Stories With Lessons...

These stories will teach you a thing or two........

- The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There once was a boy who grew bored while watching over the village sheep. He wanted to make things more exciting. So, he yelled out that he saw a wolf chasing the sheep. All the villagers came running to drive the wolf away. However, they saw no wolf. The boy was amused, but the villagers were not. They told him not to do it again. Shortly after, he repeated this antic. The villagers came running again, only to find that he was lying. Later that day, the boy really sees a wolf sneaking amongst the flock. He jumped up and called out for help. But no one came this time because they thought he was still joking around. At sunset, the villagers looked for the boy. He had not returned with their sheep. They found him crying. He told them that there really was a wolf, and the entire flock was gone. An old man came to comfort him and told him that nobody would believe a liar even when they are being honest.

Moral: Lying breaks trust.

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-. The Golden Touch

The Greek king Midas did a good deed for a Satyr. This prompted Dionysus, the god of wine, to grant him a wish. Midas asked for everything he touched to turn to gold. Dionysus’ warned him not to do so, but Midas could not be swayed. Midas excitedly started touching everything and turning them into gold. Soon, he became hungry. But he couldn’t eat anything because even his food turned to gold. His beloved daughter saw him in distress and ran to hug him. However, she, too, turned to gold. He realised then the golden touch was not a blessing.

Moral: Greed leads one to downfall.

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-. The Fox and the Grapes

A hungry fox once looked everywhere for food. He couldn’t find anything until he stumbled upon a farmer’s wall. He saw big, purple, juicy grapes. He jumped as high as possible to reach the grapes. No matter how many times he tried, he failed. Finally, he gave up and went home, thinking to himself that the grapes must have been sour anyway.

Moral: Nothing comes easy, do not hate what you can’t have.

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-. The Proud Rose

In the desert existed a rose and a cactus. The beautiful rose would take every opportunity to insult the cactus. The other plants tried to defend the cactus, but the rose was too obsessed with its own looks. There was no water during a particularly hot summer. The rose started to wither away. But the cactus had become a source of water for sparrows. The rose asked the cactus for water, and the nice cactus readily agreed.

Moral: Never judge someone according to how they look.

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-. The Milkmaid and Her Pail

Molly, the milkmaid’s job was to milk the cows and sell the milk at the market. She started thinking about the things she would spend her money on. While walking to the market, she spotted a chicken and thought that she could earn more money by buying a chicken and selling its eggs. She started to think how jealous she could make the other milkmaid with all the things she could buy from the milk and egg money. She started to skip in excitement, and soon the milk spilled over. She went home with empty pails and no money. Her mother then reminds her that she shouldn’t count her chicken until they hatch.

Moral: Do not depend on something until you are sure it will happen.

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-. A Wise Old Owl

An old owl would observe incidents happening around his oak tree every day. The more things he saw, the less he would speak. He heard people talking and sharing stories as well. The old owl had seen so much and heard all kinds of stories. All of these experiences helped the owl to become wiser day by day.

Moral: Talk less and be more observant.

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-. The Golden Egg

A farmer had a goose that laid one golden egg a day. He would sell the golden eggs, and they enjoyed a comfortable life. However, the farmer became greedy and wanted more than one egg a day. His wife foolishly agreed to his idea. The next day the farmer cut open the goose after it laid the golden egg. He could only find blood and guts. He realised his mistake. He now had no source of income, and the couple became poorer every day.

Moral: Think before you act.

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-. The Farmer and the Well

A farmer bought a well from his neighbour to water his farm. The neighbour sold him the well but did not allow him to draw water from it. The farmer went to the emperor for justice. His courtier questioned the neighbour, who said that he had sold the well but not the water within it. The neighbour was told to either pay rent for the water to remove it all immediately. Realising that his trick didn’t work, he apologised and went home.

Moral: Cheating will get you nowhere.

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-. Elephant and Friends

A lonely elephant was looking for friends in the forest. The monkey declined to be the elephant’s friend because the elephant could not swing in the trees. The rabbit turned the elephant because it was too big to fit in the burrow. The frog refused to be the elephant’s friend because it could not jump. Every other animal said no to the poor elephant. The next day, all the animals in the forest were running away in fear. The elephant stopped a bear who said that the tiger was attacking them all. The elephant nicely asked the tiger to stop, but the tiger told the elephant to stay out of the way. The elephant proceeded to kick the tiger and scare it away. The other animals then realised that the elephant was the perfect size to be their friend.

Moral: Friends can be any shape or size.

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-. When Adversity Knocks

There once was a girl who was frustrated with life and asked her father for advice. He asked her to bring an egg, two tea leaves, and a potato. He then started boiling water in three separate vessels. He put the egg, potato, and tea leaves in one vessel each. After a few minutes, he asked her to peel the egg and potato and strain the leaves. He explained to his daughter that:
The soft egg was now hard.
The hard potato was now soft.
The tea had changed the water itself.
When adversity is at our door, we can respond to it in different ways.

Moral: We decide how to respond to difficult situations.

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-. The Needle Tree

There were two brothers; the older one was always mean to the younger one. The older one would chop firewood in the forest and sell it in the market. One day, he stumbled across a magical tree. The tree begged him not to cut him down and promised him golden apples in exchange. The older brother felt disappointed with the number of apples he received. He decided to cut down the tree anyway, but the tree showered him with hundreds of needles. The boy was left lying on the forest ground in pain. His younger brother finally found him and carefully took out every needle. The older brother finally apologised for treating his brother badly. The magical tree saw this exchange. It decided to give them more golden apples.

Moral: Kindness will always be rewarded.

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-. A Glass of Milk

There was a poor boy who would sell newspapers to pay for school. One day, he was ravenous and decided to ask for food at the next house he visited. Several people denied him food. However, a girl at one house offered him a glass of milk. She refused to take payment for it. After many years, this girl fell sick. No doctor wanted to help her. She decided to go to the best doctor in the town. The doctor spent months treating her, though she could not afford the service. When she received the hospital bill, it read ‘Paid in full, with a glass of milk.’

Moral: Good deeds are always rewarded.

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-. The Ants and the Grasshopper

A family of ants was drying out the grain they had stored during the summer. A hungry grasshopper comes to them and asks for some food. They asked him why he had not saved any food for the winter. The grasshopper said he was too busy making music during the summer that he didn’t save any food. The ants had no sympathy for the grasshopper and went back to work. Can you guess the ant and grasshopper story moral?

Moral: There’s a time to work and a time to play.

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- The Bundle of Sticks

An old man had three sons. They were hard workers but always fought. He could never unite them. He then fell ill and asked his sons to unite. They paid him no heed. He decided to teach them a lesson to set aside their differences. He gave them a bundle of sticks and told them to break it into two. Whoever finishes first would win. They quickly did this and started fighting again. He then gave them another bundle of sticks and told them to break it as a bundle and not separately. Despite their best efforts, they could not do it. He told them it was easy to break the sticks individually. But if you stay united, no one can hurt you. They finally understood the value of unity.

Moral: There’s strength in unity.

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-. The Bear and the Two Friends

Two friends were walking through the forest. Since it was dangerous, they promised to stay close to each other. They see a bear approaching them. One friend scurries up a tree, leaving the other one behind. The other friend decided to pretend to be dead. The bear approached him, smelled his ear and then left. The friend in the tree climbed down and asked the other friend what the bear had told him. He replies, “The bear simply advised against believing a false friend.”

Moral: True friends stick with you through all situations.
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Part 2 will follow next Saturday.