Change Yourself not the World

Long ago, people happily lived under the rule of a king. The people of the kingdom were very
happy as they had a very prosperous life with abundance of wealth and no misfortunes.
The king decided to go on a travel to visit places in his kingdom at distant places. He decided to
travel by foot to interact with his people and accompany them. People of distant places were so
happy to have a conversation with their king and they were proud that their king was so kind with
a good heart!
After several weeks, he returned to the palace. He was quite happy. However, he had regret.
He had intolerable pain in his feet as it was his first trip by foot to longer distance. He complained
to his ministers that the roads werent comfortable and were very stony. He could not tolerate the
pain as he walked all the way through the rough path.
He said he was very much worried about the people who used to walk along those roads as it
would be painful for them too!
He made an order to cover the road of the whole country with leather so that people might feel
comfortable, immediately.
The king thought that he had to change this for the betterment and happiness of the people.
His ministers were stunned to hear his order as it would destroy the life of thousands of cows to
get the sufficient quantity of leather and it would cost a huge amount of money also.
A wise man from the ministry came to the king and said that he had another idea.
The king asked - what was his alternative idea. The minister told, Why do you want to kill the
holy animal cow to cover the road with leather? Rather, you can just have a piece of leather cut
in appropriate shape to cover your feet?
The king was very much surprised by his suggestion and applauded the minister. He ordered for
a pair of leather shoes for him and requested the countrymen to wear shoes.
Many of us criticize the world for many things. We curse and blame the things in our
surroundings and never understand that we need a change in us. Changes are inevitable
in the world, and the changes should be from us. We cannot or should not force others to
make a change.

The Milkmaid
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 will buy some chickens from Farmer Lee and they will lay eggs each morning, which I
will sell at the market.
With the money that I get from the sale of these eggs, I will buy myself a new dress and a hat;
and when I go to market, all the young men will come up and speak to me.
Polly 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 Cunning Fox and the Clever Crane

Once upon a time, there lived a very cunning and mischievous fox. He used to speak to other
animals sweetly and gain their trust, before playing tricks on them.
One day the fox met a crane. They became good friend. Soon, he invited the crane to have a
dinner with him.
The day of the dinner came, and the crane went to the foxs house. To her surprise and
disappointment, the fox said that he could not make a big feast as promised, and just offered
some soup. When he brought the soup out of the kitchen, the crane saw that it was in a shallow
bowl.
The poor stork could not have any soup with its long bill, but the fox easily licked the soup from
the plate. As the crane just touched the soup with the tip of its bill, the fox asked her, How is the
soup? Dont you like it?
The hungry crane replied, Oh it is good, but my stomach is upset, and I cant take any more
soup!
Im sorry for troubling you, said the fox.
The crane replied, Oh dear, please dont say sorry. I have some health problem and cannot
enjoy what you offer.
She left the place after thanking the fox, and inviting him to her house for dinner.
The day arrived and the fox reached the cranes place. After chatting, the crane served soup in a
narrow jar with a long neck. She was able to have the soup very easily with her long bill, but the
fox could not.
After finishing hers, the crane asked the fox if he was enjoying the soup. The fox remembered
the feast he himself had given the crane and felt very ashamed.
Moral: One bad turn begets another

A Hole in the Fence

In a small village, a little boy lived with his father and mother. He was the only son. The parents
of the little boy were very depressed due to his bad temper. The boy used to get angry very soon
and taunt others with his words. His bad temper made him use words that hurt others. He
scolded kids, neighbours and even his friends due to anger. His friends and neighbours avoided
him, and his parents were really worried about him.
His mother and father advised him many times to control his anger and be kind. Unfortunately, all
their attempts failed. Finally, the boys father came up with an idea.
One day, his father gave him a huge bag of nails. He asked his son to hammer one nail to the
fence every time he became angry and lost his temper. The little boy found it amusing and
accepted the task.
Every time he lost his temper, he ran to the fence and hammered a nail. His anger drove him to
hammer nails on the fence 30 times on the first day! After the next few days, the number of nails
hammered on the fence was reduced to half. The little boy found it very difficult to hammer the
nails and decided to control his temper.
Gradually, the number of nails hammered to the fence was reduced and the day arrived when no
nail was hammered! The boy did not lose his temper at all that day. For the next several days, he
did not lose his temper, and so did not hammer any nail.

Now, his father told him to remove the nails each time the boy controlled his anger. Several days
passed and the boy was able to pull out most of the nails from the fence. However, there
remained a few nails that he could not pull out.
The boy told his father about it. The father appreciated him and asked him pointing to a hole,
What do you see there?
The boy replied, a hole in the fence!
He told the boy, The nails were your bad temper and they were hammered on people. You can
remove the nails but the holes in the fence will remain. The fence will never look the same. It has
scars all over. Some nails cannot even be pulled out. You can stab a man with a knife, and say
sorry later, but the wound will remain there forever. Your bad temper and angry words were like
that! Words are more painful than physical abuse! Use words for good purposes. Use them to
grow relationships. Use them to show the love and kindness in your heart!
Moral Unkind words cause lasting damage: Let our words be kind and sweet.

Strong or Weak
There was a proud durian tree in the forest. He was tall and strong. There was a small grass next
to the tree.
The durian tree said, I am very handsome and strong. No one can defeat me. Hearing this the
grass replied, Dear friend, too much pride is harmful. Even the strong will fall one day.
The durian tree ignored the grass words. He continued to praise himself.
A strong wind blew. The durian tree stood firmly. Even when it rained, the durian tree stood
strong by spreading its leaves.
At the same time, the grass bowed low. The durian tree made fun of the herb.
One day there was a storm in the forest. The grass bowed low. As usual the durian tree did not
want to bow.
The storm kept growing stronger. The durian tree could no longer bear it. He felt his strength
giving way.
He fell down. This was the end of the proud tree. When everything was calm the grass stood
straight. He looked around. He saw the proud durian tree had fallen.

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 river. To reach the river, she had to climb up a 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 Greedy Mouse

A greedy mouse saw a basket full of corn. He wanted to eat it. So he made a small hole in the
basket. He squeezed in through the hole. He ate a lot of corn. He felt full. He was very happy.
Now he wanted to come out. He tried to come out through the small hole. He could not. His belly
was full. He tried again. But it was of no use.
The mouse started crying. A rabbit was passing by. It heard the mouses cry and asked: Why are
you crying my friend?
The mouse explained: I made a small hole and came into the basket. Now I am not able to get
out through that hole.
The rabbit said: It is because you ate too much. Wait until your belly shrinks. The rabbit laughed
and went away.
The mouse fell asleep in the basket. Next morning his belly had shrunk. But the mouse wanted to
eat some corn. So he ate and ate. His belly was full once again. He thought: Oh! Now I will go
out tomorrow.
The cat was the next passer-by. He smelt the mouse in the basket. He lifted its lid. He ate the
mouse.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one hot day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing happily. An Ant
passed by, carrying 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 work. 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 ENJOY THE BENEFITS TOMORROW!