Story : 1
Taking Responsibility

Two families lived nearby. One family was constantly fighting while the other one lived quietly and friendly. One day, feeling jealous about how nicely the neighboring family got along, the wife told her husband….Go to the neighbors and look to see what they are doing for their well-being.

The husband went, hid and began watching. He saw a woman who was cleaning the floor. Suddenly something distracted her and she ran to the kitchen. At that time, her husband rushed into the room. Not noticing the bucket of water, he kicked it and spilled water all over the floor.

His wife came back from the kitchen and said to him…I’m sorry, honey! It’s my fault. I didn’t move the bucket out of the way.

The husband replied…No, I’m sorry, honey! It’s my fault, because I did not notice it.

The man returned home and his wife asked him if he found out what their secret is.

I think the difference is that we always seek to be right, while they seek to take responsibility for their part.

Having peaceful relationships mean taking personal responsibility for our own part.

Story 2 :
Foolish Imitation

Long ago, a hawk lived on the top of a hill. At the foot of the hill there was a banyan tree on which a crow used to perch everyday. The crow was very foolish. He would imitate everyone.

The hawk atop the hill would fly down everyday in search of food. The crow watched the hawk circling in the air for long hours and swooping down when he saw his prey. The hawk gifted with eyes that could see long distances would spot his prey from the hill top and then fly down to pounce upon the prey.

The crow watched the hawk thinking, “Hunh! If the hawk can do that, I too can. What does he think? One day, I will show the hawk that I can do the same thing."

A few days later, as the hawk was circling in the air, the crow decided to do the same. Suddenly a baby rabbit came out of the bushes. The hawk saw it and the crow too saw the rabbit.

Before the crow could move, the hawk swooped down, caught hold of the rabbit in his strong sharp talons and flew away. “Swoosh!" was all the crow heard as the hawk disappeared in the sky with his prey. “Hmmph! That is no great skill," thought the crow, angrily.

Next moment he spotted a big fat mouse coming out of a hole. Without wasting time, the crow swooped down. Like the hawk he tried to catch the mouse in his claws.

But the mouse saw the crow and moved away, the crow crashed against the hill. “Eeeaaa!" cried the crow in pain.

Just then the hawk came flying down. “I hope, now you know it is not easy to hunt and it is not easy to imitate, either," said the hawk and flew away.

There after, the crow never imitated any one in its life. It lived happily with the god-given abilities.

Story 3 :
The Bundle of Sticks

An old man had three sons. He was not happy. His sons quarreled with one another.

One day, the old man said to his sons. “Bring me a bundle of sticks." The sons asked their servant to do so. The servant did so. After a few minutes, he returned with a bundle of sticks.

The old man then called his sons to him. He said to them, “Here is a bundle of sticks in front of you all. Break it."

They tried to break the bundle of sticks. They failed.

The old man then said, “Now intie the bundle. Take one stick at a time. Break it."

Each son took one stick. He broke it easily.

The father said to his sons, “Now learn a lesson, my dear boys. Do not quarrel with one another. Live together. You will be happy and strong. United we stand and divided we fall."

The three sons learnt the lessons and remained united till their death.

Story 4 :
The Boy of The Farmer

One dark night a lame boy went to the house of a farmer. He said to the farmer, “I am not a begger. I will work for you. I will plough your lands. I will sow. My father is dead. My mother is poor. I am hungry. Please give me some food."

The farmer’s wife was sorry for the boy. She said to the farmer. “Do not drive away this boy."

She turned to the boy and said, “Stay here. We will give you food."

The farmer’s daughter liked the boy. She said to her father, “Do not drive him away. He is not an idle begger."

The boy lived with the farmer. He worked hard in the fields. The farmer and his wife loved the boy.

The boy grew up. He became a man. After some years the farmer died. Then his wife also died. The boy married the farmer’s daughter.

“I am now a happy man. I came to this house on a lucky day," said the boy.

