Hercules and the lazy man

A man was once driving a heavy load along a very muddy way in a cart. Finally, he came to a part of the road where the wheels sank half-way into the mud, the more the horses pulled, the deeper the wheels sank. So, the man threw down his whip, knelt down, and prayed to Hercules the Strong. "Oh Hercules, help me out of this mess." He said. But Hercules appeared to him, and said:

"Tut, tut, man, don't lie there grovelling and begging for help. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel! Help those horses with your own effort!"

And, the moral is.

The gods help those that help themselves.

The Dog and the Reflection.

A Dog had got a piece of meat and was carrying it home in his mouth so that he could eat it in peace. Now, on his way home he had to cross a plank of wood lying across a running brook(小溪). As he crossed, he looked down and saw his reflection in the water beneath(在水底下). Thinking it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made up his mind to have that meat as well as his own. So, he tried to snatch(一把抓起) the tasty morsel(一块食物) from the reflection in the water, but as he opened his mouth, the piece of meat he had fell out of his mouth and dropped into the water, never to be seen again.

And, the moral is.

Beware, in case you lose something real while desiring an illusion.在你渴望幻觉中的东西时,却失去了真实的东西

The Wind and the Sun

The Wind and the Sun were arguing over which of them was stronger. They saw a traveller coming along the road, and the Sun said: "I see a way to settle this argument. Whichever of us can cause that traveller to take off his cloak will be the stronger one. You begin."

So, the Sun hid behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveller. But the harder he blew the more closely the traveller wrapped his cloak around him, till at last the Wind had to give up in despair. Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the traveller, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on, and so he took it off.

And, the moral is.

Kindness and gentleness are more effective than aggression and anger.

The Man Who Never Lied

Once upon a time there lived a wise man by the name of Mamad. He never lied. All the people in the land, even the ones who lived twenty days away, knew about him.

The king heard about Mamad and ordered his subjects to bring him to the palace. He looked at the wise man and asked:

" Mamad, is it true, that you have never lied?"

" It's true."

"And you will never lie in your life?"

" I'm sure of that."

"Okay, tell the truth, but be careful! The lie is cunning and it can get on a person’s tongue easily."

Several days passed and the king called Mamad once again. There was a big crowd: the king was about to go hunting. The king held his horse by the mane, his left foot was already on the stirrup.

"Go to my summer palace and tell the queen I will be with her for lunch tomorrow. Tell her to prepare a big feast. You will have lunch with me then." Commanded the King.

Mamad bowed down and went to tell the queen. Then the king laughed and said:

"We won't go hunting and now Mamad will lie to the queen. Tomorrow we will have a laugh at his expense."

But the wise Mamad went to the palace and said:

"Maybe you should prepare a big feast for lunch tomorrow, and maybe you shouldn't. Maybe the king will come by noon, and maybe he won't."

"Tell me will he come, or won't he?" - asked the queen.

"I don't know whether he put his right foot on the stirrup, or he put his left foot on the ground after I left."

Everybody waited for the king. He came the next day and said to the queen:

"The wise Mamad, who never lies, lied to you yesterday."

But the queen told him about the words of Mamad. And the king realized, that a wise person never lies, and says only that which is seen with their own eyes.

The Wolf and the Kid

A Kid, (the proper name for a baby goat) was perched up on the top of a house, and looking down, saw a Wolf passing by under him. Immediately he began to shout at his enemy. "You murderer! You rotten thief !" he cried, from the safety of his high perch. "What are you doing here? You’re lucky I’m up here, if I were down there, I’d kick you to bits and pieces! How dare you show yourself! Do you think no one knows what a rascal you are? Run away before I lose my temper!"

"Curse away, my young friend," said the Wolf. "It is easy to be brave from a safe distance."

THE SINGING BONE

Once upon a time in a certain country there was great concern about a wild boar that was destroying the peasants' fields, killing the cattle, and ripping people apart with its tusks. The king promised a large reward to anyone who could free the land from this plague, but the beast was so large and strong that no one dared to go near the woods where it lived. Finally, the king proclaimed that whoever could capture or kill the wild boar should have his only daughter in marriage.

Now in this country there lived two brothers, the sons of a poor man. They decided that they would each attempt to kill the boar. The older brother, who was crafty and shrewd, did so out of pride and greed. The younger one, who was innocent and simple, did so because of his kind heart, he wanted to stop the destruction the boar was causing.

The king said, "In order to be more certain of finding the beast, you should enter the woods where it lives from opposite sides."

So, the eldest son entered the woods from the west, and the younger one from the east.

After the younger son had walked a while, a little dwarf stepped up to him. He held a black spear in his hand and said, "I am giving you this spear because your heart is innocent and good. With it you can confidently attack the wild boar. It will do you no harm."

The younger son thanked the dwarf, put the spear on his shoulder, and walked on fearlessly.

Before long he saw the beast. It attacked him, but he held the spear toward it, and in its blind fury it ran into the spear with such force that its heart was slashed in two.

The youngest son put the monster boar on his back and turned towards home, intending to take it to the king.

Emerging from the other side of the woods, he came to a house where people were making merry drinking wine and dancing. His older brother was there too. Thinking that the boar would not run away from him any time soon, he had decided to drink himself some real courage. When he saw his younger brother coming out of the woods with the prize, his envious and evil heart gave him no peace.

He called out to him, "Come in, dear brother. Rest and refresh yourself with a beaker of wine."

The younger brother, suspecting no evil, went in and told him about the good dwarf who had given him the spear with which he had killed the boar.

The older brother kept him there until evening, and then they set out for the king’s palace together. After dark they came to a bridge over a brook, and the older brother let the younger one cross first. When the younger brother reached the middle above the water, the older one hit him such a blow on the head from behind that he fell down dead.

The wicked brother buried his dead sibling beneath the bridge, took the boar, and delivered it to the king, pretending that he had killed it. And so, he received the king's daughter in marriage.

When his younger brother did not return, the wicked brother said, "The boar must have ripped him apart," and every one believed the story, after all, many had been destroyed in this way by the monstrous boar.

But as no evil deed remains hidden forever this murderous lie was also to come to light.

After many long years a shepherd was driving his herd across the bridge and saw a little snow-white bone lying in the sand below. Thinking that it would make a good flute, he climbed down, picked it up, and then carved a flute out of it. When he blew into it for the first time, to his great astonishment the bone began to sing by itself:

Oh, my dear shepherd,
You are blowing on my little bone.
My brother killed me,
And buried me beneath the bridge,
To get the wild boar
For the daughter of the king.

"What a wonderful flute," said the shepherd. "It sings by itself. I must take it to the king."

