Stories with Morals

• A Hole in the Fence  Moral – Unkind words cause lasting damage: Let our words be kind and sweet.

• In a small village, a little boy lived with his father and mother. He was the only son.The parents of the little boy were very depressed due to his bad temper. The boy used to get angry very soon and taunt others with his words. His bad temper made him use words that hurt others. He scolded kids, neighbours and even his friends due to anger. His friends and neighbours avoided him, and his parents were really worried about him.
  His mother and father advised him many times to control his anger and develop kindness. Unfortunately, all their attempts failed. Finally, the boy’s father came up with an idea.
  One day, his father gave him a huge bag of nails. He asked his son to hammer one nail to the fence every time he became angry and lost his temper. The little boy found it amusing and accepted the task.
  Every time he lost his temper, he ran to the fence and hammered a nail. His anger drove him to hammer nails on the fence 30 times on the first day! After the next few days, the number of nails hammered on the fence was reduced to half. The little boy found it very difficult to hammer the nails and decided to control his temper.
  Gradually, the number of nails hammered to the fence was reduced and the day arrived when no nail was hammered! The boy did not lose his temper at all that day. For the next several days, he did not lose his temper, and so did not hammer any nail.
  Now, his father told him to remove the nails each time the boy controlled his anger. Several days passed and the boy was able to pull out most of the nails from the fence. However, there remained a few nails that he could not pull out.
  The boy told his father about it. The father appreciated him and asked him pointing to a hole, “What do you see there?”
  The boy replied, “a hole in the fence!”
  He told the boy, “The nails were your bad temper and they were hammered on people. You can remove the nails but the holes in the fence will remain. The fence will never look the same. It has scars all over. Some nails cannot even be pulled out. You can stab a man with a knife, and say sorry later, but the wound will remain there forever. Your bad temper and angry words were like that! Words are more painful than physical abuse! Use words for good purposes. Use them to grow relationships. Use them to show the love and kindness in your heart!”
  Moral – Unkind words cause lasting damage: Let our words be kind and sweet.
   

• A Merchant and his Donkey Moral –"You should know that you cannot fool anyone too many times.”

• One beautiful spring morning, a merchant loaded his donkey with bags of salt to go to the market, in order to sell the salt. The merchant and his donkey were walking along together. They had not walked far when they reached a river on the way.
  Unfortunately, the donkey slipped and fell into the river. As it scrambled up the bank of the river, it noticed that the bags of salt loaded on his back had become 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 again, the donkey fell into the river, this time deliberately. Thus the salt was wasted again.
  By now the merchant knew the donkey’s trick. He wanted to teach the animal a lesson. As he returned home the second time with the donkey, the merchant loaded bags of sponges on its back.
  The duo set out on their trip to the market a third time. On reaching the river, the donkey very cleverly fell into the water again. But now, instead of the load becoming lighter, it became heavier.
  The merchant laughed at the donkey and said, “You foolish donkey, your trick has been discovered. You should know that you cannot fool anyone too many times.”
   

• Cocoon and the Butterfly  Struggles make us shine!

• 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!

• Christmas Surprise 

• It was two days before Christmas. Harry, Cornelius, Monty and I were busy building a snowman when Fritz appeared with his little niece Emily and introduced her.
  “Emily is from the South and has never seen snow before,” Fritz told us. “She doesn’t know much about our winters.”
  It turned out that Emily didn’t know much about Christmas also. ”Who is Santa Claus, Waldo?” she asked me, shivering in the cold air.
  “Santa Claus,” I explained, “brings presents and toys to human children at Christmas time.”
  “Does he bring presents to animal children also?” Emily asked.
  “Well,” I said, “he hasn’t been around this part of the forest for many years. I guess he is too busy visiting all the human children to have much time left for animals.”
  “Do you think he will come if I write to him?” Emily asked.
  “I don’t think so,” said Monty. “I’ve never seen him, myself.”
  “Neither have I,” Harry added, shaking his head.
  “You see. Santa Claus is only for human children,” Fritz said to Emily. “So forget about the whole idea. Let’s go home now before you catch a cold.”
  Early the next morning I saw Emily pulling Fritz toward the mailbox.
  “I wrote a letter to Santa Claus,” she said, waving a large envelope, “and I asked him to come and bring me a present!”
  “Good luck!” I said. “But don’t get your hopes up too high. I don’t want you to be disappointed if he doesn’t come.”
  “He will – you’ll see!” Emily cried.
  Poor Emily, I thought. Christmas Day was tomorrow. She was setting herself up for a big disappointment. I was sure.
  Suddenly I had an idea. If Emily wanted to see Santa, she would, I decided.
  I quickly went to town and bought a few things for a surprise. I was very pleased with my idea and could hardly wait to see Emily’s eyes on Christmas morning!
  The next day, I got up very early to get ready. I put on the red Santa Claus suit that I had bought.
  I looked at myself in the mirror. I was delighted! Even my own mother wouldn’t have recognized me.
  I put on my boots and tried out a few Ho, Ho, Hos. Then off I went, carrying a present for Emily.
  When I was near Fritz’s house, I noticed many other tracks in the snow leading to his front door.
  I guessed Fritz was having a big Christmas party. It’s strange that I didn’t get an invitation, I thought. But it was Christmas, and Santa was always welcome on a day like that!
  Then I knocked.
  I could hear little Emily’s footsteps coming to the door.
  “Hi, Waldo!” Emily cried as she opened the door. “I’m so happy you could come too. We were expecting you. Please come in.”
  Expecting me? Waldo? How did she know it was me? Didn’t I look like Santa Claus?
  I didn’t even have the time to try out any of my Ho, Ho, Hos but followed her into the living room.
  There were Fritz, Monty, Cornelius, and Harry, sitting on the sofa and having tea. And each one was dressed up as Santa Claus!
  “We didn’t want Emily to be disappointed!” Monty explained.
  “I know, I know!” I said. “I thought of the same surprise. Merry Christmas to all of you!”
  Soon Emily opened all her presents. There was a beautiful jacket from Fritz, a pair of warm winter pants from Monty, a woolen cap from Harry, and mittens from Cornelius.
  Then Emily opened my gift. “Oh, red boots – my favorite color!” she said happily. “Let’s all go Short Stories - Christmas Surprise_Pic1outside and play in the snow. I won’t be cold now!” she added.
  Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door.
  “Who could that be?” asked Fritz. “Everybody is here already.”
  We cautiously went to the door.
  But by the time Fritz opened the door, the visitor had already left. We could see the back of his sleigh disappearing behind the snow-covered tops of the fir trees.
    “Santa Claus!” called Emily as loud as she could. But all we heard was a faint “Ho, ho, ho!”
  “Look, he brought me a present!” Emily said. She pointed to a beautiful red sled. Hanging from it was a label that read FOR EMILY FROM SANTA CLAUS.
  “I knew he would come! I knew it!” cried Emily as she danced around her new sled.
  This was certainly one of the best Christmas Days we had ever had! And Emily enjoyed riding on her special sled – pulled by five Santa Clauses!
  
  
  

  Change Yourself and Not the World Moral: Instead of trying to change the world, we should try to change ourselves.

• Long ago, people lived happily under the rule of a king. The people of the kingdom were very happy as they led a very prosperous life with an abundance of wealth and no misfortunes.
  Once, the king decided to go visiting places of historical importance and pilgrim centres at distant places. He decided to travel by foot to interact with his people. People of distant places were very happy to have a conversation with their king. They were proud that their king had a kind heart.
  After several weeks of travel, the king returned to the palace. He was quite happy that he had visited many pilgrim centres and witnessed his people leading a prosperous life. However, he had one regret.
  He had intolerable pain in his feet as it was his first trip by foot covering a long distance. He complained to his ministers that the roads weren’t comfortable and that they were very stony. He could not tolerate the pain. He said that he was very much worried about the people who had to walk along those roads as it would be painful for them too!
  Considering all this, he ordered his servants to cover the roads in the whole country with leather so that the people of his kingdom can walk comfortably.
  The king’s ministers were stunned to hear his order as it would mean that thousands of cows would have to be slaughtered in order to get sufficient quantity of leather. And it would cost a huge amount of money also.
  Finally, a wise man from the ministry came to the king and said that he had another idea. The king asked what the alternative was. The minister said, “Instead of covering the roads with leather, why don’t you 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 wisdom of the minister. He ordered a pair of leather shoes for himself and requested all his countrymen also to wear shoes.
  Moral: Instead of trying to change the world, we should try to change ourselves.
   

• Fools

  It was a cold and silent night. The weather was freezing. A group of monkeys were on a tree. They were clinging to its branches. One of the monkeys said, “I wish we could find some fire. It will help us to keep warm”.
  Suddenly they noticed a flock of fireflies. One of the young monkeys thought it was fire.
  He caught a firefly. He put it under a dry leaf and started blowing at it.
  Some other monkeys also joined in his effort.
  A sparrow came flying to its nest. The monkeys were sitting on the same tree. She noticed what they were doing. The sparrow laughed. She said, “Hey silly monkeys that is a firefly, not real fire”.
  The sparrow continued: “I think all of you should take shelter in a cave”. The monkeys did not listen to the sparrow. They continued to blow at our poor firefly.
  After some time the monkeys became very tired. Now they realized what the sparrow had said was correct.
  They set free the firefly and moved to a nearby cave.
   

• Fox who got cought in the tree trunk  Yes children, this is the result of doing something without thinking about it first.

