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The False Human Belief

As a man was passing the elephants,  he suddenly stopped,  confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg.  No chains,  no cages.  It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time can break away from their bonds but for some reason,  they did not. He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.  “Well,”  trainer said,  “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and,  at that age,  it’s enough to hold them.  As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away.  They believe the rope can still hold them,  so they never try to break free.” The man was amazed.  These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t,  they were stuck right where they were. Like the elephants,  how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something,  simply b

The Proud Rose

Once upon a time there was a rose who was very proud of her beautiful looks. Her only disappointment was that she  grew next to an ugly cactus. Every day, the rose would insult the cactus on his looks while the cactus stayed quiet. All the other plants in the garden tried to make the rose see sense, but she was too swayed by her own good looks. One summer, the well present in the garden grew dry and there was no water for the plants. The rose began to wilt. She saw a sparrow dip her beak into the cactus for some water. Though ashamed, she asked the cactus if she too could have some water. The kind cactus readily agreed and they both got through the tough summer as friends. Moral of The Story Never judge someone by the way they look.

When Adversity Knocks

This is a story explaining how adversity is met differently by different people. Asha’s father placed an egg, a potato, and some tea leaves in three separate vessels with boiling water. He asked Asha to keep an eye on the vessels for ten minutes. Once these ten minutes were over , he asked Asha to peel the potato, peel the egg and strain the tea leaves. Asha was left puzzled. Her father explained , ‘Each of these items was but in the same circumstance of being in a pot of boiling water. See how they’ve responded differently. The potato is now soft, the egg is now hard, and the tea has changed the water itself. We are all like these items. When adversity calls we respond in exactly the way they have. Now are you a potato, an egg or are you tea leaves?’ Moral Of The Story We can choose how to respond to a difficult situation.

The Milkmaid and Her Pail

Patty the milkmaid had just finished milking her cow and had two full pails of fresh creamy milk. She put both pails on a stick and set off to the market to sell her pails of milk. Along the way she started to think of all the milk in her pails and all the money she would get for them. ‘Once I get the money, I’ll buy a chicken’, she thought. ‘The chicken will lay eggs and I will get more chickens. They’ll all lay eggs and I can sell them for more money. Then I’ll buy the house on the hill and be the envy of everyone in the village. They’ll ask me to sell the chicken farm, but I’ll toss my head like this and refuse’. So saying, Patty, the milkmaid tossed her head and dropped her pails. The milk spilled onto the ground while Patty cried. Moral of The Story Do not count your chickens before they hatch.

The Golden Touch

This is the story of a very greedy rich man who chanced upon meeting a fairy. The fairy’s hair was caught in a few tree branches. Realising he had an opportunity to make even more money, he asked for a wish in return for helping the fairy. He said, ’All that I touch should turn to gold’, and his wish was granted by the grateful fairy. The greedy man rushed home to tell his wife and daughter about his new boon, all the while touching stones and pebbles and converting them into gold. Once he got home, his daughter rushed to greet him. As soon as he bent down to scoop her up in his arms, she turned into a gold statue. He realized his folly and spent the rest of his days searching for the fairy to take away his wish. Moral of The Story Greediness will always lead to a downfall.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There was once a boy whose father one day told him that he is old enough to look after the sheep. Every day he had to take the sheep over the grass fields and watch them as they grazed to become strong sheep with thick wool. The boy was unhappy though. He wanted to run and play, not watch the boring sheep. So, he decided to have some fun instead. He cried ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ until the entire village came running with stones to chase away the wolf before it could eat any of the sheep. Once they saw that there was no wolf, they left muttering under their breath about how the boy was wasting their time and giving them a good fright while at it. The next day, the boy again cried ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ and the villagers again rushed to chase the wolf away. As the boy laughed at the fright he had caused, the villagers left, some angrier than the others. The third day, as the boy went up a small hill, he suddenly saw a wolf attacking his sheep. He cried as hard as he could, ‘Wolf! Wolf! W

Counting Wisely

Akbar once put a question to his court that left everyone puzzled. As they all tried to figure out the answer, Birbal walked and asked what the matter was. And so they told him the question. ‘How many crows are there in the city?’ Birbal immediately smiled, went up to Akbar and announced that the answer to his questions was twenty-one thousand five hundred and twenty-three . When asked how he knew the answer, Birbal replied, ‘Ask your men to count the number of crows. If there are more, then the crows’ relatives from outside the city are visiting them. If there are fewer, then the crows are visiting their relatives outside the city.’ Pleased with the answer, Akbar presented Birbal with a ruby and pearl chain. Moral of The Story Having an explanation for your answer is just as important as having an answer.