THE RIDDLE
Once upon a time there was a prince who had a sudden desire to travel about the world. He took no one with him except a faithful servant. One day he came to a great forest, and when evening fell, he could find no shelter, he didn’t know where he and his servant would spend the night. Then he saw a girl who was walking toward a little house, when he came nearer, he saw that the girl was young and beautiful.

The prince spoke to her, saying, "Dear child, can my servant and I find shelter for the night in this little house?"

"Oh, yes," said the girl in a sad voice, "You certainly can, but I do not advise you to do so. Do not go inside."

"Why not?" asked the prince.

The girl sighed and said, "My stepmother practices evil arts, and she does not like strangers."

Then the prince realised that he had come to a witch's house, but because it was dark, and he could go no further, and not really feeling afraid, he and his servant entered.

The old woman was sitting in an armchair by the fire. She looked at the stranger with her red eyes. "Good evening," she croaked, pretending to be quite friendly. "Sit down and rest."

She blew into the coals on which she was cooking something in a small pot. Because the daughter had warned the two to be cautious, to eat nothing, and to drink nothing, they refused offers of sustenance and slept soundly until early morning.

While they were getting ready to leave the next morning, and the prince had already mounted his horse, the old woman said, "Wait a moment. Let me give you a farewell drink."

While she was getting it the prince rode away, but the servant, who had to tighten his saddle, was there alone when the wicked witch came with the drink.

"Take this to your master," she said.

But that instant the glass broke and the poison spilled onto the horse. It was so strong that the animal immediately fell down dead. The servant ran after his master and told him what had happened. However, scared though he was, the servant did not want to abandon his saddle, so he ran back to get it. When he reached the dead horse, a raven was already sitting on the horse, pecking out its eyes.

"Who knows if we shall find anything better to eat today?" said the servant. So, he killed the raven and took it with him.

The prince and his servant wandered in the woods the whole day, but could not find their way out. As night fell, they found an inn and went inside. The servant gave the raven to the innkeeper to prepare for supper.

Now, they had stumbled into a den of murderers, and twelve murderers arrived in the dark, intending to kill the strangers and rob them. But before doing so they sat down to supper, and the innkeeper and the witch sat down with them. Together they ate a dish of soup into which they had cut up the raven meat. They had scarcely swallowed a few spoonful’s when they all fell down dead, for the raven had passed on to them the poison from the horsemeat.

Now there was no one left in the house but the innkeeper's daughter. She meant well and had not taken part in the evil deeds of the witch and the outlaws. She opened all the doors for the stranger and showed him piles of treasure. However, the prince said that she should keep everything. He wanted none of it, and with his servant he rode on his way.

After traveling about for a long time, they came to a town where there was a beautiful but proud princess. She had made it known that she would marry any man who could ask her a riddle that she could not solve. However, if she solved it his head would be cut off. She had three days to think about it, but was so clever that she always solved the riddle that she had been given before the deadline. When the prince arrived nine men had already died in this manner. However, he was blinded by her great beauty and was willing to risk his life for it....

THE MOON

In days gone by there was a land where the nights were always dark and the sky spread over it like a black cloth, for there the moon never rose, and no stars shone in the deep darkness of sky. Four young fellows once went out of this country on a travelling expedition, and arrived in another kingdom, where, in the evening when the sun had disappeared behind the mountains, a shining globe was placed on an oak-tree, which shed a soft light far and wide. By means of this, everything could be seen very well, even though it was a far softer light than the sun’s. The travellers stopped and asked a countryman who was driving past with his cart, what kind of a light that was. "That is the moon," answered he; "our mayor bought it for three heavy coins, and fastened it to the oak-tree. He has to pour oil into it daily, and has to keep it clean, so that it will always burn clearly. He receives a heavy coin a week from us for doing it."

When the countryman had driven away, one of them said, "We could make some use of this lamp, we have an oak-tree at home, which is just as big as this, and we could hang it on that. What a pleasure it would be not to have to feel about at night in the darkness!"

"I'll tell you what we'll do," said the second; "we will fetch a cart and horses and carry away the moon. The people here can buy themselves another moon."

"I'm a good climber," said the third, "I will bring it down."

The fourth got a cart and horses, and the third climbed the tree, bored a hole in the moon, passed a rope through it, and let it down. When the shining ball lay in the cart, they covered it over with a cloth, so that no one might observe the theft. They brought it safely into their own country, and placed it on a high oak. Old and young rejoiced, when the new lamp let its light shine over the whole land, and bed-rooms and sitting-rooms were filled with it as it shone through the windows. The dwarfs came forth from their caves in the rocks, and the tiny elves in their little red coats danced in rings on the meadows.

The four friends took care that the moon was provided with oil, cleaned the wick, and received a heavy coin, every week from their fellow countrymen, but in time they became old, and when one of them grew ill, and saw that he was about to die, he appointed that one quarter of the moon, should, as his property, be laid in the grave with him. When he died, the mayor climbed up the tree, and cut off a quarter with the hedge-shears, and this was placed in his coffin. The light of the moon decreased, but not so much that you’d notice the difference. When the second man died, the second quarter of the moon was buried with him, and the light diminished noticeably. It grew weaker still after the death of the third, who likewise took his part of it away with him; and when the fourth was borne to his grave, the old state of darkness recommenced, and whenever the people went out at night without their lanterns, they knocked their heads together.

When, however, the pieces of the moon had united themselves together again in the world below, where darkness had always prevailed, the dead became restless and awoke from their sleep. They were astonished when they were able to see again; the moonlight was quite sufficient for them, for their eyes had become so weak that they could not have been able to stand the brilliant light of the sun. The dead people rose up and were merry, and fell into their former ways of living. Some of them went to the theatre and to dance, others hastened to the public-houses, where they asked for wine, got drunk, brawled, quarrelled, and at last took up cudgels, and hit each other with them. The noise became greater and greater, and at last reached all the way up to heaven.

Saint Peter, who guards the gate of heaven, thought the lower world had broken out in revolt and gathered together the heavenly troops,.........

Weighing the Elephant

A long time ago, people who lived in China knew that a strange, amazing beast called an elephant, lived in a faraway land, but no one had ever seen one.  One day, a ruler from a distant country came to see the Emperor of China.  He brought a gift, and that gift was a real, live elephant!

Never had anyone in China seen anything like it.  It was all anyone at court could talk about.

“This elephant is bigger than a water buffalo!” said one mandarin.

“Are you kidding?” said a second.  “It’s bigger than a rhino!”

“You must be joking,” said a third. “This elephant is bigger than TWO rhinos!”