Story 5 :
17 Camels and 3 Sons

Long ago, there lived an old man with his three sons in a deserted village, located in the vicinity of a desert. He had 17 camels, and they were the main source of his income. He used to rent out camels as a means of shipping in the desert. One day, he passed away. He had left a will, leaving his assets for his three sons.

After the funeral and the other obligations were over, the three sons read the will. While their father had divided all the property he had into three equal parts, he had divided the 17 camels in a different way. They were not shared equally among the three as 17 is an odd number and a prime number, which cannot be divided.

The old man had stated that the eldest son will own half of the 17 camels, the middle one will get one third of the 17 camels, and the youngest one will get his share of camels as one ninth!

All of them were stunned to read the will and questioned each other how to divide the 17 camels as mentioned in the will. It is not possible to divide 17 camels and give half of the 17 camels to the eldest one. It is not possible also to divide the camels for the other two sons.

They spent several days thinking of ways to divide the camels as mentioned in the will, but none could find the answer.

They finally took the issue to the wise man in their village. The wise man heard the problem and instantly found a solution. He asked them to bring all the 17 camels to him.

The sons brought the camels to the wise man's place. The wise man added a camel owned by him and made the total number of camels 18.

Now, he asked the first son to read the will. As per the will, the eldest son got half the camels, which now counted to 18 / 2 = 9 camels! The eldest one got 9 camels as his share.

The remaining camels were 9.

The wise man asked the second son to read the will. He was assigned 1 / 3 of the total camels.

It came to 18 / 3 = 6 camels. The second son got 6 camels as his share.

Total number of camels shared by the elder sons - 9 + 6 = 15 camels.

The third son read out his share of camels: 1 / 9th of the total number of camels - 18 / 9 = 2 camels.

The youngest one got 2 camels as his share.

Totally there were 9 + 6 + 2 camels shared by the brothers, which counted to 17 camels.

Now, the one camel added by the wise man was taken back.

The wise man solved this problem smartly with his intelligence.

Intelligence is nothing but finding a common ground to solve an issue. In short, every problem has a solution.

Story 6:
The Brahmin and His Enemies

Long ago, a poor Brahmin lived with his family in a small house. His disciples would help him with food and clothes. He somehow managed to pass his days.

One day, the Brahmin received two calves as a gift from one of his disciples. He was overjoyed. Though he had difficulty in arranging for fodder and grain for the calves, he managed to feed the two calves. Years passed by and the calves grew up into two bullocks.

A thief had seen the bullocks. “The foolish Brahmin does not even know the proper use of these bullocks. I will steal the bullocks and sell them," he thought.

That evening, the thief started for the Brahmin’s house. While on his way, the thief was stopped by a fierce demon. “I am hungry. I will eat you," said the demon, in a thundering voice. “Wait! Wait, dear friend! I am a thief I am on my way to the Brahmin’s house to steal his bullocks. You can eat the Brahmin instead of me," said the thief.

The demon agreed. The thief and the demon proceeded towards the Brahmin’s house. Reaching the house of the Brahmin, the thief said, “Let me take the bullocks and go. Then you can eat the Brahmin."

“No! Let me eat the Brahmin first. I am hungry," roared the demon. The two started to quarrel.

The noise woke up the Brahmin. As soon as he saw the demon, he started chanting some mantras. The demon uttered a sharp cry, “AAIEE!" and disappeared.

Then the Brahmin got hold of a thick stick, “You tried to steal my bullocks, did you?" said the Brahmin. And he thrashed the thief. Thus the Brahmin saved himself from the demon and eventually punished the thief.

The Brahmin and His Enemies were separated from each other.

Story 7:
The Clever Bull

There was a forest with many birds and animals. Once, a bull wandering in the forest came upon a cave. Near the cave was a big pond and lush green grass. “This is an ideal place for me to settle down," the bull thought. So, he made the cave his home.

Many days passed. The bull became quite healthy, grazing in the meadows. The bull was happy and peaceful living in that cave. He had made many friends in that forest.

