Lion and Poor Slave

A slave, ill-treated by his master, runs away to the forest. There he comes across a lion in pain because of a thorn in his paw. The slave bravely goes forward and removes the thorn gently.

The lion without hurting him goes away.

Some days later, the slave’s master comes hunting to the forest and catches many animals and cages them. The slave is spotted by the masters’ men who catch him and bring him to the cruel master. The master asks for the slave to be thrown into the lion’s cage.

The slave is awaiting his death in the cage when he realizes that it is the same lion that he had helped. The slave rescued the lion and all other caged animals.

Moral: One should help others in need, we get the rewards of our helpful acts in return.

The Poor Man’s Wealth

Ramchand and Premchand were neighbors. Ramchand was a poor farmer. Premchand was a landlord.
Ramchand used to be very relaxed and happy. He never bothered to close the doors and windows of his house at night. He had deep sound sleeps. Although he had no money he was peaceful.
Premchand used to be very tense always. He was very keen to close the doors and windows of his house at night. He could not sleep well. He was always bothered that someone might break open his safes and steal away his money. He envied the peaceful Ramchand.
One day, Premchand call Ramchand and gave him a boxful of cash saying, “Look my dear friend. I am blessed with plenty of wealth. I find you in poverty. So, take this cash and live in prosperity.”
Ramchand was overwhelmingly happy. He was joyful throughout the day. Night came. Ramchand went to bed as usual. But, to-day, he could not sleep. He went and closed the doors and windows. He still could not sleep. He began to keep on looking at the box of cash. The whole night he was disturbed.
As soon as day broke, Ramchand took the box of cash to Premchand. He gave away the box to Premchand saying, “Dear Friend, I am poor. But, your money took away peace from me. Please bear with me and take back your money.”

Moral: Money can not get everything. Learn to be satisfied with what you have and you will always be happy.

The Ant and The Dove

On a hot day of summer, an ant was searching for some water. After walking around for some time, she came near the river. To drink the water, she climbed up on a small rock. While trying to drink a water, she slipped and fell into the river.
There was a dove sitting on a branch of a tree who saw an ant falling into the river. The dove quickly plucked a leaf and dropped it into the river 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 looked up to the tree and thanked the dove.
Later, the same day, a bird catcher nearby was about to throw his net over the dove hoping to trap it. An ant saw him and guessed what he was about to do. The dove was resting and he had no idea about the bird catcher. An ant quickly bit him on the foot. Feeling the pain, the bird catcher dropped his net and let out a light scream. The dove noticed it and quickly flew away.

Moral:  If you do good, good will come to you.  One good turn deserves another.

Boy’s Job Appraisal

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits (phone numbers).  The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation.
Boy: ‘Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?
Woman: (at the other end of the phone line): ‘I already have someone to cut my lawn.’
Boy: ‘Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now.’
Woman: I’m very satisfied with the person who is presently cutting my lawn.
Boy: (with more perseverance): ‘Lady, I’ll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach, Florida.’
Woman: No, thank you.
With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.  The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy.
Store Owner: ‘Son… I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job.’
Boy: ‘No thanks.’
Store Owner: But you were really pleading for one.
Boy: No Sir, I was just checking my performance at the Job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I was talking to!’

Moral: This is what we call ‘Self Appraisal’.  Every time if we don’t get ahead of others, we blame others for it.  We should look to our self and compare, find own weaknesses and work hard to throw away weaknesses.  Always Work Hard, Honest and with full Dedication.  It will always pay up.

Mother’s Love for a Boy

One day Thomas Edison came home and gave a paper to his mother. He told her, “My teacher gave this paper to me and told me to only give it to my mother.” His mother’s eyes were tearful as she read the letter out loud to her child, “Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn’t have enough good teachers for training him. Please teach him yourself.”
Many years after Edison’s mother had died, Edison had become one of the greatest inventors of the century. One day he was going through the old closet and he found a folded letter which was given to him by his teacher for his mother. He opened it. The message written on the letter was, “Your son is mentally ill. We can not let him attend our school anymore. He is expelled.”
Edison became emotional reading it and then he wrote in his diary, “Thomas Alva Edison was a mentally ill child whose mother turned him into the genius of the century.”

Moral: A Mother’s love and upbringing can help change the destiny of a child.

Five More Minutes

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground.  “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.  “He’s a fine looking boy”, the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.”

Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. “What do you say we go, Melissa?”  Melissa pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.”  The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?”

Again Melissa pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.”  The man smiled and said, “OK.”  “My, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded.

The man smiled and then said, “Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa.  She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch her play.”

Moral: Life is all about making priorities, and family is one and only priority on top of all other, so spend all time you can with loved ones.

Looking at Mirror

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written: “Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym”.  In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while, they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself.

The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room. The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: “Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!”  One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside they suddenly became speechless.  They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself.

There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: “There is only one person who is capable of setting limits to your growth: it is YOU.” You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization, and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.  Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your partner changes when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. “The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself”.

Moral: The world is like a mirror: it gives back to anyone the reflection of the thoughts in which one has strongly believed. The world and your reality are like mirrors lying in a coffin, which show to any individual the death of his divine capability to imagine and create his happiness and his success. It’s the way you face Life that makes the difference.