One day the Emperor said to his council, “I want to know how much this amazing elephant weighs. Who can tell me how to weigh it?”

“I can!” said the first mandarin, who used to be a merchant.  “We will just put it on a scale.”

“Not likely,” said the Emperor.  “There is no scale that could hold the weight of an elephant without breaking.”

“I can tell you!” said the second mandarin, who used to be a tailor.  He said, “We will measure the elephant.”

“No,” said the Emperor with a sigh.  “Even if you measured all the different parts of an elephant, you would still not know how much it weighs.”

“I can tell you!” said the third mandarin, who used to be a baker.  “We will cut up the elephant and cook it.  Then we will know.”

“We will surely NOT do that, idiot!” roared the Emperor. “Is there NO ONE who can tell me how to weigh the elephant?”

Then a small voice said, “I can.”

All eyes turned to the voice.  It was the Emperor’s son!

“Son!” said the Emperor. “You should be in bed.”

“But I know how,” said the boy.  “It’s easy.”

“Very well,” said the Emperor with a smile.  “Tell me how to weigh the elephant.”

So the boy said.  “You put the elephant in a big boat and take the boat out on the water.  Draw a line on the side of the boat where the water comes up to.  Then bring the boat back to shore and take the elephant off the boat.  Put rocks on the boat, one by one.  When the boat sinks to the same watermark line it had when the elephant was in it, bring the boat to shore again. Take out the rocks and weigh them, one by one, then add the weight of all the rocks up. That is how you can tell how much the elephant weighs!"

"Wonderful! Wonderful!" shouted everyone.

“It will work!” called out the first mandarin.

“What a clever plan!” said the second.

“Who knew this child would know?” said the third.

And the fame of Emperor's clever son travelled far and wide.

Sima Guang Breaks the Vat

Sima Guang was nine years old.  He liked to play in his backyard with his friends Wang Wei, Li Na, and Zhang Yong.

One day, the friends were playing in the yard.  Wang Wei said, “I bet I can climb up to the top of the water vat!”  (A water vat is a very big clay jar used to keep rain water).

“Do not go to the top of the water vat!” said Li Na.  “It is too high.”

“It is not too high for me!” said Wang Wei.

“Stay down here and play,” said Sima Guang.

“No, I want to go up!” said Wang Wei, so he climbed up to the top of the vat.  When he was at the top he stood on one foot and called, “Look at me – one foot!”

“Ooh, clever!” said Zhang Yong.

Then – oh, no!  Wang Wei fell down into the water vat!

“I cannot swim!” he called.  “The water is too deep!”

“We must run for help!” said Li Na.

“No!” said Sima Guang.  “That will take too long!”

“Then we cannot do anything to help,” yelled Li Na in fear.  “Ahhh!” yelled Zhang Yong in fear, too.  “AHHH!” they all yelled together.

Then, Sima Guang saw a rock.  He picked up the rock and threw it at the bottom of the water vat.  The vat did not crack.  He picked up the rock and threw it again.  There was a very small crack this time.  He threw it again. Then a bigger crack!  All at once, a very big wave of water flew out of the broken water vat.

And with the wave of water, out rolled Wang Wei! Wet but happy to be alive, thanks to Sima Guang.

The Sick Lion

A Lion had come to the end of his days, and he lay sick and close to death at the mouth of his cave, gasping for breath. The animals, his subjects, came round him and drew nearer as he grew more and more helpless. When they saw him so weak, they thought to themselves: "Now is the time to pay off old grudges." So, the Boar came and dug his tusks into the lion; then a Bull gored him with his horns; still the Lion lay helpless before them: so the Ass, feeling quite safe from danger, came up, and turning his tail to the Lion kicked the lion in his face. "This is like dying twice, to have to endure these attacks from such cowardly creatures when I am powerless." growled the Lion.

And, the moral is… Only cowards insult dying majesty.

GODFATHER DEATH

A poor man had twelve children, he had to work day and night just to feed them. So, when the thirteenth child came into the world, not knowing what to do, the poor man ran out and walked the roads, intending to ask the first person he met to be the godfather.

The first person to come his way was God, who already knew what was in his heart, and God said to him, "Poor man, I pity you. I will hold your child at his baptism, and care for him, and make him happy on earth."

The man said, "Who are you?"

"I am God."

"Then I do not wish to have you for a godfather," said the man. "You give to the rich, and let the poor starve."

Said the man. Then he turned away from the Lord, and went on his way.

Then the devil came to him and said, "ooh, hello! Are you looking for a godfather? If you will take me as your child's godfather, I will give him an abundance of gold and all the joys of the world as well."

The man asked, "Who are you?"

"I am the devil."

"Then I do not wish to have you for a godfather," said the man. You deceive mankind and lead them astray."

The poor man went on his way, and then Death, on his withered legs, came walking toward him, and said, "Take me as your child's godfather."

The man asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Death, who makes everyone equal."

Then the man said, "You are the right one. You take away the rich as well as the poor, without bias. You shall be my child's godfather.

Death answered, "I will make your child rich and famous, for he who has me for a friend cannot fail."

The man said, "Next Sunday is the baptism. Be there on time."

Death came to the baptism of the thirteenth child as promised, and served as godfather in an orderly manner.

After the boy came of age his godfather appeared and asked him to go with him into the woods. Death showed the young man an herb that grew there, saying, "Now you shall receive your godfather's present. I will make you a famous physician. Whenever you are called to a sick person, I will appear to you. If I stand at the sick person's head, you can say with confidence that you can make them well again; then give the person some of this herb, and they will recover. But if I stand at the sick person's feet, they are mine, and you must say that the patient is beyond help, and that no physician in the world could save them. But beware of using this herb against my will, or something very bad will happen to you."

It was not long before the young man had become the most famous physician in the whole world. People said of him, "He only needs to look at the sick in order to immediately know their condition, whether they will recover, or are doomed to die."People came to him from far and wide, taking him to their sick, and giving him so much money that he soon became a wealthy man.

Now it came to pass that the king became ill. The physician was summoned and was asked if a recovery were possible. However, when he approached the bed, Death was standing at the sick man's feet, and so no herb on earth would be able to help him.

"If I could only deceive death for once," thought the physician. "He will be angry, of course, but because I am his godson, he might let me get away with it. I’ll risk it." He took hold of the sick king and laid him the other way around, so that Death was now standing at his head. Then he gave the king some of the herb, and he recovered and became healthy again. However, Death came to the physician, made a dark and angry face, threatened him with his finger, and said, "You have betrayed me. I will overlook it this time because you are my godson, but if you dare to do it again, it will cost you your neck, for I will take you yourself away with me." Soon afterward the king's daughter became seriously ill. She was his only child, and he cried day and night until his eyes were going blind.....