One day, the bull was resting outside his cave house. A lion happened to come by that way. The lion was happy to have spotted a bull after a long time. “Aha! A bull! He is so healthy too," thought the majestic lion, licking his lips in anticipation of a good meal. The bull too noticed the lion. He could sense danger. I must be on my guard now," the bull thought and decided to do something to hide himself from the lion.

When the lion came close to the bull, the clever bull looked into the cave and called out, “Darling, do not cook anything for dinner. I have just spotted a lion. I am waiting for it to come near." When the lion heard the bull, he returned around and ran for his life.

A jackal saw the lion running breathlessly. “Why are you running, Mr. Lion?" asked the jackal. The lion told him all that had happened. “The bull has made a fool out of you," replied the jackal. And the jackal added, “Come with me. Together we can feast on the bull." But the lion was too scared to believe the jackal.

The jackal understood why the lion was hesitating to come with him. “Alright then! Tie your tail with mine and let me lead you to the cave of the bull. In case the bull attacks, then I will be the one who will get caught first," the jackal said.

The lion agreed to this plan of action prepared by the jackal. And then the lion and the jackal tied their tails together. They set off to the bull’s cave.

Both the lion and the jackal went near the cave where the bull was. When the bull saw the lion coming with the jackal, he thought, “I am sure that cunning jackal knows I fooled the lion. Without panicking, the bull cried out to the jackal, “I had asked you to being me two lions. Do you want me to keep my children hungry?"

Even this time the lion did not realize that the bull was again fooling him. He was terrified. He ran as fast as he could run dragging the jackal with him over stones and thorns. The clever bull outwitted his enemies and saved himself from its enemies.

Both the lion and the jackal never returned that way. Thereafter the bull lived a peaceful and happy life with his wife and children.

Story 8:
The Two Gardeners

Letting go is probably one story lesson that can teach, both the child and the parent valuable lesson. Children are hands down very impressionable and sensitive, and there are times when you, as a parent, might not want to accept that a line needs to be drawn, as children need to become independent.

Here is a story that talks about the challenges of learning to do things on your own, through stronger roots.

Once, there lived two neighbours who used to grow the same plants in their respective gardens. One neighbour was fussy and took extreme care of her plants. The other neighbour did what was required, but left the leaves of the plants alone to grow as they pleased.

One evening, there was a huge storm, accompanied by heavy rainfall. The storm destroyed many of the plants.

The next morning, when the fussy neighbour woke up, she found that the plants had been uprooted and destroyed. However, when the more relaxed neighbour woke up, she found that her plants were still firmly rooted in the soil, having weathered the storm.

The plant of the relaxed neighbour had learnt to do things on its own. So, it had done its bit of work, grown deep roots, and made a place for itself in the soil. Thus, it had stood firm even in the storm. However, the fussy neighbour used to do everything for the plant, thereby not teaching the plant how to sustain on its own.

Moral : Sooner or later, you have to let go and become independent. Unless you stop fussing, nothing will work on its own.

Story 9 :
The Three Cows

Once, three cows lived in a green and fresh pasture near a forest: a white cow, a black cow and a reddish-brown cow. The cows were kind to each other. They used to graze in the meadow together and sleep near each other.

One day, a reddish-brown lion happened to take a stroll out of the forest onto the meadow. It was hungry and looking for a prey. On catching sight of the cows it became glad, but couldn't attack them, because they were together. So, the lion sat behind a boulder and patiently waited till the cows would separate from each other.

However, the cows were too clever to separate from each other. They knew that if they were together, no predator could attack them. The lion lay in ambush nearby for two or three days. But the cows continued to remain together, and wouldn't separate from each other. The lion became impatient. It thought of a plan. It went towards the cows, greeted them and said, "How are you my friends? Are you fine? I have been busy lately, so could not come and visit you. Today I made up my mind to pay you a visit."

The reddish-brown cow said, "Sir, your coming has really pleased us and brightened our pasture."

Both the white and the black cows were troubled by what their friend, the reddish-brown cow said, and were grieved at its thoughtlessness. They said to each other, "Why does the reddish-brown cow believe what the lion says?