• Once upon a time, there was a hungry fox that was looking for something to eat. He was very hungry. No matter how hard he tried, the fox could not find food. Finally he went to the edge of the forest and searched there for food. Suddenly he caught sight of a big tree with a hole in it.
  Inside the hole was a package. The hungry fox immediately thought that there might be food in it, and became very happy. He jumped into the hole. When he opened the package, he saw slices of bread, meat and fruit in it!
  An old woodcutter had placed the food in the tree trunk before he began to cut down trees in the forest. He was going to eat it for his lunch.
  The fox happily began to eat. After he finished eating, he felt thirsty and decided to leave the hole and drink some water from a nearby spring. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not get out of the hole. Do you know why? Yes, the fox had eaten so much food that he became too big to fit through the hole!
  The fox was very sad and upset. He told himself, “I wish I had thought a little before jumping into the hole.”
  Yes children, this is the result of doing something without thinking about it first.
   

• Friends  Moral: It is better to rely on yourself than depend on others.

• 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 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?”
  The deer 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 to the bear.
  The 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, the elephant, the goat and all his other friends. Bunny felt sad that nobody was ready to help him.
  He understood that he had to think of a way out by himself. He hid under a bush. He lay very still. The wild dogs did not find the bunny. They went chasing other animals.
  Bunny rabbit learnt that he had to learn to survive by himself, not depending on his unhelpful friends.
  Moral: It is better to rely on yourself than depend on others.

• Precious Coin and Generosity  We may have tons of wealth, but that doesn’t make us generous. Offering helping hand when we have nothing or very little wealth makes it more valuable.

• Mahatma Gandhi was on an expedition to collect funds from various cities and villages for Charkha Sangh. He went to several palaces and reached Orissa. He had organised a meeting in Orissa.
  He requested to offer funds for the Sangh and gave a speech. After the speech, a very old woman with bent back, faltered clothing, white hair, dry and shrunk skin got up. She was trying to reach the stage and requested the volunteers to allow her to reach Gandhi Ji. However, the volunteers stopped her, yet she fought with them and reached Gandhi Ji.
  She touched the feet of Gandhi Ji. Then she took out a copper coin kept in her folds of saree and placed the copper coin at his feet. The old lady left the stage.
  Gandhi Ji very carefully took the coin and placed it safely. The in-charge of the Sangh asked Gandhi Ji for the copper coins, but he refused to give it.
  “I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees for the Charkha Sangh,” the in-charge said laughingly “yet you won’t trust me with a copper coin.”
  Gandhi Ji said, “This copper coin is worth much more than those thousands” Gandhi Ji said. “If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two, it doesn’t mean much.”
  Yes, the coin was just the only thing that the poor old woman possessed. She did not even have proper clothes and seemed that she could not afford for good food, still gave everything she had. It was the greatest offer ever made. That is why Mahatma held the coin very preciously.
  We may have tons of wealth, but that doesn’t make us generous. Offering helping hand when we have nothing or very little wealth makes it more valuable.
   

• A Common Man  Respect is the foundation of love, and it is our duty to take care of our parents, when we get older and mature.

• Raj is a middle aged man. Although he was born in a poor family, he was raised well by his father and mother. His father owned a welding shop, and used to work for more than 12 hours a day, so that his family could lead a comfortable life.
  However, Raj’s father could not earn sufficient money to provide a decent life to his family. Raj was an average student in school, and used to score around 70 percent marks. Raj’s dream was to become a doctor. Since his marks weren’t very high, he could not get the desired course that he wanted to study. Instead, he joined a bachelor’s degree course, completed the course successfully, and got a job in a company.
  While his life was going on with no dramatic change, his father continued to work in his welding shop, so that he did not have to depend on Raj. After getting a permanent job, Raj’s parents wanted him to marry. He got married to a girl from his native town, and at the same time was also promoted in his job. After a few years, his wife gave birth to beautiful twin boys.
  Later, Raj began to earn a handsome salary, and started to live luxuriously. He bought a new house and a new car. Some of the luxuries were really unnecessary. Although his company provided him with a car, Raj purchased a new car!
  After an extravagant life that spanned almost 6 to 7 years, Raj was neither able to manage all the household expenses, nor pay for the children’s education and other basic necessities.
  It so happened that Raj’s father fell sick, and as a result, could not continue his work in the welding shop. He requested Raj to give some money for his treatment and other household expenses.
  Raj, who was already suffering from financial crisis, shouted at his parents and told them that he had no money to provide. He complained to his parents, “You never sent me to a big school. I was not provided with expensive clothes. You rarely fed me with my favorite food. I was not able to taste different varieties of food. When I got low marks you didn’t have enough money to provide me with private tuition, and it took me more than 10 years to get settled. Now, while I am again struggling for money, you are not doing anything to help me, but instead are a burden to me! So, please don’t come to me again.”
  His parents were left shattered.
  After a week, while Raj was on an official tour, he met a small boy aged about 10 years selling toys. The boy requested Raj to buy something. Raj asked the boy why he was selling toys instead of studying. The boy replied, “My father met with an accident a year ago and he lost one hand. He cannot work now. My mother works as a maid in a few houses. I’m helping my parents by selling these toys. I go to school in the morning, and sell toys in the evenings. I work for 3 hours a day and study at night!”
  Raj purchased a few toys from the little boy. He thought about what the boy had said. He realized that he had been wrong in the way he treated his parents. He had learnt a lesson from the small boy. At a very small age, this boy was helping his parents, but Raj, in order to meet the demands of his lavish lifestyle, had neglected his parents.
  So, what can we learn from Raj and this poor, small boy?
  Respect is the foundation of love, and it is our duty to take care of our parents, when we get older and mature.
   

• Greedy Boy  Greed leads to loss.

  Sam and Tom were identical twins. They were so identical that even their mother found it difficult to distinguish one from the other, at least during their initial days on earth.
  However, they were very different from each other when it came to everything other than their appearance. Sam had no friends, while Tom was a great friendship maker. Sam loved sweets, but Tom loved spicy food and detested sweets. Sam was mommy’s pet and Tom was daddy’s pet. While Sam was generous and selfless, Tom was greedy and selfish!
  As Sam and Tom grew up, their father wanted to share his fortune equally amongst them. However, Tom did not agree and he argued that whoever proved to be more intelligent and strong would have to get a bigger share of the wealth.
  Sam agreed. Their father decided to organize a competition between the two. He asked the two sons to walk as long as they could, and return home before sunset. The wealth would be divided in proportion to the distance covered. As a rule of the competition, they were not permitted to carry a watch to keep track of the time.
  The following day, Sam and Tom set out to walk. It was a rather sunny day. Sam walked slowly and steadily, while Tom broke into a sprint as he was bent on winning the race and also winning a greater portion of his father’s wealth.
  Sam knew that it would be ideal to walk as far as possible till noon and start for home at noon as it would take the same amount of time to walk back home. Knowing this, Sam decided to turn back for home at noon so as reach home on time.
  However, Tom, with his greed to earn more wealth, did not attempt to return home even after mid-noon. He walked twice as long as Sam, and thought he would still be able to return home before sunset. He hurried back when he saw the sun turn orange. Unfortunately, he could not even make it half way home as the sun started to set. Slowly darkness engulfed his path and he had to drag his tired feet back home.
  He had lost the race. Only because of his greed.
  Greed leads to loss.

• Parable of the Pencil   Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change.

• The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.
  “There are 5 things you need to know,” he told the pencil, “Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.”
  One: “You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand.”
  Two: “You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a betterpencil.”
  Three: “You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.”
  Four: “The most important part of you will always be what's inside.”
  And Five: “On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.”
  The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.
  Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.
  One: “You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God’s hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.”
  Two: “You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you’ll need it to become a stronger person.”
  Three: “You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.”
  Four: “The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside.”
  And Five: “On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.”
  Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.
  Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change.
   

• Love and Time 

• Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all 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 also passed 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 she owed to 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.”

• Strong or Weak Moral: Pride goes before a fall.

• here was a proud teak tree in the forest. He was tall and strong. There was a small herb next to the tree. The teak tree said, “I am very handsome and strong. No one can defeat me.” Hearing this, the herb replied, “Dear friend, too much pride is harmful. Even the strong will fall one day.”
  The teak ignored the herb’s words. He continued to praise himself.
  A strong wind blew. The teak stood firmly. Even when it rained, the teak stood strong by spreading its leaves.
  During these times, the herb bowed low. The teak made fun of the herb.
  One day, there was a storm in the forest. The herb bowed low. As usual, the teak did not want to bow.
  The storm kept growing stronger. The teak could no longer bear it. He felt his strength giving way.
  
  He tried his best to stand upright, but in the end, he fell down. That was the end of the proud tree.
  When everything was calm again, the herb stood straight. He looked around. He saw that the proud teak had fallen.
  Moral: Pride goes before a fall.
   

• Sand and Stone

• 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.

• The Ant and the Dove  One good turn begets another.

• One hot day, an ant was searching for some water. After walking around for some time, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water.
  She could have drowned if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly plucked a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up onto it. Soon, the leaf drifted to dry ground, and the ant jumped out. She was safe at last.
  Just at that time, a hunter nearby was about to throw his net over the dove, hoping to trap it.
  Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The dove was quick to fly away to safety.
  One good turn begets another.
   

• The Ant and the Grasshopper  MORAL: WORK TODAY AND YOU CAN REAP THE BENEFITS TOMORROW!