Belling the Cat

Long ago, the mice held a big meeting to discuss how they could outwit their enemy, the Cat. Some said this, and some said that, but none of them had any really good ideas. Then a young mouse stood up and said he had a plan that should work. "You will all agree," he said, "that the reason the cat catches so many of us, is because it creeps up so quietly, we don’t know it’s there until it’s too late. Now, if we could hear it approaching, we could easily run away before we are caught! My idea is that we get a small bell and attach it, by a ribbon, around the neck of the Cat. Then we should always know when the cat was near and could easily run away before it even knew we were there."

All the mice thought this was a good idea and started cheering and clapping, until an old mouse got up and said: "That is all very well, but who is going to put the bell on the Cat?" The mice looked at one another - nobody spoke. No one wanted to do that job. Then the old mouse said:

"Solutions to a problem should be thought through thoroughly."

The Wolf and the Crane

A Wolf had been gorging on an animal he had killed, when suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat and he could not swallow it. He soon felt terrible pain in his throat and ran up and down groaning and seeking for something to relieve the pain. He tried to induce everyone he met to remove the bone. "I would give anything," said he, "if you would take it out." At last the Crane agreed to try and told the Wolf to lie on his side and open his jaws as wide as he could. Then the Crane put its long neck down the Wolf's throat, and with its beak loosened the bone, till at last it got it out.

"Will you kindly give me the reward you promised?" said the
Crane.

The Wolf grinned and showed his teeth and said: "Be content. You have put your head inside a Wolf's mouth and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward enough for you."

And, the moral is…

Gratitude and greed do not go together.

The Lion's Share

The Lion once went hunting along with the Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf. They hunted and they hunted till at last they surprised a Stag, and soon took its life. Then came the question of how the stag should be divided. “divide this Stag into quarters," roared the Lion; so, the other animals skinned it and cut it into four parts. Then the Lion stood in front of the carcass and pronounced judgment: The first quarter is for me in my capacity as King of Beasts; the second is mine for my authority in settling the division of the meat; another share comes to me for my part in the chase; and as for the fourth quarter, well, as for that, I should like to see which of you will dare to lay a paw upon it."

"Humph," grumbled the Fox, he walked away with his tail between his legs; but he spoke in a low growl. "You may share the labours of the great, but they will never let you share the rewards."

ALLADIN AND THE MAGIC LAMP

Once upon a time in China, there was a boy named Aladdin who lived with his mother. They were very poor. One day, a rich stranger came to their house looking for Aladdin. ‘I am a merchant,’ he told Aladdin’s mother. ‘I have come all the way from Arabia. I want to take your boy with me for a little work, but I will give him so much gold for this service that you will not be poor anymore.’

Aladdin’s mother agreed because they really needed the money. However, she did not know that the man who said he was a merchant was actually a wicked sorcerer.

Aladdin packed his things and left with the merchant. They travelled for many hours, finally the false merchant stopped. Aladdin was surprised, as it was a lonely spot and there was nothing or no one anywhere to be seen.

The merchant took out some coloured powder from his pocket. Then he threw it at the ground and smoke billowed all around. As the smoke cleared away, Aladdin saw a big opening in the ground, like a cave. The sorcerer asked Aladdin to go inside the cave. ‘You will see lots gold inside, more than you will ever see in your life. Take as much as you want. Inside the cave, you will also see an old lamp. Just get it out for me. That’s all I want.’ Aladdin became suspicious, as anyone would, but remembering his poor mother, he entered the cave.

Inside, he saw the cave was filled with gold. He filled up his pockets with it, stuffing in as much as he could. When he could take no more gold, he looked for the lamp and found it. It was old and dirty. He took the lamp and called out to the merchant to help him out. ‘Give me the lamp first,’ the merchant said. Aladdin was afraid that if he gave the lamp to the merchant, he would leave him there. So, he said ‘Please pull me out first.’

The merchant got angry and took out some more powder from his pocket. He threw it at the cave and the opening was shut, a huge rock blocking the way. Aladdin was scared. He waited inside and shouted, hoping that someone would come and help, many hours passed and no one came. As Aladdin was sitting alone, he started cleaning the lamp. Suddenly, a strange fog filled up the room and a voice said, ‘My Master, I am the genie of this lamp. What is your wish?’ The genie looked like a huge man, and very strange. Aladdin was afraid of him. But the genie assured him that he would do as Aladdin asked him. ‘Take me to my home’ he said.

The next instant, Aladdin was home and with his mother. They hugged each other and Aladdin told her all about his adventure. Aladdin called the genie again and he appeared, but now they were not afraid of him. He asked the genie for a palace and soon they were living inside a beautiful palace instead of the old hut where Aladdin had lived all his life.

People got to know about this rich young man, Aladdin, he became more famous. He married a princess, the daughter of the Sultan, and they were very happy. The wicked sorcerer, too, heard all about Aladdin. He came to Aladdin’s palace pretending to be an old man who exchanged old lamps for new. Aladdin had not told the princess about the magic lamp. She got it to give the magician. As soon as he saw the lamp he recognized it, and grabbing it, ran away.

He summoned the genie and he was now the new master. ‘Shift away Aladdin’s palace far away from here to the desert’ he said.

When Aladdin returned home he could not find his palace or his princess and mother. He was very worried, but then realized it must be the work of the evil sorcerer who wanted to take revenge. Aladdin thought hard and remembered that he had a ring that the magician had given him and that it could still help him. He rubbed the ring and another genie appeared. ‘Take me to wherever my princess is,’ he commanded the genie.

THE MOUSE, THE BIRD, AND THE SAUSAGE

A mouse, a bird and a sausage decided to set up home together. For a long time they got along happily, living within their means and managing to save a little. The bird’s job was to go into the forest every day and bring back wood for the fire, the mouse had to get water from the well, make the fire and lay the table, and the sausage did the cooking.

But people are never happy with living well when we think there is a better life to be had. One day, as the bird was in the forest, he met another bird and boasted about his pleasant way of life – the other bird called him an idiot. “What do you mean?” asked the bird.

“Well, who’s doing the lion’s share of the work? You are. You have to fly back and forth carrying heavy bits of wood while the other two take it easy. I think they’re taking advantage of you.

