The Fox and the Stork

A selfish fox once invited a stork to dinner at his home and for a joke put nothing before her but some soup in a very shallow dish. The fox could easily lap this up, but the Stork could only wet the end of her long bill in it, and stayed hungry. I am sorry that the soup is not to your liking," said the fox with a sly smile. "Oh, please do not apologise," said the Stork. "I hope you will return this visit, and come and dine with me too sometime." So a day was appointed when the Fox should visit the Stork. Finally, when they were seated at the table, the Stork served them both some soup in a very long-necked jar with a narrow mouth. The stork drank the soup easily but the fox could not insert his snout into the tall jar. This time i t was the Foxs turn to go hungry. MORAL: ONE BAD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER.

The Bundle of Sticks

A father had a family of sons who were always quarreling among themselves. When he failed to solve their fights with his advice, he decided to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion; and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so, he placed the bundle into the hands of each of them in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. They tried with all their strength, but were not able to do it. Next, he opened the bundle, took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them into his sons' hands, and asked them to break it, and they could do so very easily. He then told them: "My sons, if you stay together and help each other, you will be as strong as this bundle, and no enemy can beat you; but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks." The sons understood the message, thanked, and promised the father to always be together no matter what. Moral: Union gives strength.

The Milkmaid and her Pail

Patty the Milkmaid was going to market carrying her 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 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 Fox and the Grapes

One afternoon a fox was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from over a lofty branch. "Just the thing to quench my thirst," quoted 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," and proceeded to walk away. MORAL: IT'S EASY TO DESPISE WHAT YOU CANNOT HAVE.

The Ant and the Dove

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 off a leaf and dropped it into the water near the struggling ant. The ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up there. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground. Just at that time, a hunter nearby was throwing out his net towards 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 deserves another.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day 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 the nest. "Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling away?" "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and 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 the 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 the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew.. MORAL: WORK TODAY AND YOU CAN REAP THE BENEFITS TOMORROW!

The Boy who cried 'Wolf'

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.

Friends

Bunny rabbit lived in the forest. He had many friends. He was proud of his friends. One day Bunny rabbit heard the loud barking of the wild dogs. He was very scared. He decided to ask for help. He quickly went to his friend deer. He said: Dear friend, some wild dogs are chasing me. Can you chase them away with your sharp antlers? Dear said: That is right, I can. But now I am busy. Why dont you ask bear for help? Bunny rabbit ran to the bear. My dear friend you are very strong, please help me. Some wild dogs are after me. Please chase them away, he requested the bear. Bear replied: I am sorry. I am hungry and tired. I need to find some food. Please ask th e monkey for help. Poor Bunny went to the monkey, elephant, goat and all his friends. Bunny felt sad that nobody was ready to help him. He understood that he has to think of a way out. He hid under a bush. He lay still the wild dogs went their way.

True Wealth

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of showing his son how the poor people live so he could be thankful for his wealth. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, How was the trip? It was great, Dad. Did you see how poor people can be? the father asked. Oh yeah said the son. So what did you learn from the trip? asked the father. The son answered, I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.

With this the boys father was speechless. Then his son added, Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are.