The Man With A Lot of Plans

Once there was a man who had a lot of plans. One day he decided to build a house. He worked on it for five whole days, and the house was well-built and stable, but he was too lazy to add in the windows. When he asked his father if he would like to live in the house, but his father replied,"I cannot live in a house without windows." The man's father expected his son to put in the windows, but to his surprise, the man only shrugged and left the house alone. So his father suggested he write a book, and if he did, his father would bribe him enough money to get it published. The man worked on it for an entire day, and the story was exciting and thrilling, but the man was too lazy to finish it. On Thursday, he cooked a meal for his parents, and it was turning out nicely, but the man was too lazy to cook it properly. When his father saw it, he said to his son," My dear son, this is all good and well, but if you don't cook it properly, something disastrous is going to happen." The man nodded. His father continued,"I have a friend who's son was competing in a drawing contest. he drew a perfect tiger head, and everyone congratulated him, but he was too lazy to finish the tiger's body, so he drew a snake tail, and came last in the drawing contest." The man understood what his father meant, and from that day on, he persevered and became one of the most sucessful men of all time. The End

The Three Blind Men and the Elephant

Once there were three blind men who lived in Africa. One day they were at a petting zoo and they touched an elephant. The first man felt the ear of the elephant. It was rough. That man reported to the others, "The elephant is rough."The second man touched the tusks of the elephant. They were smooth. This man wanted to prove the first man wrong, so he said,"No, the elephant is not rough, it is smooth." But the third man, not believing either of the other men, felt the tail. It was dry. So he said,"You are both wrong. The elephant is dry." They started arguing about who was right, and whether the elephant was rough, smooth, or dry. Just then a park ranger who was not blind came by and overheard the blind men's argument. He interrupted them just as the argument began to turn into a fight, as the first man had punched the second in the eye , and was saying,"It doesn't matter whether I punch you in the eye or not; you are already to blind to see that the elephant is rough, not smooth." The park ranger replied,"You are all right. The elephant is smooth, rough, and dry." the three blind men turned to this new stranger's voice, but they heeded not his words (in other words, they did not believe him) . However they each took a turn in touching the whole elephant, and discovered the park ranger was right. The End

The Frog in the Well

Once there was frog who had lived in well all his life and had never before seen what was beyond the well. He thought the sky was a small blue patch and that the well was the deepest thing in the world. One day a wise old turtle who had seen many places noticed the well,and, being curious, peered inside. All he saw was a frog staring lazily into space. The turtle asked, "Have you ever seen the sky? Is it not so large and beautiful? And the sea is the widest, deepest thing in the world." The turtle thought that surely the frog would know all these things, and would start a conversation, for the turtle thought the frog looked rather bored. Much to his surprise however, the frog looked irritably at the turtle and said,"Are you kidding? The sky is a small blue patch and my well is the deepest and widest thing in the world." Finally the turtle understood that the frog had never before seen the outside world and replied," Come with me. See what you have been missing". The frog decided this was a chance for adventure, and so hopped obediently out of the well. And what a sight greeted him! He saw the wide, blue sea and the lovely sky. He saw flowers and birds and grass. At last he learned that while he was stuck in the well, the world haved moved on to new and wondorous things. He never wanted to miss anything again, and so traveled along with the old turtle, and when the old turtle died, the frog took his place as greatest animal traveler of all time. The End

The Man and the Shoes

Once there was a man who lived 100 miles away from any town. As this was so, whenever he needed something he had to walk 100 miles to get it because no one in any town wanted to go 100 miles just to give him something. He needed a faster form of transportation, but he lived too far to find a vechile shop. That was why he always tried to make the best of everything and make it last a long time. One day he desperately needed new sohoes, for, try as he might, he could not sew them back together to be fit enough for wearing. So he walked 101 miles to the nearest shoe store he could find and looked for a suitable pair of shoes that would last a long time. At last he found a nice brown leather pair, cheap , fashionable, and comfortable. By then it was getting late, and just when the clerks asked him what size he wore, he suddenly remembered he had forgotten his size at his home! He told the clerks he would go and get it, and even though the clerks insistd he could just size himself again, he went anyways. He ran back home, snatched up his size, and ran to the store again.Unfourtanetly by the time he got there, the store wasalready closed. All he could do was walk sadly back home again. The End