The bird thought about it. It was true that after the mouse had lit the fire and carried the water in, she usually went to her little room and had a snooze before getting up to lay the table. The sausage stayed by the cooking pot most of the time, keeping an eye on the vegetables, and from time to time, he’d slither through the water to give it a bit of flavouring. If it needed seasoning, he’d swim more slowly. That was more or less all he did. When the bird came home from with the wood, they’d stack it neatly by the fire, sit down to eat, and then sleep soundly till the next day. that was how they lived, and a fine way of life it was.

However, the bird couldn’t help thinking about what the other bird had said, and the next day he refused to go and gather wood.

“I’ve been your slave long enough,” he said,” you’ve been taking me for a fool. it’s time we tried a different arrangement.”

“But this works so well!” Said the mouse.

“You would say that, wouldn’t you?” Replied the bird.

“But this arrangement suits our different talents.” Said the sausage.

“Only because we haven’t tried any other way.” Said the bird.

The mouse and the sausage argued with the bird, but the bird wasn’t having it. Finally they gave in and drew lots. The job of gathering wood fell to the sausage, the mouse had to do the cooking, and the bird had to fetch the water and light the fire.

What do you think happened?

The sausage went out to gather the wood, the bird lit the fire and the mouse put the saucepan on the stove. Then they waited for the sausage to come back with the first load of wood, but he was gone so long that they began to worry about him, so the bird went out to see if he was all right.

Not far from the house the bird came across a dog, licking his lips.

“You haven’t seen a sausage, have you?” Asked the bird.

“Yeah, I just ate him. Delicious!”

“What do you mean! That’s terrible! I’ll call the police!” Said the bird.

“He was fair game.” Said the dog. “After all, he was a sausage.”

“but this is murder! He was just going about his daily business and you ate him!”

But there was nothing the bird could do. In a fight between a bird and a dog, there can be only one outcome, and it wouldn’t be the bird that won. He went back home and told the mouse what had happened.

“Eaten?” the mouse said. “Oh, that’s dreadful!” I’ll miss him terribly!.

“It’s very sad. We’ll just have to do the best we can without him.” Said the bird.

The bird laid the table while the mouse put the finishing touches to the stew. She remembered how easily the sausage had managed to swim round and round in the stew to season it and thought she could do the same so she climbed into the pot, but either it was too hot and she suffocated, or else she couldn’t swim at all and she drowned, but anyway, she never came out of the pot. 

The Old Man and Death

An old man, bent double with age, and a life time of hard work, was gathering sticks in a forest. At last he grew so tired and hopeless that he threw down the bundle of sticks and cried out: "I cannot bear this life any longer. I wish Death would come and take me away!"

As he spoke, Death, a scary skeleton, appeared and said to him: "What do you want, Mortal? I heard you call me."

"Please, sir," replied the woodcutter, immediately regretting his words, "would you kindly help me lift this bundle of sticks onto my shoulder?"

And, the moral is…

Be careful what you wish for.

The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts

The Lion sent out a message that he was sick and close to death. He summoned all the animals to come and hear his dying wish. So, the Goat came to the Lion's cave, then a Sheep went in, and before she came out a Calf came up to hear the last wishes of the Lord of the Beasts. But then, the Lion seemed to recover, and came to the mouth of his cave, licking his lips, and saw the Fox, who had been waiting outside for some time. "Why do you not come to pay your respects to me?" said the Lion to the Fox.

"I beg your Majesty's pardon," said the Fox, "but while I see many hoof-marks going in, I see none coming out. Until the animals that have entered your cave come out again I prefer to remain safely, in the open air."

And, the moral is…

It is easier to get into an enemy's trap than out of it.

The Bundle of Sticks

An old man on his death bed summoned his sons around him to give them some final advice. He pointed to a bundle of sticks, tied tightly together, and said to his eldest son: "Break it." The son strained and strained, but in spite of all his strength and effort, was unable to break the bundle. The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful. "Untie the bundle," said the father, "and each of you take a stick." When they had done so, the old man said to them: "Now, break your sticks." Each stick was easily broken. "You see my meaning?" Said their father. “Together you are strong, alone, you are weak.

The Fox, the Cockerel, and the Dog

One moonlit night a Fox was prowling about a farmer's hen coop and saw a Cockerel roosting high up beyond his reach. "Good news, good news!" The fox cried."What news is that?" said the Cockerel."King Lion has declared a universal truce. No animal may hurt a bird from now on, we must all live together in brotherly and sisterly friendship.""That is good news," said the Cockerel; "and look! I see someone coming, we can tell him this good news, too!" The Cock craned his neck forward and looked into the distance.

"What is it you see?" said the Fox.

"It is my master's Dog, coming towards us!” Said the Cockerel. “What, going so soon?" he said, noticing the Fox had begun to run away as soon as he had heard who was coming. "Won’t you stay and tell the Dog about this new law of brotherly and sisterly friendship?"

"I’d love to," said the Fox, "but I’m afraid that big dog may not have heard of King Lion's new law."

And, the moral is…

Cunning often outwits itself.

The Miser and His Gold

Once upon a time there was a Miser who used to hide his gold at the foot of a tree in his garden. Every week he used to go and dig up the gold and gloat over how much of it he had. A robber noticed this, he went to the tree one night, dug up the gold and ran off with it! When the Miser next came to gloat over his treasure, he found nothing but the empty hole. He tore his hair and screamed so loudly that all the neighbours came to see what the matter was. The miser told them how he used to come and visit his gold but now someone has stolen it! "Did you ever take any of it out?" asked one of them.

"No," said he, "I only came to look at it."

"Then come again and look at the hole," said a neighbour; "it will do you just as much good."

And, the moral is…

Wealth unused might as well not exist.

The Man and the Nightingale

A Man lay listening to a Nightingale's song one summer night. He loved the bird’s song so much that the next night he set a trap for it and captured it. "Now that I have caught you," he cried, "you will always sing to me."

"We Nightingales never sing in a cage." said the bird.

"Then I'll eat you." said the Man. "I’ve been told that a nightingale on toast is delicious!"

"Don’t kill me," said the Nightingale; "let me free, and I'll tell you three things that are far better than eating my little body." The Man let him loose, and the bird flew up to a branch of a tree and said: "Number one: never believe a captive's promise. Number two: Keep hold of what you have. And number three: Don’t waste time feeling sorry about something that is gone forever." Then the songbird flew away, laughing.

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

A Wolf found great difficulty in getting any sheep for its dinner, since the Shepherd and his dogs kept a careful watch over the sheep. But one day the Wolf found the skin of a sheep lying in a field, so the Wolf put the skin on over its fur, and strolled down among the sheep. A Lamb followed the Wolf, thinking it was a real sheep, and so, leading the Lamb away, the Wolf ate it up! Yum, yum! And for some time, he succeeded in deceiving the Sheep, Shepherd, and Dogs, and enjoying delicious Lamb suppers.

