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The old farmer had never liked that donkey. It was always chewing on his vegetable crops. He had also been thinking of filling up the well because it was dangerous. So he thought, “ Now, I can fill up the well and get rid of that donkey at the same time.”
The farmer started to shovel earth into the well. The donkey did not know what the farmer was aiming to do until he realized that the farmer trying to bury him alive!
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Nine Fingers
Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there lived a king who loved to go hunting. One day, during one of his hunting expeditions, the king accidentally hurt his finger. The royal doctor was quickly summoned to treat the king’s injury.
Unfortunately, the injury worsened and the doctor had no choice but to have the king’s finger amputated. This cause the king to be furious and he had the doctor thrown into jail.
Not long after, the king went hunting again. This time, he was separated from his entourage and was captured by a group of tribesmen who wanted to offer the king as a sacrifice to their god. However, when the tribesmen realized that the king only had nine fingers, they let him go because he was no longer considered a perfect sacrifice anymore.
The king’s anger for the doctor soon turned into gratitude. He reasoned that if the doctor had not amputated one of his fingers, he would have lost his life to the tribesmen.
When the doctor heard about the incident, he was also relieved that he was in jail at the time. Had he not been put in jail, the king would have aksed him to join in the hunting trip. Then, if the doctor had been captured along with the king, he would have been chosen as the sacrifice instead because he had all his fingers.
Moral of the story: No matter what on encounters in one’s life, always look at the situation with a positive mindset.
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The Clever Donkey
Once upon a time, there lived a clever donkey who always had a way of getting himself out of trouble. On his way to a village one day, he accidentally fell into a hole.
Luckily for him, he did not break his leg or injure himself. But by the time he stood up, he realized that he was at the bottom of an abandoned well. He was worried. How could he get himself out? He decided to cry for help, but there was no one in the forest.
After some time, someone finally heard him – an old farmer who was gathering twigs in the area.
The old farmer had never liked that donkey. It was always chewing on his vegetable crops. He had also been thinking of filling up the well because it was dangerous. So he thought, “ Now, I can fill up the well and get rid of that donkey at the same time.”
The farmer started to shovel earth into the well. The donkey did not know what the farmer was aiming to do until he realized that the farmer trying to bury him alive! So he cried even louder. He was screaming for his life. He screamed and screamed until suddenly he went quiet.
The farmer thought, “I must have buried that donkey already. I can take my time now.” He did not know what was actually going on at the bottom of the well.
When the farmer shoveled dirt on the donkey, instead of complaining, he shrugged it off his shoulders and stamped it into the ground. Then, he noticed that he was rising millimetres higher. Shovel load after shovel load, he was getting higher and higher.
The farmer did not notice a pair of donkey ears appearing, and then a whole head. When the donkey was high enough, he jumped out of the well, knocked the farmer over and ran for his life.
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The Bundle Of Sticks
Once upon a time, a father had a family of sons who were always fighting amongst themselves. He had no luck talking them out of their arguments, so he decided to teach them a lesson instead.
He told his sons to collect and bring a bundle of sticks to him. He took the bundle, tied it up and gave the bundle to his eldest son. Then, he instructed his eldest son to try to break it. The eldest son tried with all his strength and all his might, but found that he was unable to do it. The other sons then took turns at it but were also unsuccessful. The father then united the bundle and separated the sticks, putting a stick into each son's hand. Again, he asked his sons to break the sticks. This time, the sons did it with much ease.
Turning to them, the father said, "My sons, if you are of one mine and are united to help each other, you will be like the bundle of sticks-strong and resilient; but if you are divided amongst yourselves, each of you will be as weak as a single stick."
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Make Every Effort Count
Once upon a time, there was an elderly carpenter who was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business to live a more leisurely life with his family. He would miss the pay cheques he had been receiving every week, but thought it was about time to relax. Besides he had enough saving to get by.
The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if the carpenter could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter agreed to the request, but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.
When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house. Then, he handed a bunch of keys to the carpenter and said, "This is your house, my gift to you."
The carpenter was shocked! What a shame. If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we realise we have to live in the house we have built with our own hands. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.
But as reality would have it, we cannot go back in time. We are the carpenters, and every day we hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Someone once said, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Our attitudes and the choices we make today help build the "houses" we will live in tomorrow. Therefore, build wisely!
Activity
Unscramble the letters below to find out the names of the different types of houses.
_ _ _ _ _
2. R-E-U-S-E-T-H-O-E
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
3. T-A-L-S-C-E
_ _ _ _ _ _
4. U-H-T
_ _ _
Answer:
1.IGLOO
2.TREEHOUSE
3.CASTLE
4.HUT
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The Little Boy's Lesson
Once upon a time, there was a little boy who loved to eat chocolates. After some time, the little boy's mother noticed that he was growing fatter and fatter, and began worrying about him. She decided to hide the chocolates from him in a box on a tall shelf.
The determined little boy searched high and low and eventually found the box. Day after day, he would secretly make a swift climb to eat bits of the chocolate in it. Although his mother knew of his actions, she wanted to give a little a chance to d right thing.
Early one morning when the little boy was climbing up the shelf again, he accidentally tipped over and knocked down an antique vase. 'Crash!' The vase broke into pieces. The little boy shivered in fear. Then, as fast as lighting he threw the broken pieces of glass into a river near his house.
When his mother had woken up and gotten out of bed, the little boy ran to her and told her that the vase near the shelf had suddenly disappeared when he touched it. His mother grinned and said," Sometimes when little boys lie, their nose will grow longer and longer." Upon hearing that, the terrified little boy crossed his eyes to try to look at his nose, to see if it indeed grew in length.
"If you were telling the truth, you would not have looked at your nose as you would not have needed to worry about it growing longer," his mother revealed. Knowing that he had done wrong, the little boy admitted the whole incident to his mother. To his relief, his mother forgave him and gave him a big hug. The little boy certainly learnt a good lesson that day.
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The Wishing Game
Once upon a time, five children came together for a wishing game. The one who come up with the best wish would win the game.
First was a young boy, who said that if he could have any wish, he would wish for a hamburger with double fries.
So, they asked the second child if she could think of a better wish. She said that she would wish for a restaurant so that she could eat as many hamburgers as she wanted.
Next came the third child, who had more time ti think. He said that he wanted a billion dollars. With the money, he could buy a restaurant and a video game store, where he could eat all the hamburgers he wanted and play as many video games as he desired. Then, he would buy a school and a university so that he could get good grades and a good degree. He would also have enough money for the rest of his life. He asked if anyone could think of a better wish than that.
The fourth child had to think very deeply before she came up with a better wish. She was very clever. She said that if she had a wish, she would wish for a three wishes. With the first wish, she would wish for a restaurant; with the second wish, she would wish for a billion dollars; for the last wish, she would wish for three more wishes. She was clearly winning the wishing game.
But there was one boy left "How can you find a better wish than an infinity of wishes?" you might ask. Well, this boy said,"If I had one wish, I would wish that I was so contented that I would never need another wish again." And that wish won the boy the wishing game.
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