The Man and the Runner

Once there were two men who could only crawl. One day the first asked the second to have a race. The other man readily agreed. So the race began. At first it seemed as though the second man was winning, but toward the end the first man crawled up and crossed the finish line just before the second man. The first man was very proud of himself for winning and boasted for an hour. At this time a runner came by and, upon seeing the first man boasting to apparently no one, he challenged the first man to a race. Of course the first man agreed, thinking he would win by a mile. But of course the runner won; he ran at 10 mph while the first man only crawled at 3 mph. The runner said ,"You see? There is no point in comparing with the worse. You will always end up second place." The first man was sulky, but from that day on he remembered that lesson. Eventually he learned how to run and came first in the Olympics. The End

The Lazy Man

Once there was a lazy man who did nothing. he was so lazy he didn't eat, sleep, walk, talk, or even go to the bathroom by himself.Luckily for him he had a wife who helped him do everything, or he would have died. One day his wife said to him, "I have to visit my sick mother. Can you stay here by yourself for two days?". Of course the man didn't reply because he needed his wife to help him talk, and as she simply stood there, waiting for an answer, the man did not speak, but merely sat there, staring into space. "I take that as a yes", the wife said finally. She had to make her husband some food that would last for two days, but he was so lazy he could not even pick up his spoon and fork to eat. In the end she came up with this solution: She would make a large pancake, pour on some syrup, cut a hole in the middle and place it around her husband's neck to eat. She did just that and left. The next day she went back to check on the man, and upon having discovered that the man was fine and in perfect health, she was satisfied. She did not even need to make another pancake because there was still some left from the day before. However, when she came back the next day, the poor man was starving to death because after he had finished eating the front of the pancake, he was to lazy to to turn the pancake around and eat the back! The End

The Fish in the Dried-Out Pond

Once there was a man who loved to travel. One day he was riding in the desert when he saw a most peculiar sight. There was a poor fish, gagging and gasping for water. When the fish saw the traveler it said, "Help me! I need water, please get me some. If you don't, I shall die, and who know when another one of you people will find my poor body and eat it for dinner!". At that the traveler felt sorry for the fish, and was just about to take out his water bottle for the fish to drink from when he remembered himself and thought, "If I give this fish my water, I shall die!". So instead he said, "I am going to dig a well, and if you wait a bit, I will have lots of water for you." But the fish groaned, "I need water NOW!!!!!!!!". The man ignored it and dug a well. The poor, helpless fish could only murmur from time to time, "Please hurry.....". Now you know fully well that a well takes a very long time to dig, even for the strongest man. So when the man was finally done, and had exclaimed, "Now there is enough water for every one!", the fish had already died. The End

The Boy and the Trees

Once there was a little boy and his father who loved to go on walks. One day they were walking through the forest and the little boy saw some men cutting down trees. In the forest there were lots of different types of trees, and the ones the men were cutting down were large, green trees. The boy asked his dad why they were cutting down the trees and his father told him that they were using the trees to make paper and pencils. The boy and his father continued to stroll and eventually came upon more men cutting trees. However these men were cutting down much smaller, newer ones that the boy had seen them cut before. When he asked his father his father only replied, "They are cutting down the little trees so that the larger ones have more space to grow". Now the little boy was confused because if you are a big tree the men would cut you down, and if you were a little tree the men would still cut you down so you were not safe anyhow. When the boy told his dad about this, his dad said, "You are right, son. If you are in a forest one way or another you will get cut down. The only way is to stay as far from danger as you can. in other words, if you were a tree, try to grow somewhere more public, like a park, and there is less chance you will get cut down." The End

