The Lazy Farmer

The rain gods had been smiling the whole night. The roads were muddy and the potholes were filled to the brim.

It was the day for the market and Raju the farmer was riding his cart along the country road. He had to reach the market early so that he can sell his hay. It was very difficult for the horses to drag the load through the deep mud. On his journey suddenly the wheels of the horse cart sank into the mire.

The more the horses pulled, the deeper the wheel sank. Raju climbed down from his seat and stood beside his cart. He searched all around but could not find anyone around to help him.

Cursing his bad luck, he looked dejected and defeated. He didn’t make the slightest effort to get down on the wheel and lift it up by himself. Instead he started cursing his luck for what happened. Looking up at the sky, he started shouting at God, “I am so unlucky! Why has this happened to me? Oh God, come down to help me.”

After a long wait, God finally appeared before Raju. He asked Raju, “Do you think you can move the chariot by simply looking at it and whining about it? Nobody will help you unless you make some effort to help yourself. Did you try to get the wheel out of the pothole by yourself? Get up and put your shoulder to wheel and you will soon find the way out.”

Raju was ashamed of himself. He bent down and put his shoulder to the wheel and urged on the horses.

In no time the wheel was out of the mire. Raju learnt his lesson. He thanked God and carried on his journey happily.

Moral of the story :

 “God helps those who help themselves”.

The Foolish Bear

There lived a bear by a riverside in a jungle. One day, he felt hungry. He came out of his den to look for food.

The bear went to the river to catch some fish. Standing by the side of the river, he stared into the water. Soon enough, he saw a fish. He pounced on the fish, and caught it. But then, the bear thought, “This is too small a fish to fill my stomach. I must catch a bigger fish.”

So, he let off the small fish. He waited for some time, till he caught another fish. This time too the fish was small. He thought that the small fish would not fill his belly. So he again let the fish go off.

This way he caught many small fish, but let all of them go off, still thinking that the small fish would not fill his belly. By sunset, the bear had not caught any big fish.

What was worse, having kept standing for very long, the bear now felt tired.

He slowly began to feel sorry for having let off so many fish. He realized that all those small fish, together would have filled up his belly, but now it was too late. He had to remain hungry that day.

Moral : A Small Fish in Hand is worth a Big Fish in the Water.

The Two Lizards

On a warm winter morning, two Lizards sat on a high wall of an old mill.

They were enjoying the bright sunshine.

One Lizard kept dreaming all the time and was unhappy. The other was older and wiser.

“How miserable is our situation!” cried the Unhappy Lizard. “No one notices us. We are small and have such dull lives. Look at the other bigger animals. They are so royal and majestic!”

The Unhappy Lizard sighed, “I wish I was born a deer. To be quick and have great, big horns! And live proudly in the royal forest.”

At that very moment, a pack of dogs ran past, chasing a deer. The deer was tired and the hungry dogs pounced on it.
The Lizards watched in horror.

The Wise Lizard said to his complaining friend, “You wanted to be in place of this poor deer!”

“You should learn from what you just saw. You are not beautifully coloured or quick on your feet. But, you are alive! Destiny is kind to you. You are small and safe from danger, unlike the bigger animals!”

Moral - Be Happy With What You Are.

The Boy and the Wolf

Once there was a shepherd boy who had to look after a flock of sheep. One day, he felt bored and decided to play a trick on the villagers. He shouted, “Help! Wolf! Wolf!”

The villagers heard his cries and rushed out of the village to help the shepherd boy. When they reached him, they asked, “Where is the wolf?”

The shepherd boy laughed loudly, “Ha, Ha, Ha! I fooled all of you. I was only playing a trick on you.”

A few days later, the shepherd boy played this trick again.

Again he cried, “Help! Help! Wolf! Wolf!” Again, the villagers rushed up the hill to help him and again they found that boy had tricked them. They were very angry with him for being so naughty.

Then, some time later, a wolf went into the field. The wolf attacked one sheep, and then another and another. The shepherd boy ran towards the village shouting, “Help! Help! Wolf! Help!Somebody!”

The villagers heard his cries but they laughed because they thought it was another trick. The boy ran to the nearest villager and said, “A wolf is attacking the sheep. I lied before, but this time it is true!”

Finally, the villagers went to look. It was true. They could see the wolf running away and many dead sheep lying on the grass.

Moral :

We may not believe someone who often tells lies, even when he tells the truth.

The Cat, Partridge and the Hare

Long time ago there lived a partridge under a tree. The partridge one day decided to go to the fields and indulge itself in the food there. But it did not return for many days as it found the fields a good source of food.