• One summer’s day, in a field, a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great effort an ear of corn he was taking to his nest.
  "Why don’t you come and chat with me," asked the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling your life away?"
  "I am helping to store up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and I recommend you to do the same."
  "Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper. "We have got plenty of food at present."
  But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
  When winter came, the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in summer.
  Then the Grasshopper knew...
  MORAL: WORK TODAY AND YOU CAN REAP THE BENEFITS TOMORROW!
   

• The Boy who cried 'Wolf'    We may not believe someone who often tells lies, even when he tells the truth.

• Once there was a shepherd boy who had to look after a flock of sheep. One day, he felt bored and decided to play a trick on the villagers. He shouted, “Help! Wolf! Wolf!”
  The villagers heard his cries and rushed out of the village to help the shepherd boy. When they reached him, they asked, “Where is the wolf?” The shepherd boy laughed loudly, “Ha, Ha, Ha! I fooled all of you.
  I was only playing a trick on you.”
  A few days later, the shepherd boy played this trick again. Again he cried, “Help! Help! Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the villagers rushed up the hill to help him and again they found that boy had tricked them. They were very angry with him for being so naughty. Then, some time later, a wolf went into the field. The wolf attacked one sheep, and then another and another. The shepherd boy ran towards the village shouting, “Help! Help! Wolf! Help! Somebody!”
  The villagers heard his cries but they laughed because they thought it was another trick. The boy ran to the nearest villager and said, “A wolf is attacking the sheep. I lied before, but this time it is true!”
  Finally, the villagers went to look. It was true. They could see the wolf running away and many dead sheep lying on the grass.
  We may not believe someone who often tells lies, even when he tells the truth.
   

• The Apple Tree and a Boy!  Moral: Each and every living thing in nature is of some use: we should not destroy any living thing.

• Once upon a time, there lived a farmer in a village, beside a forest. He had a big garden that had an old apple tree and other plants, trees and beautiful flowers. When the farmer was a little boy, he spent much of his time playing with the apple tree. Those days, the apple tree had given the choicest of apples to him. However, as time passed, the apple tree became old and stopped bearing fruits.
  Now that the farmer was not getting any apples from the tree, he decided that the tree was useless. Therefore, he decided to cut the tree and use its wood to make some new furniture. He felt that since the tree was old and huge, he did not have to cure it, and it would make great furniture. He forgot that as a boy, he had spent his entire childhood climbing the tree and eating its apples.
  Now the apple tree was home to several little animals in the neighborhood. This included squirrels, sparrows and a huge variety of birds and insects. When the farmer took his axe and began chopping the tree, all the little animals came rushing down.
  They all began to plead with the farmer. They gathered round the farmer and said, “Please don’t cut the tree. We used to play with you when you were small, under this very tree. This is our home and we have no other place to go”.
  The farmer was adamant. He raised his axe and the commotion grew.
  “Please don’t chop and destroy my home and kids,” cried the squirrel.
  “Please don’t chop and destroy my nest,” cried the little birds.
  “Please don’t cut the apple tree,” cried the grasshopper.
  The farmer, however, forgot his childhood and his animal friends. He began to chop the tree harder. All the little animals became desperate, and wanted to protect the apple tree at any cost.
  The little animals said, “We will sing for you when you are toiling away in the fields. We will look after your little boy. He will not cry, but instead will be entertained and happy. You will like our songs and will not feel tired.”
  However, their cries for help fell on deaf ears. Despite all their requests, the farmer continued to chop down the tree.
  All of a sudden, he noticed something shiny. On inspecting it, he realized that it was a beehive, full of honey. He took a little and put it in his mouth. The taste of the honey woke up the little boy in him. Suddenly, the memories of his childhood came rushing back. The honey tasted so good that he wanted more. It brought a sense of happiness to him. He smiled and exclaimed, “This tastes amazing.”
  Realizing the change in the farmer’s attitude, the little animals spoke in unison: The bee said, “I will always provide you with sweet honey.” The squirrel said, “I will share any amount of nuts that you want.” The birds cried, “We will sing as many songs as you want.”
  Finally, the farmer realized his folly, and put down his axe. He understood that the tree was home to many lovely animals that provided him with so many things. He wanted his little boy to have the childhood that he had.
  The farmer realized that the apple tree was not that fruitless. The little boy in him saved the apple tree.
  He threw away the axe and said to the little creatures, “I promise that I would never cut this tree. I have realized my mistake and you all can now live in peace and harmony.”
  The little creatures thanked the bee profusely. If the farmer had not found the beehive, they would have been homeless by now. They continued living happily in the old apple tree.
  Moral: Each and every living thing in nature is of some use: we should not destroy any living thing.
   

• The Crystal Ball   Moral: We should be happy with whatever we have and not be greedy.

• In the south of Spain, there was a small village whose people were very joyful. The children played under the shades of trees in the gardens of their homes.
  A shepherd boy named Nasir stayed near the village with his father, mother and grandmother. Each morning, he took his herd of goats up the hills to find a suitable place for them to graze. In the afternoon he would return with them to the village. Each night his grandmother would tell him a story - the story of stars. This story really interested Nasir.
  On one of those days, as Nasir was watching his herd and playing his flute, he suddenly saw a wonderful light behind a flower bush. When he approached the bush, he saw a transparent and very beautiful crystal ball.
  The crystal ball was glittering like a colorful rainbow. Nasir carefully took it in his hand and turned it around. With surprise, suddenly, he heard a weak voice coming from the crystal ball. It said, “You can make a wish that your heart desires and I will fulfill it.”
  Nasir could not believe that he had actually heard a voice. When he made sure that he had indeed heard that voice from the crystal ball, he was very confused. He had so many wishes that he could not decide upon one particular wish. He said to himself, ‘if I wait till tomorrow I will remember many things. Then I will make my wish.’
  He put the crystal ball in a bag and, gathering the herd, happily returned to the village. He decided that he would not tell anyone about the crystal ball.
  On the following day also, Nasir could not decide what to wish for, because he really had everything he needed.
  The days passed as usual, but Nasir was still unable to make his wish. But he appeared to be very cheerful. The people around him were amazed to see the change in his disposition.
  One day, a boy followed Nasir and his herd and hid behind a tree. Nasir, as usual, sat in one corner, took out the crystal ball and for a few moments looked at it. The boy waited for the moment when Nasir would go to sleep. When Nasir did fall asleep after a while, the boy took the crystal ball and ran away.
  When he arrived at the village, he called all the people and showed them the crystal ball. The citizens of that village took the crystal ball in their hands and turned it around with surprise. Suddenly they heard a voice from inside the crystal ball, which said, “I can fulfill your wish.” One person took the ball and screamed, “I want one bag full of gold.” Another took the ball and said loudly, “I want two chests full of jewelry.” Some of them wished that they would have their own palace with a grand door made from pure gold, instead of their old houses. Some others wished for bags full of jewelry.
  All their wishes were fulfilled, but still the citizens of the village were not happy. They were jealous because the person that had a palace had no gold and the person that had the gold had no palace. For this reason, the citizens of the village were angry with each other and stopped speaking to each other. The gardens in the village where children used to play were no more. There were palaces and gold everywhere. The children became terribly unhappy. Only Nasir and his family were happy and contented. Every morning and afternoon he would play the flute.
  One day the children of the village took the crystal ball to Nasir. The children said to Nasir, “When we had a small village, we all were happy and joyful.” The parents also spoke. They said, “In one way or another, all of us are unhappy. The luxurious palaces and jewelry only bring us pain.”
  When Nasir saw that the people were really regretful, he said, “Even though the crystal ball asked me to wish for something, I have not done it so far. But if you really want everything to return to its own place, then I will wish for it.”
  Everyone happily agreed. Nasir took the crystal ball in his hand, turned it around and wished that the village would become the same as it was before. In a moment, the palaces disappeared, the green gardens appeared, and the same old village full of trees was there.
  Once again the people started to live happily and the children played under the shade of trees. Nasir continued his contented life every day, playing his flute at sunset. Its sweet sound was heard throughout the beautiful green village.
  Moral: We should be happy with whatever we have and not be greedy.
  

    The Bundle of Sticks Moral: Unity is Strength!

• 
  
• Once upon a time, an old man lived with his three sons in a village. The three sons were hard workers. Still, they quarrelled all the time. The old man tried a lot to unite them but he failed. Though the villagers appreciated their hard work and efforts, they made fun of them on their fights.
  Months passed by and the old man fell sick. He told his sons to stay united, but they didn’t listen to him. So, he decided to teach them a practical lesson so that they would forget their differences and stay united.
  The old man called 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 two. The one who breaks the sticks quickly will be rewarded more.”
  The sons agreed.
  The old man gave a bundle of 10 sticks to each of them and asked them to break each stick into pieces. They broke the sticks into pieces in minutes.
  And again they started to quarrel among themselves as to who came first.
  The old man said, “Dear sons, the game is not over. Now I will give another bundle of sticks to each of you. You will have to break the sticks as a bundle, not as separate sticks.”
  The sons agreed and tried to break the bundle of sticks. Though they tried their best, they could not break the bundle. They failed to complete the task.
  The three sons reported their failure to their father.
  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! So, if you stay united, nobody can do 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 situation, they would all stay together.
  Moral: Unity is Strength!
   

• The Fox and the Grapes MORAL: IT'S EASY TO DESPISE WHAT YOU CANNOT HAVE.