Doesn't it know that lions seek other animals only to prey on them?"

As the days passed by, the reddish-brown cow became more and more attached to the lion. The black cow and the white cow advised it against a friendship with the lion, but their efforts were in vain.

One day, the lion said to the reddish-brown cow, "You know that the color of our bodies is dark and that the color of the body of the white cow is light. You also know that light color is the opposite of the dark color. It will be very good if I eat the white cow, so that there will be no difference among us any longer and we will be able to live together well."

The reddish-brown cow accepted the lion's argument and started talking to the black cow to keep it busy, so that the lion could eat the white cow. The white cow was left alone and was killed, while the black and the reddish-brown cows were busy in idle talk.

Two or three days passed since the lion devoured the white cow. It became hungry again. It called the reddish-brown cow. The cow answered: "Yes sir!"

The lion said, "The color of my body and the color of your body are both reddish-brown, and black does not go with our color. It will be very good if I eat the black cow, so that in this forest we all will be of the same color." The reddish-brown cow accepted this argument and moved away from the black cow.

The lion attacked and devoured the black cow soon. And as for the reddish-brown cow, it was so filled with joy that it didn't know what to do. It roamed and grazed and said to itself, "It is only me who has the color of the lion."

A few days passed later, the lion was hungry again. It roared and said, "O the reddish-brown cow! Where are you?" The reddish-brown cow, shaking with fear, went forward and said, "Yes sir!"

The lion said: "Today it is your turn. Get yourself ready, I am going to eat you."

The reddish-brown cow, with great fear and horror, said, "Why sir, I am your friend. I did whatever you asked me to do. Still why do you want to eat me?"

The lion roared and said, "I have no friends. How is it possible that a lion makes friendship with a cow?"

No matter how much the reddish-brown cow begged and entreated, the lion didn't accept its words. Finally the cow said, "Mr. Lion, please allow me to cry out three times before you eat me."

The lion said, "Ok. Quickly, quickly!"

The reddish-brown cow cried out, "I was eaten the very day the white cow was eaten. I was eaten the very day the black cow was eaten. I was eaten the very day I made friends with the lion."

The lion devoured the reddish-brown cow very quickly. Then it said to itself: "I have finished my job in this forest. Now I had better go to other forests."

Any group without unity will easily be destroyed.

Story 10:
Greedy Boy

Sam and Tom were identical twins. They were so identical that even their mother found it difficult to distinguish one from the other, at least during their initial days on earth.

However, they were very different from each other when it came to everything other than their appearance. Sam had no friends, while Tom was a great friendship maker. Sam loved sweets, but Tom loved spicy food and detested sweets. Sam was mommy's pet and Tom was daddy's pet. While Sam was generous and selfless, Tom was greedy and selfish!

As Sam and Tom grew up, their father wanted to share his fortune equally amongst them. However, Tom did not agree and he argued that whoever proved to be more intelligent and strong would have to get a bigger share of the wealth.

Sam agreed. Their father decided to organize a competition between the two. He asked the two sons to walk as long as they could, and return home before sunset. The wealth would be divided in proportion to the distance covered. As a rule of the competition, they were not permitted to carry a watch to keep track of the time.

The following day, Sam and Tom set out to walk. It was a rather sunny day. Sam walked slowly and steadily, while Tom broke into a sprint as he was bent on winning the race and also winning a greater portion of his father's wealth.

Sam knew that it would be ideal to walk as far as possible till noon and start for home at noon as it would take the same amount of time to walk back home. Knowing this, Sam decided to turn back for home at noon so as reach home on time.

However, Tom, with his greed to earn more wealth, did not attempt to return home even after mid-noon. He walked twice as long as Sam, and thought he would still be able to return home before sunset. He hurried back when he saw the sun turn orange. Unfortunately, he could not even make it half way home as the sun started to set. Slowly darkness engulfed his path and he had to drag his tired feet back home.

He had lost the race. Only because of his greed. Greed leads to loss.

-- The End --