In the meantime a hare came along one day and occupied the same dwelling which the partridge used to live in. The partridge however returned from the fields having grown plump from the food. It wanted to claim the dwelling for itself. A fight ensued and the hare was saying that the dwelling belonged to whoever occupied it.

Then they both decided to contact a supposedly learned cat. So one day, they both approached the cat with their problem. The cat, which was actually a hypocrite who earned his livelihood by posing as a priest, decided to take advantage of the situation. On hearing the partridge and the hare from a distance, it said, "Sorry! I can't hear you from that far a distance because of old age. Don't worry I mean no harm to you. Come closer and both of you tell me your stories."

They were fooled into coming near and as soon as he could lay his hands on both of them, he killed them both and had a meal.

Moral: 

When two people fight, the third mediator has the advantage.

Live with Good Habits

A Man attended an interview for a job.

Along the corridor, he picked up a piece and threw it into a dustbin.

The interviewer passed by and saw it.

This man got the job.
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Moral:

Live with good habits, and You will be recognised.

Maintaining Brightness

A Shop is always Brightly Lit Up.

Someone asked: “What Brand of Bulb are You using? It is so lasting”.

The Shop Owner replied: “Our Bulbs Blew Out frequently. We replaced them once a Bulb blew out”.

Moral:

1. It is simple to maintain Brightness, change the Bulbs regularly.

2. To Brightening up everyday life: Endeavour to abandon unwholesome states of mind and make an effort to encourage wholesome states to Grow.

What is Angry

Child : Mother, You are very beautiful Today.

Mother: Why?

Child : Because You did not get Angry today.

Moral:

1. It is easy to Possess Beauty, do not get angry.

2. Anger is Temporary Madness.

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.”

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.

You Can Not Please Everyone

One day, a Man was going to Market with his Son and his Ass. They met a couple on the way.

"Why walk when you have an ass to ride?" called out the husband, "seat the boy on the ass."

"I would like that," said the boy, "help me up father." And the father did that willingly.

Soon they met another couple. "How shameful of you!" cried the woman, "let your father ride, won't he be tired?"

So, the boy got down and the father rode the ass. Again they marched on.

"Poor Boy", said the next person they met, "why should the lazy father ride while his son is walking?"

So, the boy got onto the ass too. As they went on, they met some travellers.

"How cruel of them!" They are up to kill the poor ass." cried one of the travellers.

Hearing this, the father and the son got down. Now they decided to carry the ass on their shoulders. As they did so, the travellers broke into laughter.

The laughter frightened the ass. It broke free and galloped away.

Moral: You Can Not Please Everyone.

Dirty Tricks Seldom Work

A Fox was once caught in a trap. It was only after a tough struggle that she could get free. But, to her sorrow, her beautiful tail had been cut off and left in the trap.

"How ugly I shall look!" moaned the fox, "won't the other foxes laugh at me ?"

Thinking hard, the fox hit upon a plan to save herself from being laughed at. She called a meeting of his friends and said, "Brothers! have you ever wondered why after all, we carry these long tails?" Let us cut them off and be free from their nuisance."

But the other foxes had noticed her cut-off tail. They laughed aloud and replied, "You used to say that tails looked very fine when your own was all right. Now that you have lost yours, you want us to lose ours too."

Moral : Dirty Tricks Seldom Work.

Temper Control

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was talented, creative, handsome, and extremely bright. A natural leader. The kind of person everyone would normally have wanted on their team or project. But he was also self-centered and had a very bad temper. When he got angry, he usually said, and often did, some very hurtful things. In fact, he seemed to have little regard for those around him. Even friends. So, naturally, he had few. “But,” he told himself, “that just shows how stupid most people are!”

As he grew, his parents became concerned about this personality flaw, and pondered long and hard about what they should do. Finally, the father had an idea. And he struck a bargain with his son. He gave him a bag of nails, and a BIG hammer. “Whenever you lose your temper,” he told the boy, “I want you to really let it out. Just take a nail and drive it into the oak boards of that old fence out back. Hit that nail as hard as you can!”

Of course, those weathered oak boards in that old fence were almost as tough as iron, and the hammer was mighty heavy, so it wasn’t nearly as easy as it first sounded. Nevertheless, by the end of the first day, the boy had driven 40 nails into the fence (That was one angry young man!). Gradually, over a period of weeks, the number dwindled down. Holding his temper proved to be easier than driving nails into the fence! Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He felt mighty proud as he told his parents about that accomplishment.

“As a sign of your success,” his father responded, “You get to Pull Out One nail. In fact, you can do that each day that you don’t lose your temper even once.”