• One afternoon, a fox was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from a lofty branch. "Just the thing to quench my thirst," said the fox.
  Taking a few steps back, the fox jumped and just missed the hanging grapes. Again, the fox took a few paces back and tried to reach them, but still failed.
  Finally, giving up, the fox turned up his nose and said, "They're probably sour anyway." Then he walked away.
  MORAL: IT'S EASY TO DESPISE WHAT YOU CANNOT HAVE.
   

• The Devoted Mother 

• A mother duck and her little ducklings were on their way to a lake one day. The ducklings were very happy following their mother and quack-quacking along the way.
  All of a sudden, the mother duck saw a fox at a distance. She was frightened, and shouted, “Children, hurry to the lake. There’s a fox!”
  The ducklings hurried towards the lake. The mother duck wondered what to do. Then she began to walk back and forth dragging one wing on the ground.
  When the fox saw her, he became happy. He said to himself, “It seems she’s hurt and can’t fly! I can easily catch and eat her!” He ran towards her.
  The mother duck ran, leading the fox away from the lake. The fox followed her. Now he wouldn’t be able to harm her ducklings. The mother duck looked towards her ducklings and saw that they had reached the lake. She was relieved, so she stopped and took a deep breath.
  The fox thought that she was tired and he came closer, but the mother duck quickly spread her wings and rose up in the air. She landed in the middle of the lake and her ducklings swam to her.
  The fox stared in disbelief at the mother duck and her ducklings. The mother duck had tricked him cleverly. Now he could not reach them because they were in the middle of the lake.
   

• The Fox and the Stork  Moral: One bad turn begets another.

• Once upon a time, there lived a very cunning and mischievous fox. He used to speak to other animals sweetly and gain their trust, before playing tricks on them.
  One day the fox met a stork. He befriended the stork and acted like a very good friend. Soon, he invited the stork to have a feast with him. The stork happily accepted the invitation.
  The day of the feast came, and the stork went to the fox’s house. To her surprise and disappointment, the fox said that he could not make a big feast as promised, and just offered some soup. When he brought the soup out of the kitchen, the stork saw that it was in a shallow bowl!
  The poor stork could not have any soup with its long bill, but the fox easily licked the soup from the plate. As the stork just touched the soup with the tip of its bill, the fox asked her, “How is the soup? Don’t you like it?”
  The hungry stork replied, “Oh it is good, but my stomach is upset, and I can’t take any more soup!”
  “I’m sorry for troubling you,” said the fox.
  The stork replied, “Oh dear, please don’t say sorry. I have some health problem and cannot enjoy what you offer.”
  She left the place after thanking the fox, and inviting him to her house for dinner.
  The day arrived and the fox reached the stork’s place. After exchanging pleasantries, the stork served soup for both of them, in a narrow jar with a long neck. She was able to have the soup very easily with her long bill, but the fox obviously could not.
  After finishing hers, the stork asked the fox if he was enjoying the soup. The fox remembered the feast he himself had given the stork, and felt very ashamed. He stammered, “I…I’d better leave now. I have a tummy ache.”
  Humiliated, he left the place running.
  Moral: One bad turn begets another.
   

• The Greedy Mouse 

• A greedy mouse saw a basket full of corn. He wanted to eat it. So he made a small hole in the basket. He squeezed in through the hole. He ate a lot of corn. He felt full and was very happy.
  Now he wanted to come out. He tried to come out through the small hole. He could not. His belly was full. He tried again. But it was of no use.
  The mouse started crying. A rabbit was passing by. It heard the mouse’s cry and asked, “Why are you crying, my friend?”
  The mouse explained, “I made a small hole and came into the basket to eat the corn. Now I am not able to get out through that hole.”
  The rabbit said, “It is because you ate too much. Wait till your belly shrinks.” The rabbit laughed and went away.
  The mouse fell asleep in the basket. The next morning his belly had shrunk. But he wanted to eat some more corn. He forgot all about getting out of the basket. So he ate the corn and his belly was really big again.
  After eating, the mouse remembered that he had to escape. But obviously, he could not. So he thought, “Oh! Now I will go out tomorrow.”
  The cat was the next passerby. He smelt the mouse in the basket. He lifted its lid and ate the mouse.
   

The Goose with the Golden Eggs    MORAL: THINK BEFORE YOU ACT

• Once upon a time, a man and his wife had the good fortune to have a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough.
  They imagined that if the bird is able to lay golden eggs, its insides must be made of gold. And they thought that if they could get all that precious metal at once, they would get mighty rich very soon. So the man and his wife decided to kill the bird.
  However, upon cutting the goose open, they were shocked to find that its innards were like that of any other goose!
  MORAL: THINK BEFORE YOU ACT
   

• The Lion and the Mouse MORAL: Small acts of kindness will be rewarded greatly.

• Once when a lion, the king of the jungle, was asleep, a little mouse began running up and down on him. This soon awakened the lion, who placed his huge paw on the mouse, 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, I may be able to do you a good turn one of these days!”
  The lion was so tickled by the idea of the mouse being able to help him that he lifted his paw and let him go.
  Sometime later, a few hunters captured the lion, and tied him to a tree. After that they went in search of a wagon, to take him to the zoo.
  Just then the little mouse happened to pass by. On seeing the lion’s plight, he ran up to him and gnawed away the ropes that bound him, the king of the jungle.
  "Was I not right?" said the little mouse, very happy to help the lion.
  MORAL: Small acts of kindness will be rewarded greatly.
   

• The Hare and the Tortoise  MORAL: SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE.

• There once was a speedy Hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, the Tortoise challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch. The Hare ran down the road for a while and then paused to rest. He looked back at the tortoise and cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?"
  The Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax."
  The Tortoise walked and walked, never ever stopping until he came to the finish line.
  The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise that they woke up the Hare. The Hare stretched, yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise had already crossed the finish line.
  MORAL: SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE.
   

• The Monkey and the Dolphin Those who lie and boast may end up in trouble.

• One day long ago, some sailors set out to sea in their sailing ship. One of them brought his pet monkey along for the long journey.
  When they were far out at sea, a terrible storm overturned their ship. Everyone fell into the sea, and the monkey was sure that he would drown. Suddenly a dolphin appeared and picked him up.
  They soon reached the island and the monkey came down from the dolphin’s back. The dolphin asked the monkey, “Do you know this place?”
  The monkey replied, “Yes, I do. In fact, the king of the island is my best friend. Do you know that I am actually a prince?”
  Knowing that no one lived on the island, the dolphin said, “Well, well, so you are a prince! Now you can be a king!” The monkey asked, “How can I be a king?”
  As the dolphin started swimming away, he answered, “That is easy. As you are the only creature on this island, you will naturally be the king!”
  Those who lie and boast may end up in trouble.
   

• The Milk maid and her Pail  MORAL: DO NOT COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED.

• Patty the Milkmaid was going to the market carrying milk in a pail on her head.
  As she went along, she began calculating what she would do with the money she would get for the milk. “I'll buy some fowls from Farmer Brown," said she, "and they will lay eggs each morning, which I will sell to the parson's wife. With the money that I get from the sale of these eggs, I'll buy myself a new dimity frock and a chip hat, and when I go to the market, won't all the young men come up and speak to me! Polly Shaw will be so jealous, but I don't care. I shall just look at her and toss my head like this."
  As she spoke that, she tossed her head back and the pail fell off it, and all the milk was spilt!
  MORAL: DO NOT COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED.
   

• The Proud Red Rose

• One beautiful spring day a red rose blossomed in a forest. Many kinds of trees and plants grew there. As the rose looked around, a pine tree nearby said, “What a beautiful flower. I wish I was that lovely.” Another tree said, “Dear pine, do not be sad, we can not have everything.”
  The rose turned its head and remarked, “It seems that I am the most beautiful plant in this forest.” A sunflower raised its yellow head and asked, “Why do you say that? In this forest there are many beautiful plants. You are just one of them.” The red rose replied, “I see everyone looking at me and admiring me.” Then the rose looked at a cactus and said, “Look at that ugly plant full of thorns!” The pine tree said, “Red rose, what kind of talk is this? Who can say what beauty is? You have thorns too.”
  The proud red rose looked angrily at the pine and said, “I thought you had good taste! You do not know what beauty is at all. You can not compare my thorns to that of the cactus.”
  “What a proud flower”, thought the trees.
  The rose tried to move its roots away from the cactus, but it could not move. As the days passed,the red rose would look at the cactus and say insulting things, like: This plant is useless? How sorry I am to be his neighbor.
  The cactus never got upset and he even tried to advise the rose, saying, “God did not create any form of life without a purpose.”
  Spring passed, and the weather became very warm. Life became difficult in the forest, as the plants and animals needed water and no rain fell. The red rose began to wilt. One day the rose saw sparrows stick their beaks into the cactus and then fly away, refreshed. This was puzzling, and the red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds got water from the cactus. “Does it not hurt when they make holes?” asked the rose.
  “Yes, but the cactus does not like to see any birds suffer,” replied the pine.
  The rose opened its eyes in wonder and said, “The cactus has water?”
  “Yes you can also drink from it. The sparrow can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help.”
  The red rose felt too ashamed of its past words and behavior to ask for water from the cactus, but then it finally did ask the cactus for help. The cactus kindly agreed and the birds filled their beaks with water and watered the rose’s roots. Thus the rose learned a lesson and never judged anyone by their appearance again.
   

• The Most Beautiful Heart

• One day, in a heavily crowded place, a young man was shouting at the crowd. 
  