And, the moral is…

Appearances can be deceptive. Be careful of those pretending to be what they are not.

The Nurse and the Wolf

"Be quiet now," said an old Nurse to a bawling child sitting on her lap. "If you make that noise again I will throw you to the Wolf!"

Now, a Wolf was passing close under the window and heard the Nurse’s words. So, he crouched down by the side of the house and waited. "I am in good luck to-day," he thought. "That baby is sure to cry soon, and I’ll have a tasty, fat, baby for my supper." So, he waited, and he waited, till at last the child began to cry, and the Wolf looked in the window and barked at the Nurse, wagging his tail and waiting for her to throw the baby to his waiting jaws. Yum, yum! But all the Nurse did was to slam the window shut and scream for help.  Two big dogs came running out of the house and chased the Wolf. "Ah," said the Wolf as he ran away,

And the moral is:

"never believe what an enemy says."

The Man and the Satyr

A Man had lost his way in a wood one bitter winter's night. As he was roaming about, a Satyr came up to him, and finding that he had lost his way, promised to give him food and a bed for the night, and guide him out of the forest in the morning. As he went along to the Satyr's home, the Man raised both his hands to his mouth and kept on blowing at them. "What do you do that for?" said the Satyr.

"My hands are numb with the cold," said the Man, "and my breath warms them."

After this they arrived at the Satyr's home, and soon the Satyr put a smoking dish of porridge before him. But when the Man raised his spoon to his mouth he began blowing upon it. "And what do you do that for?" said the Satyr.

"The porridge is too hot, and my breath will cool it."

"Out you go," said the Satyr. "I will have nought to do with a man who can blow hot and cold with the same breath."

The Goose That Laid Golden Eggs

One day a farmer went to the nest of his Goose and found she’d laid an egg that was all yellow and shiny. When he picked it up it was as heavy as lead! He was going to throw it away because he thought someone had played a trick on him, but then he thought about it a little more, and took it home - in case it might have any value. Soon, the farmer found, to his delight, that it was an egg of pure gold! Every morning the same thing occurred, and he soon became rich by selling his golden eggs! As he grew rich he grew greedy and thinking to get all the gold the Goose could give at once, he killed the poor bird and opened it up! Only to find that there was no eggs, no gold, nothing valuable at all - just the inside of a goose.

And, the moral is…

Greedy people often lose the good thing they have by trying to get more than they need.

THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER

Once upon a time, when magical little people still involved themselves in the lives of ordinary people, there was a poor shoemaker. He was a good man and once had been very good at his job, but as he got older his hands began to shake and his eyesight got poorer, it was difficult for him to make shoes to the high standards he was known for when he was young. Business was bad and the poor shoemaker and his wife had very little to eat.

One night the shoemaker and his wife looked at the fine piece of leather he had in his workshop.

“Wife,” he said, “this is the last leather I have. It’s just enough to make a pair of shoes from. I wish I could make a pair as beautiful and as well made as I could have crafted in my youth, but my skills have left me in my old age.” He said, sadly.

“Never mind, husband,” said his wife, “don’t try to work tonight, start work in the morning, I’m sure you will make a lovely pair of shoes after a good night’s sleep.” And so, the loving old couple went to their bed.

In the morning, the shoemaker and his wife got up with the sun and ate a small breakfast, then the shoemaker went to his workshop to start work on the new pair of shoes he planned to make - BUT – when he got there, what a surprise was waiting for him! On his workbench he found a beautifully made pair of shoes, the stitching and design was perfect, such tiny, tiny stitches. It was the best pair of shoes the shoemaker had ever seen, even better than the best he had made in his youth. The shoemaker was amazed at the quality of the workmanship, and wondered who could have produced such wonderful work in so short a time, and why had they been so kind as to do this great favour for him and his wife?

The shoemaker put the wonderful pair of shoes in the window of his shop and very soon a fine lady spotted them and paid three times the price the shoemaker asked for them! Now the shoemaker and his wife could buy some food and more leather to make shoes with.

Now, because the shoemaker was old, and slow in his work, he always left the work unfinished at the end of the day, and in the morning he and his wife would find the shoes finished, beautifully, and they were quickly sold for an excellent price to an admiring customer! Soon, the shoemaker just left out the leather, without attempting to make the shoes himself, and he would find a new pair of lovely shoes there in the morning.

One night, he and his wife decided to spy on the workshop and see who it was who was being so kind to them. They hid in a corner behind some boxes, at the stroke of midnight, four little elves, naked and poor looking, appeared in the workshop, and with incredible speed, made another extraordinary pair of shoes. Then when finished, they disappeared.

The shoemaker and his wife were so touched by the kindness of these poor elves, they discussed what they might do to thank them. “Husband, did you see how poor and naked they were?” Said the shoemaker’s wife. “I will make the poor little elves some tiny clothes for them to wear. It’s the least we can do for all their kindness.”

She was as good as her word. And that night, she laid out the little clothes she had made for them, then the shoemaker joined her to spy on them, from behind the boxes in the corner.

When the elves arrived the were delighted! They put on their tiny clothes and admired themselves in the mirror, then they disappeared, and never returned! But the shoemaker, by now, was rich enough and hired an apprentice to make shoes for him. The shoemaker and his wife lived happily ever after.

THE END

The Belly and the Parts of the Body

One fine day it occurred to the various parts of the Body that they were doing all the work and the Belly was getting all the food. So, they held a meeting, and after a long discussion, decided to stop working until the Belly consented to take its proper share of the work. So, for a day or two, the Hands refused to lift the food, the Mouth refused to take it in, and the Teeth had no work to do. But after a day or two the parts of the body began to find that they were not in good condition: the Hands could hardly move, and the Mouth was all parched and dry, while the Legs were unable to support the rest of the body. So, they found that even the Belly in its dull quiet way was doing necessary work for the Body, and that all must work together, or the entire Body will suffer.

And, the moral is…

Everyone has their burden to bear for the good of themselves and for others.

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

Three little pigs left their parent’s home and went out into the great, big, world to seek their fortune. One was called, Fun pig, another was called, Care-free pig, and the third was called, Practical pig. Fun and Care-free were nice little pigs but they liked enjoying themselves more than using their heads and thinking. Practical liked having fun, but only after he had done all his work, and he never did anything without thinking it through and planning it properly.

The three little pigs decided to build themselves a house. Fun pig said, “let’s build it of straw, it’ll be easy, then we can play.”