Well, many weeks passed. Finally one day, the young boy was able to report proudly that all the nails were gone.

At that point, the father asked his son to walk out back with him and take one more good look at the fence. “You have done well, my son,” he said. 

“But I want you to notice the holes that are left. No matter what happens from now on, this fence will never be the same. Saying or doing hurtful things in anger produces the same kind of result. There will always be a scar. It won’t matter how many times you say you’re sorry, or how many years pass, the scar will still be there. And a verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. People are much more valuable than an old fence. They make us smile. They help us succeed. Some will even become friends who share our joys, and support us through bad times. And, if they trust us, they will also open their hearts to us. 

That means we need to treat everyone with love and respect. We need to prevent as many of those scars as we can.”

Understand Things Better

On a cold winter day Akbar and Birbal took a walk along the lake. A thought came to Birbal that a man would do anything for money. He expressed his feelings to Akbar. Akbar then put his finger into the lake and immediately removed it because he shivered with cold.

Akbar said “I don’t think a man would spend an entire night in the cold water of this lake for money.”

Birbal replied “I am sure I can find such a person.”

Akbar then challenged Birbal into finding such a person and said that he would reward the person with a thousand gold coins.

Birbal searched far and wide until he found a poor man who was desperate enough to accept the challenge. The poor man entered the lake and Akbar had guards posted near him to make sure that he really did as promised.

The next morning the guards took the poor man to Akbar. Akbar asked the poor man if he had indeed spent the night in the lake. The poor man replied that he had. Akbar then asked the poor man how he managed to spend the night in the lake. The poor man replied that there was a street lamp near by and he kept his attention affixed on the lamp and away from the cold. Akbar then said that there would be no reward as the poor man had survived the night in the lake by the warmth of the street lamp. The poor man went to Birbal for help.

The next day, Birbal did not go to court. The king wondering where he was sent a messenger to his home. The messenger came back saying that Birbal would come once his Khichri(Rice) was cooked. The king waited hours but Birbal did not come. Finally the king decided to go to Birbal’s house and see what he was up to.

He found Birbal sitting on the floor near some burning twigs and a bowl filled with Khichri(Rice) hanging five feet above the fire. The king and his attendants couldn’t help but laugh.

Akbar then said to Birbal “How can the Khichri(Rice) be cooked if it so far away from the fire?”

Birbal answered “The same way the poor man received heat from a street lamp that was more than a furlong away.”

The King understood his mistake and gave the poor man his reward.

Moral: Understand Things Better.

Stresses and Worries

A Psychologist walked around a Room while teaching Stress Management to an Audience.

As She raised a Glass of Water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “Half Empty or Half Full” question. Instead, with a smile on Her face, She inquired:

"How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 6 oz. to 25 oz.

She replied, “The absolute Weight doesn’t matter. It depends on How Long I hold it”.
If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm.
If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed.

In each case, the Weight of the glass Doesn’t Change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.

She continued, “The Stresses and Worries in Life are like that Glass of Water.
Think about them for a while and nothing happens.
Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt.
And If You think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”

It’s important to remember to Let go of Your Stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all Your Burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the Glass Down!

Success Principles

This is the story of Bubblu.

He was a Young Boy who lived with his elderly Mother. His mother wanted him to learn how to play the piano because she Longed to hear her Son play for her. She sent her Son to a Piano Teacher who took Bubblu in under her guidance.

However, there was one small problem because Bubblu was not musically inclined and therefore was very slow in Learning.

The Teacher did not have much faith in the boy because of his Weakness. The Mother was very enthusiastic and every week she would send Bubblu to the Teacher .

One day Bubblu stopped attending the Piano Lessons. The Teacher thought that He had given up and in fact she was quite pleased since she did not give Much hope to Bubblu. Not long after, the Piano Teacher was given the task to Organize a Piano concert in town. She sent out circulars to invite the Students and Public to attend the event.

Suddenly, she received a call from Bubblu who offered to take part in the concert. The Teacher told Bubblu that he was not good enough and that he was no longer a Student since he had Stopped coming for lessons.

Bubblu begged her to give him a chance and Promised that he would not let her down.

Finally, she gave in and she put him to play last, hoping that he will Change his mind at the last minute. When the big day came, the hall was packed and the children gave their best performance.

Finally ,It was Bubblu's turn to play and as his name was announced, he walked in. He was not in proper attire and his hair was not properly groomed.

The Teacher was really nervous since Bubblu's performance could spoil the whole evening's brilliant Performance.