  “People look at me; I have the most beautiful heart in the world.”
  Many people looked at him and were stunned to see the beautiful heart in a perfect shape, no little flaw, which looked quite amazing. Most of the people who saw his heart was mesmerized by the beauty of his heart and praised him. 
  However, there came an old man and challenged the young man, “No my son, I have got the most beautiful heart in the world!”
  The young man asked, “Show me your heart, then!”
  The old man showed his heart to him. It was very rough, uneven, and had scars all over the heart. Also, the heart was not in shape, appeared like bits and pieces joined together in various colours. There were some rough edges, some part of the heart were removed and filled with other pieces. 
  The heart of the old man simply looked like various pieces of heart joined together and formed as a heart. 
  The young man started laughing at his heart, “My dear old man, are you mad? See, my heart! How beautiful and flawless it is. You cannot find even a bit of imperfection in my heart. See, yours. It is full of scars, wounds and blemishes. How can you say your heart is beautiful?”
  “Dear boy, my heart is just so beautiful as your heart is. Did you see the scars? Each scar represents the love I shared with a person. I share a piece of heart with others when I share love and in return I get a piece of heart, which I fix at the place where I had torn a piece!” said the old man.
  The young man was shocked. 
  And the old man continued. “Since the pieces of heart I shared were neither equal nor in the same shape or size, my heart is full of uneven edges and bits and pieces.”
  “My heart is not in shape because sometimes I never get the love in return from those I gave it. So where do you see the real beauty? Your heart which looks fresh and fuller with no scars which indicates you never shared love with anybody. Did you?” 
  The young man stood still and never spoke a word. Tears rolled down his cheeks. He walked to the old man, tore a piece of his heart and gave the piece to the old man.
  Many give importance and respect to physical beauty. Yet, physical appearance isn’t the real beauty!
   

• Gold Coins and a Selfish Man    Honesty will always be rewarded and greed punished!

• am was a greedy and selfish man. He always desired to have lots and lots of money and never hesitated to cheat others to make money. Also, he never wished to share anything with others. He paid very low wages to his servants. However, one day, he learned a lesson that changed his life forever.
  It so happened that one day, a small bag that belonged to Sam was missing. The bag had 50 gold coins in it. Sam searched high and low for the bag, but could not find it. Sam’s friends and neighbours also joined in the search, but all their efforts were in vain.
  After a couple of days, the ten year old daughter of a man working for Sam found the bag. She told her father about it. Her father identified the bag as the one that was missing, and immediately decided to take it to his master.
  He gave the bag back to his master Sam, and asked him to check whether the bag had 50 gold coins. Sam was exultant to get the coins back, but he decided to play a trick. He shouted at his worker, “there were 75 gold coins in this bag but you gave me only 50! Where are the other coins? You have stolen them!”
  The worker was shocked to hear this and pleaded his innocence. Selfish and greedy, Sam did not accept the worker’s story, and decided to take the issue to court.
  The judge heard both the sides. He questioned 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 my lord, I had 75 gold coins in my bag, and they gave me only 50. Hence, it is quite obvious that they have stolen 25 coins!”
  The judge then asked, “Are you sure that your bag had 75 coins?”
  Sam nodded vigorously.
  The judge then made his judgment.
  “Since Sam lost a bag of 75 gold coins and the bag found by the girl had only 50 coins, it is obvious that the bag that was found does not belong to Sam. It was lost by someone else. If anyone finds a bag of 75 gold coins, I will declare that it belongs to Sam. As there are no complaints about the loss of 50 coins, I order the girl and his father to take those 50 coins as a token of appreciation for their honesty!”
  Honesty will always be rewarded and greed punished!
   

• The Rope      We should have enough faith to cut the rope, if that is what God tells us to do, even when it seems to be the most foolish thing to do.

• The night fell heavy on the heights of the mountains and the man could not see anything. There was zero visibility; the moon and the stars were covered by the clouds.
  When he was just a few feet below the top of the mountain, he slipped and fell into the air, falling at great speed. He could see only black spots as he went down, and feel the terrible sensation of being sucked in by gravity.
  He kept falling, and in those moments of great fear, all the good and bad episodes of his life came to his mind. He was thinking now about how close death was getting, when all of a sudden he felt the rope tied to his waist pull him very hard. His body was hanging in the air. Only the rope was holding him. In that moment of stillness he had no choice other than to scream, “Help me God.”
  All of a sudden, a deep voice coming from the sky answered, “What do you want me to do?”
  “Save me God.”
  “Do you really think I can save you?”
  “Of course, I believe you can.”
  “Then cut the rope tied to your waist.”
  There was a moment of silence. The moment passed, and the man decided to hold on to the rope with all his strength.
  The rescue team says that the next day, the climber was found dead and frozen, his body hanging from a rope, and his hands holding it tight. He was only one foot away from the ground.
  How attached are we to our ropes? Will we let them go?
  Don’t ever doubt God.
  We should have enough faith to cut the rope, if that is what God tells us to do, even when it seems to be the most foolish thing to do.
   

• The Ship   For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

• A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island.
  The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
  The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man’s parcel of land remained barren.
  After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.
  Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
  Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island.
  He considered the other man unworthy to receive God’s blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
  As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, “Why are you leaving your companion on the island?”
  “My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. “His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.”
  “You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.”
  “Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”
  “He prayed that all your prayers be answered.”
  For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.
   

• The Stranger in the Garden

• Once upon a time, there was a man who had a big garden. He had planted many fruit trees and cared for them till they bore fruits. Now he wanted to harvest the fruits and sell them to make money for his family.
  One fine day, while picking the fruits with his son, the man saw a stranger sitting on the branch of a tree and picking fruits. The man became angry and shouted, “Hey you! What are you doing on my tree? Aren’t you ashamed of stealing?”
  The stranger sitting on the branch looked at the gardener, but didn’t reply, and continued picking the fruits. The gardener was very angry and shouted again, “For a whole year I have taken care of these trees. You have no right to take the fruits without my permission. So come down at once!”
  The stranger on the tree answered, “Why should I come down? This is the garden of God and I am the servant of God, so I have the right to pick these fruits. You should not interfere with the work of God and his servant.”
  The gardener was very surprised at this answer and thought of a plan. He told the stranger to come down from the tree. As the stranger climbed down the tree, the gardener tied him to the tree and began beating him with a stick. The stranger began to scream, “Why are you beating me? You have no right to do this.”
  The gardener paid no attention and continued beating him. The stranger screamed, “Don’t you fear God? You are beating an innocent man. The gardener answered, “Why should I fear? This wood in my hand belongs to God and I am the servant of God. You shouldn’t interfere with the work of God and his servant.”
  The stranger hesitated and then spoke, “Wait. Don’t beat me, I am sorry for taking the fruits. This
  is your garden and I should seek your permission before taking the fruits. So, please forgive me and set me free.” The gardener smiled and said, “Don’t use God’s name to justify your ill-conceived actions.”
  Then the gardener untied him and let him go free.
   

• The Travelers and the Plane Tree

• 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.

    The Thirsty Crow   If you try hard enough, you may soon find an answer to your problem.

• 
  
• One hot day, a thirsty crow flew all over the fields looking for water. For a long time, she could not find any. She felt very weak, almost giving up hope.
  Suddenly, she saw a water jug below her. She flew straight down to see if there was any water inside. Yes, she could see some water inside the jug!
  The crow tried to push her head into the jug. Sadly, she found that the neck of the jug was too narrow. Then she tried to push the jug down for the water to flow out. She found that the jug was too heavy.
  The crow thought hard for a while. Then looking around her, she saw some pebbles. She suddenly had a good idea. She started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the jug. As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising. Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink. Her plan had worked!
  If you try hard enough, you may soon find an answer to your problem.
   

• True Wealth

• Once upon a time, there lived a very rich and wealthy man in a big town. He led a luxurious life. He always boasted about his wealth to his friends and relatives.
  His son was studying in a distant city and he returned home for vacation. The rich man wanted to show off to his son how rich he was. But his son wasn’t fond of any luxurious lifestyle. However, the rich man wanted to make his son realize that his lifestyle was extremely rich and that poor people suffered a lot. He planned a day’s visit to the entire town to show him 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 witnessing the sufferings of the poor 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 live,” 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 end! We have luxurious and expensive lights imported from various countries, but they have countless stars lighting their nights. We have a house on a small piece of land, but they have abundant fields that go beyond the horizon. We are protected by huge and strong walls around our property, but they bond with each other and surround themselves with their fellow beings. We have to buy food from them, but they are so rich that they can cultivate their own food.”
  The rich father was stunned and speechless, on hearing his son’s words.
  Finally the son added, “Dad, thank you so much for showing me who is rich and who is poor. Thank you for letting me understand how poor we really are!”
  True wealth is not measured by money and property! True wealth is created in good friendships and compassionate relationships.
   

