The Ship

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 esle 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 form 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 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.”

Morals : For all we know, our blessings are not fruits for our prayers alone, but those of another praying of us.

The Ant And The Grasshopper

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."
The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

There's a time for work and a time for play.

Moral Message :emphasizes the twin values of hard work and planning for the future 

Source : https://americanliterature.com/author/aesop/short-story/the-ant-and-the-grasshopper 

Learn to Appreciate

Once upon a time, there was a man who was very helpful, kindhearted, and generous. He was a man who will help someone without asking anything to pay him back. He will help someone because he wants to and he loves to.  One day while walking into a dusty road, this man saw a purse, so he picked it up and noticed that the purse was empty. Suddenly a woman with a policeman shows up and gets him arrested.

The woman kept on asking where did he hide her money but the man replied, “It was empty when I found it, Mam.” The woman yelled at him, “Please give it back, It’s for my son’s school fees.”  The man noticed that the woman really felt sad, so he handed all his money.  He could say that the woman was a single mother.  The man said, “Take these, sorry for the inconvenience.”  The woman left and a policeman held the man for further questioning.

The woman was very happy but when she counted her money, later on, it was doubled, she was shocked.  One day while the woman was going to pay her son’s school fees towards the school, she noticed that some skinny man was walking behind her.  She thought that he may rob her, so she approached a policeman standing nearby.  He was the same policeman, who she took along to inquire about her purse.  The woman told him about the man following her, but suddenly they saw that man collapsing.  They ran at him and saw that he was the same man whom they arrested a few days back for stealing a purse.

He looked very weak and the woman was confused.  The policeman said to the woman, “He didn’t return your money, he gave you his money that day.  He wasn’t the thief but hearing about you son’s school fees, he felt sad and gave you his money.”  Later, they helped the man stand up, and the man told the woman, “Please go ahead and pay your son’s school fees, I saw you and followed you to be sure that no one steals your son’s school fees.”   The woman was speechless.

Moral: Life gives you strange experiences, sometime it shocks you and sometimes it may surprise you. We end up making wrong judgments or mistakes in our anger, desperation and frustration. However, when you get a second chance, correct your mistakes and return the favor. Be Kind and Generous. Learn to Appreciate what you are given.

Potatoes, Eggs, Coffee Beans

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water.

However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which are you,” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “

Moral: In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

Act of kindness and goodwill

Mr. Phillips was just getting ready to leave his office and he remembered that his wife had asked him to bring 1KG of Bananas. When He stepped out, he saw an ill-looking old lady across the road. She was selling fresh bananas on the street. Mr. Phillips usually buys bananas from a grocery shop few blocks away from his office but since he was in hurry to reach home today, he thought about buying them from across the road only.

He went to the old lady and asked her the price. She quoted $7 per 1KG. He told, “But the store where I usually buy from gives them for $5 per 1KG, can you not give me for the same price?” The Old Lady told, “No Sir, I can not afford to match that price. I can sell them to you at $6 per 1KG. That’s best I can afford to give you for.” Mr. Phillips told her, “nevermind”. He left in his car towards the usual grocery shop.

He went inside and picked up a good bunch of bananas. He went to the cashier to pay for them but he was surprised when the cashier told him that price per 1KG is $10. He told the cashier, “I have been buying bananas from here only for some years and this is a steep price increase, can’t you offer me a better deal for being a loyal customer?” The Manager overheard him and came there. He told Mr. Phillips, “Sorry Sir but our prices are fixed, we do not bargain.” Mr. Phillips felt little bad with that flat attitude. He thought for a second and put those bananas back. He went back to the old lady. She recognized him instantly and told him, “Sir, I can’t match that price, I won’t be able to earn any profit.”

Mr. Phillips told her, “Don’t worry about the price, I will pay you $10 Per KG! Now, give me 2KG.” The Old Lady got very happy, she packed 2KGs of Bananas and said, “I can’t take $10 but I will take $7 per KG. I appreciate your kindness.” She also told him, “My Husband used to own a small fruit shop but he got very sick. We have no child or any relatives who could support us. We had to sell his shop to cover his medical bills but he could not survive.” Tears were flowing from her eyes. She said, “But now to support myself I am trying to sell what I can afford to buy and sell, so I can survive for what’s left of my life.”

Mr. Phillips told her, “Do not worry, You are doing good and from tomorrow on, I will only buy bananas from you.”  He pulled out his wallet and gave her $100 extra and said, “Take this, Bring more different fruits to sell tomorrow, consider this an advance payment for fruits I will be buying from you. You can earn more if you have more choices of fruits to sell.” The Old Lady thanked him.

Later, He recommended many of his colleagues to buy fruits from the lady which they did. And with the support from Mr. Phillips and many other buyers, she made a better living.

Moral: Often we choose to go in big malls or big grocery shops for a shopping. We always pay the fixed price without bargaining. That is fine as we all have choices and people who run their business have their liabilities too. However, we need to spare a moment and think that why we have no courage or reason to bargain while shopping at big shops and why we try to bargain heavily with small street vendors? Think wisely. Always be helpful and supportive to someone who works hard to earn and has a need for it. Think, what Mr. Phillips had thought for a second and why he decided to buy from the old lady..

The Seven Wonders

Anna was a 9-year-old girl from the small village. She finished attending elementary school till 4th grade at her village. For the 5th grade onwards, she will have to get an admission in a school at a city nearby.  She got very happy knowing that she was accepted in a very reputed school in a city. Today was the first day of her school and she was waiting for her school bus. Once the bus came, she got in it quickly. She was very excited.

Once the bus reached to her school, all students started going to their classes. Anna also made it to her classroom after asking fellow students for direction. Upon seeing her simple clothing and knowing she is from a small village, other students started making fun of her. The teacher soon arrived and she asked everyone to keep quiet. She introduced Anna to the class and told that she will be studying with them only from today.

Then the teacher told the students to be ready for the surprise test now! She told everyone to write down the 7 wonders of the world. Everyone started writing the answer quickly.  Anna started to write the answer slowly.

When everyone except Anna had submitted their answer paper, the teacher came and asked Anna, “What happened Dear? Don’t worry, Just write what you know as other students have learned about it just a couple of days back”.

Anna replied, “I was thinking that there are so many things, which 7 I can pick to write!” And, then she handed her answer paper to the teacher. The teacher started reading everyone’s answers and the majority had answered them correctly such as The Great Wall of China, Colosseum, Stonehedge,  Great Pyramid of Giza, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Tajmahal, Hanging Gardens of Babylon etc.

The teacher was happy as students had remembered what she had taught them. At last the teacher picked up Anna’s answer paper and started reading.

“The 7 Wonders are – To be able to See, To be able to Hear, To be able to Feel, To Laugh, To Think, To be Kind, To Love!”

The teacher stood stunned and the whole class was speechless. Today, a girl from the small village reminded them about the precious gifts that god has given us, which are truly a wonder.

Moral:  Value what you have, use what you have, trust what you have.  You don’t always have to look away to find an inspiration. God has given you all the strength to reach your goals.