Care-free pig said, “no, let’s make it of sticks, they’ll make a better shelter and be just as quick to build as a straw house. We’ll have it done in no time and we can play for the rest of the day!”

Practical pig said, “there you two go again, more concerned with playing before finishing your work properly! A house of straw or sticks? Are you crazy? Don’t you know that there is a big, bad, wolf prowling the countryside? A house of straw or sticks won’t be any protection against such a beast. We must make a solid house, of bricks to live in, we’ll be safe inside it, against the weather and the big, bad, wolf.”

Fun pig and Care-free pig didn’t like the bossy sound of Practical pig’s voice, nor did they like the idea of building a house of bricks - that took a long time and was a lot more work than just throwing together a shelter from straw or sticks.

“You think you know everything.” Said Fun pig. “You go ahead and make your stupid old house of bricks, I’m going to make my own house of straw – it’ll be perfectly fine; and you worry too much about the big, bad, wolf, he’ll never bother us, and even if he does, I’ll be safe in my house of straw.”

Care-free pig said, “Hmph! In that case, I’m going to make my own house of sticks. Bricks take too long to make, and then you have to do all that measuring and cementing, what a waste of time! I’m not scared of the big, bad, wolf, anyway. I think he doesn’t really exist. It’s just a story that bad people like to tell to scare everyone with.”

“Very well, suit yourselves. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Said Practical pig, sadly.

The three little pigs set about making their houses separately. Fun pig threw his tiny house of straw together in a matter of minutes, then he trotted over to see whether Care-free pig had finished his house of sticks yet. Fun pig only had to wait a few more minutes for Carefree pig to finish his tiny house of sticks, then they both trotted over to see whether Practical pig had finished his house yet.

“I bet he hasn’t finished yet.” Said Fun pig. “You know him, always making things difficult for himself.”

Sure enough, Practical pig was still making the bricks out of clay and baking them in the oven, to make them hard. “Don’t you want to come and play with us?” Asked Care-free pig.

“Not now,” said Practical pig, “I’ll play with you once this house is built – I won’t enjoy playing when I know there is something important that I haven’t done.”

“Ewwww, you’re such a party-pooper. Work, work, work, that’s all you think about. It’s a lovely day! Come and play!” Said Fun pig.

“No thanks, I’ll be with you when I’m done.” Said Practical pig, and he kept on working while the other pigs went off to play.

Practical pig continued building his house of bricks, through rain and shine. Finally, he finished, and he could relax, so he trotted over to see his brothers, but as he was trotting, his brothers came running up the road towards him.

“Where are you going?” asked Practical pig.

“The big, bad, wolf is chasing us – hide! Hide in your house! Quickly! Run! Said Fun pig.

Practical pig looked down the road. Sure enough, a big hungry wolf was running his way. Practical pig ran past his brothers.

The Cockerel and the Pearl

A cockerel was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he spied something shining in the straw. "Ho! ho!" he said, "I’ll have that!" And soon rooted it out from beneath the straw. What did it turn out to be but a pearl that, by some chance, had been lost in the yard! The cockerel was very disappointed. "Pearls may be precious to humans," said Master Cockerel, "but I would rather have a single crumb of bread than a whole bag of pearls - pearls mean nothing to a hungry cockerel."

And, the moral is…

What is precious to some, is not necessarily precious to others.

The Lion and the Statue

A Man and a Lion were discussing who was the stronger, Humans, or Lions. The Man claimed that Humans were stronger than lions because of their greater intelligence. "Come with me," he said, "and I will prove that I’m right." So, he took Lion into the public gardens and showed him a statue of Hercules overcoming a Lion with his great strength.

"This proves nothing," said the Lion, "a man made this statue to glorify humans. If a lion could make statues, then he would make one of a lion doing… THIS!" And the Lion ate the man up.

And, the moral is…

Beware of representing things as we wish them to be and not as they actually are.

The Hares and the Frogs

The Hares were so persecuted by the other beasts, they did not know what to do. As soon as they saw a single animal approach them, off they’d to run in fear. One day they saw a herd of wild horses stampeding about, and in quite a panic  all the Hares scuttled off to a lake nearby, determined to drown themselves rather than live in such a continual state of fear. But just as they got near the bank of the lake, a group of Frogs, frightened by the Hares scuttled off, and jumped into the water. "Truly," said one of the Hares, "we are not the only ones to be frightened. Everyone has their own problems to deal with.”

The Fox and the Grapes

One hot summer's day, a Fox was strolling through a vineyard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which was entwined over a high branch. "Just the thing to quench my thirst," he said. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch of grapes. Turning around again, with a one, two, three! He jumped up, but with no greater success. Again, and again he tried to reach the delicious looking grapes, but at last he had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying, "I don’t really want them anyway – I’m sure they are sour."

And, the moral is…

It is easy to despise what you cannot have.

The Dog and the Wolf

A skinny Wolf, almost dead with hunger, happened to meet a Dog who was passing by. "Ah, Cousin," said the Dog. "I knew how it would be; your irregular life will soon be the ruin of you. Why do you not work steadily as I do, and get your food regularly given to you?"

"I would have no objection," said the Wolf, "if I could only get a place that would give me a job."

"I will easily arrange that for you," said the Dog; "come with me to my master and you shall share my work."

So, the Wolf and the Dog went towards the town together. On the way there the Wolf noticed that the hair on a certain part of the Dog's neck was very much worn away, so he asked him how that had come about.

"Oh, it is nothing," said the Dog. "That is only the place where the collar is put on at night to keep me chained up; it chafes a bit, but one soon gets used to it."

"Is that so?" said the Wolf. "Then good-bye to you, Master
Dog."

And, the moral is…

Better to starve and be free, than to be a fat slave.

Once upon a time there was a young prince - fussy, he was, very picky, in fact, you might go so far as to call him a bit spoilt, and you’d be right - he was.

One day he went to his mother, the queen, and said, “mother, it’s so tiresome being single - boring - I think it’s time I settled down and, you know, got married.”

“Oh, excellent, my son!” Said the queen, who was wondering when he’d grow up and face his responsibilities. “Erm - do you have anyone in mind?” She asked.

“No, not really, you can sort that out for me, mother, but I don’t want any old riff-raff, I want to marry a real princess, she must be pretty, naturally, but most importantly, she must be a princess in every way. See to it will you, there’s a dear.” He said, as he sauntered off to play with his friends.

The queen set about her task quickly, she wanted to get him married before he could change his mind. So, off to the wise woman she went, for advice, which she got.

The queen invited a lovely young princess to the palace, they feasted and danced then she went to bed. In the morning, the queen asked the princess whether she slept well or not.