• The Three Cows

• There was a green and fresh pasture, in which three cows lived, a white cow, a black cow and a reddish-brown one. The cows were kind to each other. They were nice to each other. They used to graze in the meadow together. and they used to sleep near each other.
  Till it happened one day, the reddish-brown colored lion of the forest happened to pass that way. The lion was unhappy. It was hungry, and was looking for a prey. On catching sight of the cows it became glad, but couldn't attack them, because they were together. So, the lion sat in a corner and waited till the cows would separate from each other.
  The cows were together and wouldn’t part away from each other, because they knew that if they were together, no predator could attack them. The lion lay in ambush nearby for two or three days. But the cows continued to remain together, and wouldn’t separate from each other. The lion became unhappy.
  A plan occurred to it. It went towards the cows, greeted them and said: “How are you my friends?” Are you fine? I have been remembering you for a long time, but because I am too busy, I can’t come to you and ask about your health.
  Today I said to myself: “Anyhow I should come and see you from near and visit you.” The reddish-brown cow said: “Sir, your coming has really pleased us and brightened our pasture.”
  The lion said: “I have always remembered you, and have even ordered a better pasture made ready for you.” Reddish-brown cow said: “Sir, you have really obliged us and we are very thankful to you.”
  Both the white and the black cows were troubled by what their friend, the reddish-brown cow said, and were grieved at its thoughtlessness. They feared lest it should be deceived.
  They said to each other: Which forest has not got a better pasture? Why does the reddish-brown cow believe what the lion says? Doesn’t it know that lions seek other animals only to prey on them?
  The reddish-brown cow became more and more a close friend of the lion each day. The black cow and the white cow advised it as much as they could, but with no avail.
  One day the lion said to the reddish-brown cow: “You know that the color of our bodies is dark and that the color of the body of the white cow is light, and you also know that the light color is the opposite of the dark color. It would be very good if I eat the white cow, so that there will be no difference among us any longer and that we will be able to live together well.”
  The reddish-brown cow accepted the saying of the selfish lion and started talking to the black cow to keep it busy, so that the lion could eat the white cow with more ease. The white cow was left alone and was killed, while the black and the reddish-brown cows were busy with idle talks.
  Two or three days passed since the lion had devoured the white cow. The lion, angry and uneasy, was lying in a corner, and the reddish-brown cow was moving around the lion and grazing. The lion called the reddish-brown cow. The cow answered: “Yes sir!”
  The lion said: “The color of my body and the color of your body are reddish-brown, and black does not go with our color. It will be very good if I eat the black cow, so that in this forest we all will be of the same color.” The reddish-brown cow accepted and moved away from the black cow.
  The lion attacked and devoured the black cow, too. And as for the reddish-brown cow, it was so filled with joy that it didn’t know what to do. It roamed and grazed and said to itself: “It is only me who has the color of the lion...” A few days passed since the black cow had been devoured by the lion. The lion roared and said. “O the reddish-brown cow! Where are you?”
  The reddish-brown cow, shaking with fear, went forward and said: “Yes sir!” The lion said: “Today it is your turn, get yourself ready, I am going to eat you.” The reddish-brown cow, with great fear & horror said: “Why sir, I am your friend. I did whatever you said. So why do you want to eat me?”
  The lion roared and said: “Friend of a friendless!” How is it possible that a lion makes friendship with a cow? No matter how much the reddish-brown cow begged and entreated, the lion didn’t accept its words. The lion attacked the cow.
  The cow said: “Mr. Lion, please allow me to cry out three times before you eat me.” The lion said: “Quickly, quickly!” The reddish-brown cow cried out: “I was eaten the very day the white cow was eaten. I was eaten the very day the black cow was eaten. I was eaten the very day I made.... with you.” The lion devoured the reddish-brown cow very quickly. Then it said to itself: “I have finished my job in this forest. Now I had better go to other forests.”
  Divide and rule policy.

• The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

• A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the Wolf was wearing, began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep’s clothing; so, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals.
  Appearances are deceptive.
   

• The Wolf and the Lamb

• Once, a little lamb was grazing on a meadow, along with a flock of sheep. Being very mischievous, the little lamb wandered some distance away from the sheep. It began to enjoy the fresh and delicious grass that it found there. It had come a long way from its group, but was unaware of that.
  The lamb was also unaware of another fact: a wolf was closely following it!
  When the lamb realized that it had lost its way and was far away from the flock, it decided to return and join them. However, the lamb was stunned to see a hungry and cunning wolf standing behind it.
  The lamb realized that there was no option except to surrender itself to the wolf.
  The lamb asked the wolf, “Are you going to eat me?”
  The wolf said, “Yes, at any cost!”
  The lamb said again, “But can you please wait for some more time? I have eaten a lot of grass now and my stomach is filled with grass. If you eat me now, you will feel as though you are eating grass! So please wait until the grass is digested.”
  The wolf agreed, “Oh yes, I will wait. You are here before me and I can wait for some more time!”
  The lamb thanked the wolf.
  After some time, the wolf got ready to kill lamb, but the lamb stopped him again.
  “Dear wolf, please wait for some more time. The grass is yet to be digested. If you eat me now, you will see a lot of grass in my stomach! Let me dance and then it will be digested easily.”
  The wolf agreed.
  The little lamb danced crazily for a while, and then suddenly stopped.
  The wolf enquired what had happened.
  The lamb said, “I cannot dance properly because there is no music. You see this bell around my neck? Can you untie this bell and ring it loudly? Then I can dance fast and the grass in my stomach also will get digested fast.”
  The wolf, overcome with the desire to eat the lamb, was ready to do anything. He removed the bell tied to the lamb’s neck and rang it with all his might.
  Meanwhile, the shepherd was searching for the little lamb and heard the bell ringing. He saw the wolf and the lamb. He ran towards the wolf with a stick. Seeing the shepherd with a stick, the wolf ran away, and the lamb was saved!
  Physical strength is not sufficient. Sometimes, weaker people with smart minds can overcome the physically strong ones!
   

• Health is Wealth

• 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!

• The Hidden Treasure

• This is a short story about how hard work rewards?
  
  There was an old man living in his village. He had four sons and they were very lazy. The old man fell sick and was counting his last days in bed. He worried a lot about his sons’ future as the young men hesitated a lot to work. The sons believed that luck would favour them.
  The old man’s health deteriorated every day and decided to talk to his sons about their future. However, his sons did not listen to him. The Old man played a trick to let their sons realize the importance of work.
  One day, the old man called all his sons and let them sit near him in his bed. He said he had a treasure box with gold coins and expensive gems for them and wanted to share the treasure equally and lead a happy, prosperous life. The young men were very happy and asked where his father placed the treasure. The old man replied them ‘I cannot exactly remember the place where I had hidden the treasure from the others. However, the treasure box is buried in our land. I’m really not sure about the place where I had hidden the treasure box.’
  Even though the lazy young sons were happy, they were sad that the old man forgot the place where the treasure was hidden. After a few days, the old man died. The sons decided to dig the land to find the treasure box.
  They worked very hard and dug their land. They could not find any treasure box in the land. They decided to dig a spot in their land that remained a bit different from the rest of the area. The sons believed that the treasure was buried in that spot. They dug the specific spot so deeply, got nothing but water.
  A passerby who noticed the dug land and water flowing from a spot talked to the sons about agriculture. They sowed vegetable seeds and planted greens and flower plants in their land. Since the land became very fertile with abundant water, within a few weeks the land became a fertile garden with nutritious vegetables and greens. The young sons sold the vegetables at a good price and earned a good amount of money.
  Then they realized that it was the hard work that was mentioned as ‘Treasure Box’ by their father. They defeated their laziness, worked hard, earned more money and lived happily. 
  Hard Work Always Pay
•  

• Money Vs Family

• Rama’s family is very big. Rama is a hard worker and he is the sole bread winner of the family. He has three kids, two sons and a daughter. He lives along with father and mother. Rama used to work too hard to feed his family.
  
  He works for more than 16 hours a day. The kids cannot see him as he will leave home early in the morning before they wake-up and reach home around midnight when kids would sleep every day. The entire family eagerly wait to spend quality time with him and the kids miss him so much. 
  The children were too curious about Sundays as his father would spend the entire day with them. Unfortunately, to meet the increasing household expenses and educational expenses, Rama took a weekend job to work even on Sundays. The kids were very shattered and even Rama’s wife and parents too! 
  The typical routine continued for several weeks and year passed. All the hard work of Rama earned a lot of benefits and he was offered promotion with attractive increment.
  
  The family moved to a new house, got better clothes and ate healthy foods. However, as usual, Rama continues to earn more and more money. One day his wife asked him ‘why are you running for money? We can be happy with what we have now.’
  Rama replied, ‘I want to give the best available in the world to all of you and want you to stay happy always.’ 
  Two years passed and Rama hardly spent time with his family. The children yearned to have their father at home. Meanwhile, the sincere efforts of Rama reaped him a fortune. He was offered partnership and share in profits. He continued to earn more and more wealth. 
  Now, Rama’s family is one of the richest families in the city. They have all the facilities and luxuries. Still, Rama’s children strove to meet their father as he was hardly seen at home. 
  His children turned teens and they are no more kids. Now, Rama earned enough wealth to provide a luxurious life to his next five generations. 
  Rama’s family went to their beach house to spend their vacation. His daughter asked, ‘Dad will you please spend one day at home and stay with us here?’
  Rama replied, ‘Yes darling, tomorrow for sure, I will join you for the lunch and be with you all for next few days. I’m tired of work and need refreshment!’
  The entire family became very happy. 
  Unfortunately, the next day, none in Rama’s family were alive as they were washed out in Tsunami! 
  Rama was too busy even to hear the news about Tsunami. When he tried to reach his beach house, he saw sea and water everywhere and screamed for his family, He could not even find the dead bodies of his family. 
  He can never have them again, cannot even see them and even by paying millions he cannot get them back to life! 
  He remembered his wife’s words, ‘Why are you running for money? We can be happy with what we have now.’
  Money can’t buy everything!