The Boy and the Fireflies

Once there was a boy who was very poor but very smart. One day his parents decided to let him go to school, and he was overjoyed. However, as he was very poor he didn't have electricity and so it was terribly hard for him to read by his studies. Of course he wasn't going to give up school, not after his parents had worked so hard to get him into it. He thought of a way to get light without using electricity, and soon came up with one. He went outside and caught some fireflies. He put them in a jar and read by their light. After that he used their light every night, and he never needed again to use anything other than that.The End

The Deaf Man

Once there was a deaf man who liked to be 'in the crowd'. One day he and his friends were telling jokes, and soon it was his turn to tell one. Now, as you will learn, he can speak, but cannot hear. As this was so he could not even hear himself. The joke he told was funny, so all his friends laughed. When he saw them laughing, he didn't want to be left out, and so he, too, laughed. Now his friends knew he was deaf, so they stopped laughing. Then they asked him in sign language, "Why are you laughing? You cannot hear". The man replied, "You are all laughing. Why can't I laugh?". His friends replied,"Can you hear?". The man, seeing their gestures, had to admit he didn't. So his friends told him, " Then don't laugh." After that, the man understood and never did anything foolishly again.The End

The Man and the Camel

Once there was a man who received a camel for his birthday. One day the camel died, and the man was overjoyed, partly because he didn't have to feed it, and partly because he could shave it to make a warm coat for the winter. He began to shave the camel, but in a few minutes his blade was blunt, as the camel's skin was quite rough. He went upstairs to sharpen his blade. After ten or so times of this, he decided to call his friends over, and together they worked very hard to carry the camel upstairs to where the blade sharpener was , instead of simply carrying the light blade sharpener downstairs where the camel was, and so the men were all very tired. In the end the man who owned the camel barely had enough strength to finish shaving it. The End

Moral:1. If two solutions will have the same result, do the easier one.

The Silly bird and the Winter

Once there was a much- too -playful bird named Robin. When spring came, all the birds and animals began to prepare for hibernation. But Robin only sang and danced and played and did no work whatsoever. he asked his friend Sparrow,"Come play with me!" But Sparrow said,"Sorry, I'm too busy.You'd better get prepared too.It's going to be a hard winter." Robin only replied,"It's still spring! And besides, how hard can winter be? There's no point preparing now." So Robin continued to dance all through spring.Soon it was summer. No one wanted to play with Robin.Whenever he asked, they either said,"We're busy! We don't have time!", or"Robin, for the last time,GET TO WORK!!It's going to be a hard winter."Robin didn't pay attention to any of that. Months passed, and Robin still did no work."There's still plenty of time to prepare!Why start now?Let's just play while we can!", but no one listened.soon it really was winter, and Robin was freezing to death.Two little children, William and Rosella, found him and took him in until spring. During that time Robin had learned a very good lesson:Sometimes it's better to be prepared first.when spring came, Robin was ready to start a family of his own.And to thank William and Rosella, he donated one baby chick to them each spring.The End

Moral:1.Always be prepared for what is going to happen next.

The Archer and the Bird

Once there was a brave and fearless archer who worked for the king. One fine day, he saw a lone bird flying in the sky, and something was sticking out of its beak. After looking at it for a minute or two the archer said to the king,"I bet I can kill that bird without an arrow." The king cried, "Impossible!"So the archer took out a bow without an arrow and strung it.The bird immediately squawked before flying upwards and plummeting down to its death."Amazing! How did you do it?" asked the king. The archer replied,"The moment I saw that bird, I knew it had been wounded. When I looked closer, I saw that it had been struck by an arrow. So if I strung my bow, the bird would think it was an arrow and die." The king said, "You're not only a great archer, but smart too!" The End

Moral:1. Observe carefully and you will get a better solution.

Leonardo Da Vinci and the Egg

Once,a little boy begged his father to send him to an art class. So his father agreed.On the first day ,the teacher asked him to draw an egg.Da Vinci thought,"That's the simplest thing on earth to draw!Even a baby can draw it!", but he did not say so.Instead he drew an oval.The teacher said,"That's not an egg.Come back when you can draw one."Da Vinci drew ten thousand eggs, and finally, on the ten thousandth time, he finally got it right.After that he realized that things were more complicated than they seemed, and he went on to become one of the greatest artists of all time.The End

Moral:1.Practice makes perfect!2.Things are not always as simple as they may seem.