As Bubblu started playing the crowd became silent and was amazed at the skill of this little boy. In fact, he gave the best performance of The evening. At the end of his presentation the crowd and the Piano Teacher gave him a standing Ovation. The crowd asked Bubblu how he managed to play so brilliantly.

With a microphone in front of him, he said, "I was not able to attend the weekly piano lessons as there was no one to send me because My Mother was sick with cancer. She just passed away this morning and I wanted Her to hear Me play. You see, this is the first time She is able to hear Me play because when She was alive She was deaf and now I know She is listening to Me. I have to play My best for Her!"

Success Principles:
This is indeed a touching story of Love and Excellence. When You have a Passion and a reason to do something, You will surely Excel. You may not be talented or gifted but if You have a strong enough reason to do something, You will be able to tap into Your inner God given potential.

Lazy Donkey

Mr. A owns a Donkey called "K". 

Mr.A is a very tolerant and kind Master. 

The Donkey is lazy and is always finding Ways to avoid Work.

Once while returning with Loads of Salt on his back, "K" falls in the River. He realizes that the fall has Lessened the Weights of the Sacks as the Salt has dissolved in the Water.

The next few days "K" purposely falls into the Water everyday. 

Mr.A is unhappy at the way "K" is behaving because he is losing money in the process. He decides to teach "K" a Lesson.

The next day instead of Salt Bags he loads "K" with bags of Cotton. "K" is unaware of the change. 

As planned, he falls into the Water and gets the bags Wet. He is surprised to find the load unbearable. His otherwise Master also starts Beating him.

"K" learns his Lesson and Starts Behaving.

Moral:

Work with Honesty and Sincerity because Laziness will Ruin You. 

Intelligence over Strength

A wealthy Man decided to go on a safari in Africa . He took his faithful pet Dachshund along for company.

One day, the Dachshund starts chasing butterflies and before long the dachshund discovers that he is lost.

So, Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the obvious intention of having him for lunch. The dachshund thinks, "I'm in deep trouble now! Then he noticed some bones on the ground close by and immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat.

Just as the leopard is about to leap, the dachshund exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard. I wonder if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the leopard halts his attack in mid-stride, as a look of terror comes over him, and slinks away into the trees.

"Whew," says the leopard. "That was close. That dachshund nearly had me."

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes.

But, the dachshund saw him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figured that something must be up.

The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine."

Now the dachshund sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks "What am I going to do now?" But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet. And, just when they get close enough to hear, the dachshund says:

"Where's that darn monkey? I sent him off half an hour ago to bring me another leopard."

Lesson: Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those You hold, Well!

Life is Beautiful

Once a Fisherman was sitting near a pond, under the shadow of a tree smoking his cigar. 

Suddenly, a rich businessman passing by approached him and enquired as to why he was sitting under a tree smoking and not working. 

To this the poor Fisherman replied that "he had caught enough fishes for the day".

Hearing this the rich Man got angry and said: Why don’t You catch more fishes instead of sitting in shadow wasting your time? 

Fisherman asked: What would I do by catching more Fishes? 

Businessman: You could catch more fishes, sell them and earn more money, and buy a bigger boat.

Fisherman: What would I do then? 

Businessman: You could go Fishing in deep waters and catch even more fishes and earn even more money. 

Fisherman: What would I do then? 

Businessman: You could buy many boats and employ many people to work for you and earn even more money.

Fisherman: What would I do then? 

Businessman: You could become a rich Businessman like Me. 

Fisherman: What would I do then? 

Businessman: You could then enjoy Your Life Peacefully. 

Fisherman: What do you think I’m doing Right Now?

Moral:

You don’t need to wait for Tomorrow to be Happy and Enjoy Your Life. You don’t even need to be More Rich, More Powerful to Enjoy Life. Life is at this Moment, Enjoy It Fully.

Better Change Yourself

Once upon a time, there was a King who ruled a prosperous country.

One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather.

Definitely, this would need thousands of animals’ skin, and would cost a huge amount of money.

Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, “Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?”

The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a “shoe” for himself.

Moral of the Story:
There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story:
To make this World a Happy Place to Live, You better Change Yourself - Your Heart; and Not the World.

The Milkmaid and her Pail

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'll buy some fowls from Farmer Brown," said she, "and they will lay eggs each morning, which I will sell to the parson's wife. With the money that I get from the sale of these eggs, I'll buy myself a new dimity frock and a chip hat; and when I go to market, won't all the young men come up and speak to me! Polly Shaw 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!So she had to go home and tell her mother what had occurred.

"Ah, My Child," said the mother:


Moral: Do Not Count Your Chickens Before they are Hatched.