• The Strange Bird with Two Heads

• Once upon a time, there lived a strange bird with two heads; one facing the left and the other facing the right. The two heads used to fight and argue with each other, even for very simple reasons. Though they shared the same body, the two heads behaved like rivals!
  The strange bird lived in a big banyan tree, along the bank of a river.
  One day, while flying over the river, the left head of the bird saw a beautiful tree that had a bright red fruit. The left head of the bird wanted to eat the fruit and the bird flew down to pick the fruit from the tree.
  The bird plucked the sweet smelling fruit, and sat by the banks of the river and started eating it. The fruit was eaten by the left head. While it was eating, the right head asked, “Can you give me a piece to taste?”
  The left head said, “See, we have only one stomach. So even if I eat in my mouth, it will go only into our stomach.”
  “But I want to taste the fruit, so you should give me.”
  The left head replied in anger, “I saw the fruit and hence, I have the right to eat it without sharing with anyone.”
  The right head felt sad and became silent.
  A few days later, while the bird was flying over the river again, the right head saw a beautiful pink fruit in a tree. The bird flew down near the tree and tried to pick the fruit and eat it.
  The other birds living in the tree said, “Don’t eat it. It is a poisonous fruit. It will kill you.”
  The left head shouted, “Don’t eat it. Don’t eat it.”
  However the right head did not listen to the left head. The right head said, “I will eat it, because I saw it. You have no right to stop me.”
  The left head shouted, “Please don’t eat it. We will all die.”
  The right head said, “Since I saw it, I have the right to eat it.” Clearly, the right head was trying to take revenge on the left head for not sharing the red fruit with it earlier.
  Finally, the pink fruit was eaten by the right head, and in a few minutes, the strange bird with the two heads dropped down dead!
  Moral: A quarrel by the individuals in a family will affect the whole family badly.
   

• Don’t desire to walk when you have Wings to Fly

• Once upon a time there lived a generous, kind-hearted king. He was fond of birds and animals and had a huge bird sanctuary in his reign. He disliked harming the animals and birds and even did not kill them for the sake of eating meat. 
  
  Owing to his generosity and kindness towards birds, he was gifted two beautiful falcons by his fellow businessman. Those two falcons belonged to a different place and lived in a different climatic condition. 
  
  The king thanked the businessman and ordered the head of the bird trainer to provide all the facilities to those beautiful falcons and make them feel comfortable in their country. 
  The head trainer took the birds and provided all essentials to help the birds adapt to the atmosphere. Gradually, the birds got adapted to the country’s atmosphere.
  One day the king wanted to see the falcons fly as he heard that one of those falcons fly to great heights at a very high speed. 
  The king was quite surprised and rewarded the bird trainer with handful of gold coins. He enquired about the other falcon. The bird trainer stated with regret that the other falcon did not move even a step from the day one and just sat on the branch. The trainer also added that he tried everything best he could do and still he failed to make this bird move. 
  The king consoled him and told the trainer that he would bring someone more experienced than him or an old man who knew about falcons.  
  The king announced about his requirement to make the falcon move and fly. Hearing this announcement, an old man reached the King’s palace and assured him that he would make the bird fly like the other one. 
  The king asked the head trainer to take the old man to the sanctuary to train the falcon and he told that he would visit them the next day to see if there was any change. 
  The next day, the king was very surprised to see the other falcon fly like the first one to great heights in rapid speed. The king was too happy and rewarded him handful. 
  The king asked what he had done to make the bird fly in a day. The old man simply replied, ‘I just cut down the branch of the tree where thefalconusedtosit.’
  Many of us are like this. We have wings to fly, we know how to fly, and where to fly still we sit doing nothing or doing something that makes us inferior to others. 
  Don’t try to walk when you have wings to fly!

• Think Before You Speak

• 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

• The Honest Auto Driver

• It was a cold and windy night. My friend and I had met after a long time, and were chatting for hours. We did not notice the time passing by, and soon it was close to ten in the night. We decided to take an auto rickshaw to go to our house.
  It started raining, and we hurried to get into an auto rickshaw and reach our place. None of the auto rickshaws stopped for us, except one.
  The driver asked us where we wanted to go and we told the place. Without saying anything about the fare, he said, “Please get in!” We thanked him and got in.
  Since it was very cold, I asked the driver to stop at any small restaurant or a tea shop. We wanted to have a cup of hot tea. The driver stopped near a small restaurant.
  We ordered tea, and asked the driver to join us and have a cup of tea. The driver refused. I insisted, but he refused again politely.
  My friend asked, “Will you not take tea from this shop or what?”
  The driver replied, “No Sir, I don’t feel like having tea now.”
  I asked again, “But, why? A cup of tea will do no harm.”
  Smiling, the driver replied, “Thank you sir, but I’m sorry.”
  My friend asked, “Are you against eating or drinking outside?”
  The driver said, “No!”
  I was really surprised at his behavior and asked my friend not to compel him.
  In 15 minutes, we reached our house. We paid the fare and the driver thanked us.
  On an impulse, I stopped him, as I really wanted to ask him why he refused to drink tea with us at the restaurant.
  He thought for a moment and replied, “Sir, my son passed away this noon in an accident. I don’t have enough money for his funeral. So I took a vow not to drink even water, until I earn enough money for my son’s funeral. That’s why I didn’t drink tea when you offered. Please don’t misunderstand.”
  We both were shattered and offered him more money for his son’s funeral.
  He politely refused, “Thank you for your generosity sir. In one or two hours, if I get one or two more customers, I will earn the money I need.” And he left the place.
  We were amazed at his strength of character and integrity.
   

• Real Vs Fake

• 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!

• Real Solution to Problems

• 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. 

• Powerful Prayers

• Kim and Ray were very close companions. They were neighbours, classmates at school, and later, colleagues at work.
  One day, they decided to go on a sea voyage to explore strange lands. They began their voyage in a cruise ship, and travelled far and wide. However, in the course of their trip, the weather turned very destructive. The ship was wrecked in the middle of the ocean. Most of the passengers were killed, but Kim and Ray could swim to a nearby island.
  The island was deserted; not even a tree was there. Kim and Ray realized that they could not survive on the island without divine intervention. They decided to pray to God. They wanted to see whose prayer would be more powerful. Kim moved to the eastern tip of the island, knelt down and began to pray there. Ray went to the western tip of the island and prayed there.
  Kim prayed to God to give him food to survive. Surprisingly, he got a pile of food, fruits and vegetables on the sea shore.
  After two days, he requested for a beautiful girl as his wife, as he was feeling very lonely on the island. In a few hours, there was a ship wreck near the island and a lone survivor; a beautiful girl. Kim married the girl.
  Whatever Kim prayed for, was granted to him.
  Almost a month after the ship wreck, Kim decided to move back to his hometown. He prayed to God to send him a ship to take him home. Sure enough, there came a ship to take Kim and his wife home.
  As the couple was about to enter the ship, Kim heard someone speak to him. It was just a voice. “Are you going alone, leaving your companion of life here?”
  Kim was surprised, “May I know who is this and whom you are referring to? I have my wife with me!”
  The voice said, “I’m the one to whom you offered your prayers, whom you requested to save your life, and whom you requested food and shelter and of course, a wife!”
  Kim knelt down in awe and said, “Thank you God!”
  Then Kim remembered about Ray, whom he had forgotten all this time. He was overcome with guilt.
  God said to him, “I was not answering your prayers. I was only fulfilling Ray’s prayers. He prayed for only one thing! He said ‘Please fulfill all of Kim’s prayers’. That was his only prayer.”
  Kim was in tears and rushed to the other side of the island. He realized that he had not even thought about his best friend Ray, and was happily enjoying his own life.
  He could not find Ray there. He asked God, “Where is Ray?”
  God replied, “I took him with me. The man with the golden heart should be with me! But I will fulfill all your prayers as I promised him to do so!”
  Kim was completely broken. He realized why his friend’s prayers were more powerful. It was because Ray’s prayers were totally selfless.
  Moral: Selflessness is the highest form of prayer.
   

• When Adversity Knocks

• Mary was a young girl. She had a major problem that she got annoyed with everything. She felt bad about everything and just always carried a negative thinking. She used to get angry as well as got frightened of everything. She developed all these negative aspects suddenly. One day she felt she was so miserable and requested help from her dad.
  
  She told him that if she was able to manage and solve a problem, another one followed quickly and it got repeated. Her father consoled her and took her to the kitchen.
  He asked Mary to take a potato, an egg and two spoonfuls of tea leaves. Mary was surprised, and asked her father ‘do you want me to cook?’
  Her father denied. He then took three vessels and poured one cup of water in each vessel. Each vessel was placed on the stove. Once the water started to boil, he dropped potato in a vessel, egg in the second one and tea leaves in the third one.
  Mary was totally annoyed and asked him, why would her father do those stupid things? He asked her to wait for a few more minutes with patience.
  The impatient daughter managed to wait for around 15 minutes.
  The Father removed the potato from the pot and placed in a plate and did the same with eggs. He filtered the tea decoction using a cup.
  Now, he placed the two plates, one with the potato and the other with the egg, and the cup of tea in front of Mary.
  He asked Mary,
  ‘What do you see?’
  She said, ‘Potato, Egg and a cup of tea!’
  ‘No, you are wrong,’ said the father.
  ‘Look at it closely and answer me.’
  Mary replied the same.
  ‘Now touch it and reply me.’ The potato was cooked and was so soft, the egg was boiled hard and the tea carried the nice aroma.
  Mary couldn’t find the correct answer. Her father replied,
  ‘The potato was so hard and strong before they were boiled; now they turned soft and smooth. Also, the egg was too delicate but after boiling it became too hard. Sip the tea, it is delicious!’
  Mary asked, ‘What does it mean father? I don’t understand!’
  ‘Each object responded differently to water. That is how you have to be?
  Each object was put under the same kind of circumstance, faced similar adversity, but reacted differently. The potato, when put in boiling water, became very weak. The crumbled egg became very hard, when we put in boiling water. And the tea leaves are unique. It changed the water itself, giving it unique flavour and aroma! It gave something new.’
  Mary understood that we could create something new and unique even when we experienced adversity.
  So, what are you? A potato or an egg or a tea leaf?
   