The Way God Helps

There was a small village by the river. Everyone lived happily and offered regular prayers at the village temple (Church). Once during the monsoon season, it rained heavily. The river started overflowing and flood entered the village. Everyone started to evacuate their homes and set out to go to the safe place.
One man ran to the temple (Church). He quickly went to the priest’s room and told him, “The flood water has entered into our homes and it is rising quickly. And water has also started to enter the temple. We must leave the village as in no time it will sink under the water! Everyone has set out to go to the safer place and you must come along”. The priest told the man, “I am not an atheist like you all and I have a full faith in God. I trust the God that he will come to save me. I will not leave the temple, You may go!” So, the man left.
Soon, the water level started to rise and reached the waist height. The priest climbed on the desk. After a few minutes, a man with the boat came to rescue the priest. He told the priest, “I was told by the villagers that you are still inside the temple, so I have come to rescue you, please climb on the boat”. But the priest again refused to leave giving him the same reason. So the boatman left.
The water kept rising and reached to the ceiling, so the priest climbed to the top of the temple. He kept praying to the God to save him. Soon the helicopter came, they dropped the rope ladder for the priest and asked him to climb on and get inside the helicopter so they can take him to the safer place. But the priest refused to leave by giving him the same reason again! So the helicopter left to search and help others.
At last, when the temple nearly submerged under the water, the priest kept his head up and started complaining, “Oh Lord, I worshiped you for all my life and kept my faith in you! Why didn’t you come to save me?!” The God appeared in front of him and with a smile, he said, “Oh mad man, I came to save you three times! I came running to you to ask you to leave for the safest place with other villages, I came with a Boat, I came with a Helicopter! What is my fault if you didn’t recognize me?!”
The priest realized his mistake and asked for forgiveness. He got his chance to go to the safe place one more time, which he accepted.

Moral: In life, opportunities come unknowingly without any recolonization. We fail to recognize it and keep complaining that life didn’t give us the opportunity to lead a successful life. Always take every chance you get to make a better life.

The Lion and a Clever Fox

Long ago, there lived a lion in a dense forest. One morning his wife told him that his breath was bad and unpleasant. The lion became embarrassed and angry upon hearing it. He wanted to check this fact with others. So he called three others outside his cave.
First came the sheep. The Lion opening his mouth wide said, “Sheep, tell me if my mouth smells bad?” The sheep thought that the lion wanted an honest answer, so the sheep said, “Yes, Friend. There seems to be something wrong with your breath”. This plain speak did not go well with the lion. He pounced on the sheep, killing it.
Then the lion called the wolf and said, “What do you think? Do I have a bad breath?” The wolf saw what happened to the sheep. He wanted to be very cautious in answering a question. So, the wolf said, “Who says that Your breath is unpleasant. It’s as sweet as the smell of roses”. When the lion heard the reply, he roared in an anger and immediately attacked the wolf and killed it. “The flatterer!” growled the lion.
Finally, came the turn of the fox. The lion asked him the same question. The fox was well aware of the fate of the sheep and the wolf. So he coughed and cleared his throat again and again and then said, “Oh Dear Friend, for the last few days, I have been having a very bad cold. Due to this, I can’t smell anything, pleasant or unpleasant”.
The lion spared the fox’s life.

Moral:  Do not involve yourself in a bad company or a bad situation else you may end up getting punished for no fault of yours.  Sometimes, It’s wise to stay away from certain situations.

The Lion and The Mouse

A Mouse running over his face awakened a Lion from sleep. Rising up angrily, he caught him and was about to kill him. Then the Mouse piteously entreated, saying:

“If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness.” The Lion laughed at him but allowed him to go. It happened shortly after this that some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the ground, caught the Lion. The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came and gnawed the rope with his teeth, and set him free, exclaiming:

“You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, never expecting to receive from me any repayment of your favor,  Now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to confer benefits on a Lion.”

Moral: It is possible for even a Mouse to confer benefits on a Lion.

Learning from Mistakes

Thomas Edison tried two thousand different materials in search of a filament for the light bulb. When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant complained, “All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing, Not sure if we can use an electricity properly.”
Edison replied very confidently, “Oh, we have come a long way and we have learned a lot. We know that there are two thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb.”
Moral: We can also learn from our mistakes.

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.

The Four Friends

Four friends live in a village which has been struck by famine. Three of them are extremely clever and learned and consider their friend Shivanand a lazy but practical fool.

The four decide to go a place called Manasa, which is considered an asylum for scholars. On their way, they have to pass through a forest. There they come across bones of a lion. Satyanand decides to show his knowledge by recreating the lion’s skeleton. The other friend reconstructs the lion’s muscles and structure. Vidyanand then wants to show his superior powers by breathing life into the lion.

Shivanand tries to stop them and warns them of the consequences of their plans. But they do not stop. Shivanand climbs a tree before Vidyanand foolishly proceeds with his plans. The lion comes to life and devours the three learned fools.

Shivanand’s practical nature saves him.

Moral: It is better to be practical than learned.