early morning and it was almost mid noon. The sun was too hot and they could not walk anymore due to the heat. They were completely exhausted! Fortunately, they reached the place where the tree was located. They were very happy to see such a big tree with breezing wind. They decided to take rest under the tree. They slept for some time happily enjoying the soothing cool breeze of the tree. They felt hungry and one of the travellers decided to climb the branches to see whether the tree has any fruit. Since it is not a fruit-bearing tree, the traveller was disappointed. He started cursing the tree owing to his hunger. ‘Oh, this is just a useless tree and it has nothing to feed us, not even a fruit or even nuts! It is of no use!’ The other traveller composed him and asked him to stay cool. However, the traveller was so angry due to hunger and cursed the tree. The tree, which could not tolerate the cursing words of the traveller, in a sad yet strong voice, ‘You can’t be so ungrateful to me. Just look back at the condition when you reached here in the hot and dry sun! I offered you cool and comfortable place to rest and sleep with soothing breeze. If I’m not here when you are very tired you would have died now! I saved your life from the hot sun, but you humiliate me!’ The traveller realized his mistake and apologized to the tree. Every creation of God has innumerable benefits to the mankind. There is good in everything and we often fails to notice the good! Also, don’t badmouth the one who helped you. |
A Merchant and his Donkey
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One beautiful spring morning, a merchant loaded his donkey with bags of salt to go to the market in order to sell them. The merchant and his donkey were walking along together. They had not walked far when they reached a river on the road.
Unfortunately, the donkey slipped and fell into the river and noticed that the bags of salt loaded on his back became lighter. There was nothing the merchant could do, except return home where he loaded his donkey with more bags of salt. As they reached the slippery riverbank, now deliberately, the donkey fell into the river and wasted all the bags of salt on its back again. The merchant quickly discovered the donkey’s trick. He then returned home again but re-loaded his donkey with bags of sponges. The foolish, tricky donkey again set on its way. On reaching the river he again fell into the water. But instead of the load becoming lighter, it became heavier. The merchant laughed at him and said: “You foolish donkey, your trick had been discovered, you should know that, those who are too clever sometimes over reach themselves.” |
Cocoon and the Butterfly
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Many of us know that a beautiful and colourful butterfly comes from an unappealing worm! Here is the story of a butterfly that was never able to live a life like a butterfly!
One day, a man saw a cocoon. He loved butterflies and had a craze for its wonderful combination of colours. In fact, he used to spend a lot of time around butterflies. He knew how a butterfly would struggle to transform from an ugly caterpillar into a beautiful one. He saw a cocoon with tiny opening. It meant that the butterfly was trying to make its way to enjoy its world. He decided to sit over and watch how the butterfly would come out of the cocoon. He was watching the butterfly struggling to break the shell for several hours. He spent almost more than 10 hours with the cocoon and the butterfly. The butterfly had been struggling very hard for hours to come out through the tiny opening. Unfortunately, even after continuous attempts for several hours, there was no progress. It seemed that the butterfly tried its best and could not give any more try. The man, who had a passion and love for butterflies decided to help the butterfly. He got a pair of scissors and tweaked the cocoon to make larger opening for the butterfly and removed the remaining cocoon. The butterfly emerged without any struggle! Unfortunately, the butterfly looked no longer beautiful and had a swollen body with small and withered wings. The man was happy that he made the butterfly come out of the cocoon without any more struggles. He continued to watch the butterfly and he was quite eager to watch the butterfly fly with its beautiful wings. He thought that at any time, the butterfly might expand the wings, shrink the body and the wings could support the body. Unfortunately, neither the wings expanded or enlarged nor the swollen body reduced. Unfortunately, the butterfly just crawled around with withered wings and huge body. It was never able to fly all through its life. Although the man did it with good intention, only going through the struggles the butterfly would have emerged like any other beautiful butterflies! The continuous effort from the butterfly to come out of its cocoon would let the fluid stored in the body convert into wings. Thus, the body would become lighter and smaller and the wings would be beautiful and large. If we don’t want to undergo any struggle, we won’t be able to fly! Struggles make us shine! |
Three Sons and a Bundle of Sticks
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Once upon a time, an old man lived with his three sons in a village. All his three sons were hard workers. Still, none of them agreed with each other and quarrelled all the time. The old man tried a lot to unite them but he failed. While the villagers were surprised at their hard work and efforts, they also made fun of them on their fights.
Months passed by and the old man fell sick. He talked to his sons to stay united, but none of his sons heard his words. So, he decided to teach them a practical lesson so that they would shed off their differences and stay united. The old man called as his sons. He told them, ‘I will give you a bundle of sticks. Separate each stick and you will have to break each stick into pieces of two. The one who breaks the sticks quickly will be rewarded more.’ All sons agreed. The old man gave a bundle of 10 sticks to everyone of them and asked to break it into pieces. All the sons broke the sticks into pieces in minutes. And again they started to quarrel among themselves as who came first. The old man said, ‘Dear sons, the game is not over. Now I will give another bundle of sticks to all of you. You will have to break the sticks as a bundle, not as separate sticks.’ The sons agreed and began to break the bundle of sticks. Unfortunately, they could not break the bundle. They tried very hard but failed to complete the task. All sons said to the father about their failure. The old man replied, ‘Dear sons, See! You could easily break the single sticks into pieces, but you were not able to break the bundle! The sticks were same. So, if you stay united, nobody can make any harm to you. If you quarrel every time with your brothers, anyone can easily defeat you. I request you to stay united.’ The three sons understood the power of unity and promised their father that whatever be the problem, they would all stay together. Moral: Unity is Strength! |