• Foolish Monkeys

• 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.
   

• Money Can’t Buy Everything

• Nick was a 10 year old boy. He was the only son to his parents. Nick’s father was a very busy businessman who could not spend time with his son. He came home after Nick slept, and was off to office before Nick woke up in the morning. Nick yearned for his father’s attention. He wanted to go outdoors and play with his father just like his friends did.
  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. So I’m at home. But after two hours I have to catch a flight,” his father replied.
  “When will you be back?”
  “Tomorrow noon.”
  Nick was in deep thought for a while. Then he asked, “Dad, how much do you earn in a year?”
  Nick’s father was taken aback. He said, “My dear son, 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?”
  “Yes, dad. I’m happy to hear that. Can I ask you one more question?”
  “Yes, dear.”
  “Dad, can you tell me how much you earn in a day or even half a day?”
  “Nick, why are you asking this question?” Nick’s father was perplexed.
  But Nick was persistent. “Please answer me. Can you please tell me how much you earn in an hour?”
  Nick’s father gave in and replied, “It will be around $ 25/- per hour.”
  Nick ran to his room upstairs, and came down with his piggy bank that contained his savings.
  “Dad, I have $50 in my piggy bank. Can you spare two hours for me? I want to go to the beach and have dinner with you tomorrow evening. Can you please mark this in your schedule?”
  Nick’s father was speechless!
  The greatest gift a parent can give his child is time. Money can’t buy everything!
   

• 17 Camels and 3 Sons

• Long...long ago, there lived an old man with his three sons in a deserted village, located in the vicinity of a desert. He had 17 camels, and they were the main source of his income. He used to rent out camels as means of shipping in the desert. One day, he passed away and he had a will, leaving his assets for his three sons.
  After the funeral and the other obligations were over, the three sons read the will. While he divided all the properties he had into three equal parts, he divided the 17 camels in a different way. It wasn’t shared equally among the three as ‘17’ is an odd number and prime number, which cannot be divided.
  The deceased old man stated that the eldest son will own half of the 17 camels and the middle one will get the one third of the 17 camels and the youngest one will get his share of camel as one ninth!
  All of them were stunned to read the will and questioned how to divide 17 camels as mentioned in the will.
  It is neither possible to divide 17 camels and give the half of the 17 camels to the eldest one nor able to divide the camels to the other two sons. They spent several days to divide the camel as mentioned in the will, but none could find the answer.
  They finally took this issue to the wise man in their village. The wise man heard the problem and instantly found a solution. He asked them to bring all 17 camels to divide them as intended by their father.
  The sons brought the camels to the place. The wise man added a camel owned by him and made it count 18.
  Now, he asked the first son to read the will, he get half the camels, which now counts to 18 / 2 – 9 camels! The eldest one got 9 camels as his share.
  Remaining camels left – 9 camels
  The wise man asked the second son to read the will – he was assigned a share of 1 / 3 of the total camels.
  It comes to 18 / 3 – 6 camels. Second son got 6 camels as his share.
  Total camels shared by the elder sons – 9 + 6 = 15 camels.
  The third son read his share of camel – 1 / 9th of total camels – 18 / 9 = 2 camels.
  The youngest one got 2 camels as his share.
  Totally there were 9 + 6 + 2 camels shared by the brothers, which counts to 17 camels.
  One camel brought by the wise man was taken back.
  The wise man solved this problem smartly with his intelligence. Intelligence is nothing but finding a common ground to solve an issue.
  In short, every problem has a solution. 

• The Secret of Happiness

• Once upon a time, there were three brothers named Samuel, Timothy and Xander, who lived in a cottage by the woods. They were honest and hardworking. Every day, they would venture into the forest to fell wood. Later, they would sell it in the market where it would fetch a decent price. Thus, their life continued in this manner.
  
  However, the brothers were always sad and morose. Even though they lived a good life, they were unhappy. Each one hankered for something or the other and would pine for it.
  One day, while Samuel, Timothy and Xander were returning home from the woods carrying their bundle of logs, they saw an old haggard woman bent low with a sack on her back. As they were kind and compassionate, the brothers immediately approached the poor woman and offered to carry the sack all the way to her home. She smiled and expressed her gratefulness, while replying that the sack actually contained apples that she had collected in the forest. Samuel, Timothy and Xander took turns in carrying the sack, and at last, when they reached the woman’s home, they were very tired indeed.
  Now, this old woman was no ordinary person and had magical powers. Pleased with the brothers’ kind and selfless nature, she asked them whether there was anything she could help them with, as a reward.
  “We are not happy, and that has become our greatest cause of concern,” replied Samuel. The woman asked what would make them happy. Each brother spoke of a different thing that would please him.
  “A splendid mansion with plenty of servants would make me happy. There is nothing more that I would want,” said Samuel.
  “A big farm with lots of harvest would make me happy. Then I could be rich without having to worry,” said Timothy.
  “A beautiful wife would make me happy. Every day, after returning home, her sweet little face would light me up and make me forget my sorrows,” said Xander.
  “That is fine,” said the old woman, “If these things will give you happiness, you deserve them in every respect for helping a poor helpless person like me. Go home, and each of you shall find exactly what you have wished for.”
  This took the brothers by surprise as they did not know about the woman’s powers. Nevertheless, they took leave and returned home. But lo behold, beside their cottage, there was a huge mansion with a doorman and other servants waiting outside! They greeted Samuel and ushered him in. At some distance, a yellow farmland showed itself. A ploughman came and announced that it belonged to Timothy. Timothy gasped. Just at that moment, a beautiful maiden approached Xander and coyly said that she was his wife. The brothers were beside themselves with joy at this new turn of events. They thanked their lucky stars and adapted to their new lifestyles.
  The days passed and soon a year was over. The situation was however, now different for Samuel, Timothy and Xander. Samuel had grown tired of owning the mansion. He became lazy and did not supervise his servants into taking proper care of the mansion. Timothy, who had built a decent house next to his farmland, found it burdensome to plough the fields and sow seeds from time to time. Xander too, grew used to his beautiful wife and no longer found any joy in keeping her company. In short, all of them were unhappy again.
  One day, the three of them met up and decided to visit the old woman at her home. “That woman has magical powers which turned our dreams into reality. However, since we are no longer happy, we must go and seek her help now. It is she who will be able to tell us the secret to attaining happiness,” said Samuel.
  When they came to the old woman, she was cooking stew in a pot. Greeting her, each of the brothers recounted how he had turned unhappy again. “Please tell us how we can once more be happy,” said Timothy.
  “Well,” replied the old woman. “It is all in your own hands. See, when each of you made his wish and it was granted, you were happy. However, happiness never lasts without a very important thing – content. Earlier, since you were happy but never really content or satisfied, boredom and misery overcame you and you became sad again. Only if you learn to be content, can you truly enjoy the bliss of happiness.”
  Samuel, Timothy and Xander realized their mistake and went back home. They saw how lucky they were to have the gifts for which they had once craved. Samuel felt grateful for being the owner of a mansion and began taking good care of it. Timothy began to plough his land diligently so as to have a good harvest in time. Xander too learnt to appreciate his pretty wife’s chores in the house and her devotion towards him. Remembering that happiness and content went side by side, never again did the brothers take their blessings for granted. And thus, they lived happily ever after.
   

• A Wise Counting

• Emperor Akbar was in the habit of putting riddles and puzzles to his courtiers. He often asked questions which were strange and witty. It took much wisdom to answer these questions. Once he asked a very strange question. The courtiers were dumb folded by his question. Akbar glanced at his courtiers. As he looked, one by one the heads began to hang low in search of an answer. It was at this moment that Birbal entered the courtyard. Birbal who knew the nature of the emperor quickly grasped the situation and asked, "May I know the question so that I can try for an answer". Akbar said, "How many crows are there in this city?" Without even a moment's thought, Birbal replied "There are fifty thousand five hundred and eighty nine crows, my lord". "How can you be so sure?" asked Akbar. Birbal said, "Make you men count, My lord. If you find more crows it means some have come to visit their relatives here. If you find less number of crows it means some have gone to visit their relatives elsewhere". Akbar was pleased very much by Birbal's wit.  

• Baa Baa Black Sheep

• There was an old owl that lived in an oak. Everyday he saw incidents happening around him. Yesterday he saw a boy helping an old man to carry a heavy basket. Today he saw a girl shouting at her mother. The more he saw the less he spoke.
  
  
  As he spoke less, he heard more. He heard people talking and telling stories. He heard a woman saying that an elephant jumped over a fence. He also heard a man saying that he had never made a mistake.
  
  
  The old owl had seen and heard about what happened to people. Some became better and some became worse. But the old owl had become wiser each and every day.