Zhang Heng and the Stars

Once there was a curious little boy by the name of Zhang Heng.One day in the evening, he and his grandma were sitting outside and looking at the stars. Suddenly Zhang Heng exclaimed,"Grandma,the stars shine like pearls!"His grandma replied,"Yes but do you know what they really are?"Zhang Heng looked confused, but shook his head, no.His grandma said sternly,"Well, if you study hard, maybe one day you will know."So Zhang Heng went inside to study, and he became one of the greatest scientists of all time.The End

Moral:1.If you have perserverance, one day you'll do good.

The Man and the Clarinet

Once there was a man who was a musician who played in the king's own court.However, he could not even play his instrument, which was a clarinet! Fortunately for him, the king only liked orchestras and so the man never had to worry, because as the orchestra was huge, he needed only to pretend to play and he would be safe.One fateful day, the king died and his eldest son became king. But the new king only liked solos, so he would go down the orchestra and hear each one of the musicians play for him.Now and then he at last reached the man who could not play, but when the king asked for him to play, he suddenly got up and ran screaming for his life all the way back home, lest someone discover his secret, and he never came back again.The End

Moral:1.All secrets will one day be discovered. 2.Have honesty.

The Man and the Ax

There was once a man and a very old ax. This man was ina group of woodcutters who cut wood. One day the man broke the tip of his ax.He gasped. he wanted to sharpen it, but the person beside him was cutting quickly, the man kept cutting wood, and with each stroke he got slower and slower until his father finally stopped him and told him to sharpen his ax.The man cried'"That'll waste time!".But his father replied,"You'll waste more time if you don't sharpen your ax".So the man sharpened it and was soon working with astounding speed. he passed that generatinol lesson on to his family.The End

Moral:1.Save time by doing what needs to be done, then continue.

The Man and the Pearl

There was once a man who wanted to buy a beautiful present for his mother's birthday.So he went to the store and saw a huge pearl lying on a shelf It was expensive.But nevertheless he told the manager he wanted to buy it. Then he paid the money and the manager told him the pearl would come the next day.The next day a beautiful box came in the mail.The man opened it and found the pearl inside.The man thought the box was worth more than the pearl(apparently it wasn't)so he sent back the pearl to the store and kept the box.So he had paid all that money for nothing!The End

Moral:1.Focus on the major things.

The Man Who Forgot How To Walk

Once there were two towns named Greaelegan and Sorigina. Greaelegan was a beautiful town and all the people who lived there walked gracefully and elegantly.The other town, Sorigina, however was a fairly ordinary town and all the people who lived in it walked normally. The people of Sorigina envied the people of Greaelegan because the Grealegans walked more gracefully. One day a man from Sorigina decided to go to Greaelegan to learn how to walk elegantly.After several days he still hadn't learned how but even worse, he had forgotten his own way of walking!ad so he crawled one ten miles back to Sorigina.In the end, he was starving and dying of thirst.It took him five years to learn how to walk normally again.After that he never forgot what he already learned.The End

Moral:1.If you want to learn something new, don't forget what you've already learned.

The Ugly Girl and the Pretty Girl

Once in an era older than we think it is, there lived a pretty girl by the name of West-Bloom, and she was one of the four beauties of China.West-bloom had heart disease, and as this was so she always put her hands over her heart and frowned.When her cousin South-Leaf, who was unmistakably ugly saw how many people stared in awe at how pretty her cousin was, she decided to do the same.But when she put her hands over her heart and frowned, people ran away because she was to ugly to look at.So at last South-Leaf went home, humiliated, and she never tried to copy her cousin West-Bloom again.The End

Moral:1.If you want to mimic people, mimic their good side.2. Be yourself.