“Oh, I slept soundly, what a comfortable bed you gave me to sleep in, your majesty.” Said the princess.

The prince and his mother waved goodbye to her as she drove off in her carriage.

“She was alright, I suppose.” Said the prince.

“No, she wasn’t.” Said his mother. She wasn’t a proper princess at all.

And so, the queen invited another, and another, and ANOTHER princess, all of them lovely and from the finest kingdoms nearby, but after they had all told the queen that they’d slept comfortably, she knew that none of them would be the right bride for her fussy son.

The queen despaired of ever finding a suitable princess, but she kept inviting girls from the Royal families, near and far, and then, disappointed, sending them away the next day.

Until, one day, another princess visited, again they feasted and danced. The queen asked her how she was enjoying the feast, and the princess replied, “it’s alright I suppose, but the food is only fit for peasants, and the music is too loud; your son can’t dance, either, he’s rubbish at it. But, other than that, it’s better than most feasts I’ve been to. That’s not saying much, though.”

“Ooh,” said the queen, “so nice of you to say so.”

“My pleasure, entirely.” Said the princess.

Royally rude, that’s what she was.

The princess went to her bed of feather quilts and luxuriously soft mattresses after the festivities, only to call for the maid, a short time later, to ask for another mattress and some cushions, which she got. But was she happy? No! the poor maid was woken again.

“I’m not used to sleeping on lumps of gravel,” said the princess, “bring me some more cushions and all the mattresses you can find!” The maid did this, no doubt grumbling about the spoilt Princess as she did. Soon the princess was balancing on thirty luxury mattresses, and surrounded by soft, plump, cushions. Did this make her happy? No, it didn’t! She grumbled and groaned throughout the night, and when she came down to breakfast in the morning, the queen asked her whether she’d had a good sleep.

“No, I certainly did not!” Said the grumpy princess. “I’m black and blue from lying in discomfort all night, no matter how many soft mattresses and cushions I had the maid bring!”

The queen was delighted – here was a true princess! The queen had placed a hard, little pea under the bottom mattress, for the wise woman had told her, that only a true and delicate, princess would feel the discomfort of a pea through a luxury mattress. This one had felt it through thirty of them, and numerous cushions, too! Perfect!  The wedding was arranged - the princess married the prince, and I don’t mind telling you,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The Swallow and the Other Birds

It happened that a Countryman was sowing some hemp seeds in a field, where a Swallow and some other birds were hopping about picking up their food. "Beware of that man," said the Swallow. "Why, what is he doing?" said the others. "That is hemp seed he is sowing; be careful to pick up every one of the seeds, or else you will be sorry." The birds ignored the Swallow's words, and by and by, the hemp grew up and was made into string, and of the string, nets were made, and many a bird that had ignored the Swallow's advice was caught in nets made out of that very hemp. "What did I tell you?" said the Swallow.

And, the moral is.

Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow to be your ruin.

The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts

A great conflict was about to come off between the Birds and the Beasts. When the two armies were collected together the Bat wasn’t sure which to join. The Birds that passed his perch said: "Come with us"; but he said: "I am a Beast." Later on, some Beasts who were passing underneath him looked up and said: "Come with us"; but he said: "I am a Bird." Luckily at the last moment peace was made, and no battle took place, so the Bat came to the Birds and wished to join in the rejoicings, but they all turned against him and he had to fly away. He then went to the Beasts, but soon had to beat a retreat, or else they would have torn him to pieces.

And, the moral is…

"He that is neither one thing nor the other has no friends."

Androcles and the Lion

A slave named Androcles once escaped from his master and fled to the forest. As he was wandering about, he came upon a Lion lying down, moaning and groaning. At first he turned to run away, but finding that the Lion did not pursue him, he turned back and went up to him. As he came near, the Lion put out his paw, which was all swollen and bleeding, and Androcles found that a huge thorn had got into it and was causing all the pain. He pulled out the thorn and bound up the paw of the Lion, who was soon able to rise and lick the hand of Androcles like a dog. Then the Lion took Androcles to his cave, and every day used to bring him meat from which to live. But shortly afterwards both Androcles and the Lion were captured, and the slave was sentenced to be thrown to the Lion, after the latter had been kept without food for several days. The Emperor and all his Court came to see the spectacle, and Androcles was led out into the middle of the arena. Soon the Lion was let loose from his den and rushed bounding and roaring towards his victim. But as soon as he came near to Androcles he recognised his friend, and fawned upon him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog. The Emperor, surprised at this, summoned Androcles to him, who told him the whole story. Whereupon the slave was pardoned and freed, and the Lion let loose to his native forest.

And, the moral is…

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.

The Frog and the Ox

"Oh Father," said a little Frog to the big one sitting by the side of a pool, "I have seen such a terrible monster! It was as big as a mountain, with horns on its head, and a long tail, and it had hoofs divided in two."

"Tush, child, tush," said the old Frog, "that was only Farmer White's Ox. It isn't so big either; he may be a little bit taller than I, but I could easily make myself quite as broad; just you see." So, he blew himself out, and blew himself out, and blew himself out. "Was he as big as that?" asked he.

"Oh, much bigger than that," said the young Frog.

Again, the old one blew himself out, and asked the young one if the Ox was as big as that.

"Bigger, father, bigger," was the reply.

So, the Frog took a deep breath, and blew and blew and blew, and swelled and swelled and swelled. And then he said: "I'm sure the Ox is not as big as this. But at this moment he burst.

And, the moral is…

Self-conceit can lead to self-destruction.

PART FOUR

Once home the wicked Queen asked the magic mirror, “magic mirror upon the wall, who NOW is the fairest one of all?" at last it answered, “You are the fairest now of all.” Then her evil, envious heart found peace, as much as any evil, envious heart can.

The dwarfs, when they came home in the evening, found Snow-white lying on the ground, there came no breath out of her mouth, the poor child was dead, and remained dead. They laid her on a bier, and all seven of them sat around it, and wept for three whole days. Then they would have buried her, but she still looked as if she were alive, with a beautiful blush to her cheeks. So, they said, “We cannot hide her away in the black ground.” And they had made a coffin of clear glass, so as to be looked into from all sides, they laid her in it, and in golden letters, they wrote her name, and that she was a King’s daughter. Then they set the coffin out upon the mountain, and one of them was always there, to guard it.

Now, for a long while Snow-white lay in the coffin and never changed, but looked as if she were asleep, for she was still as white as snow, lips, red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony. It happened, however, that a King’s son rode through the wood and up to the dwarfs’ house, which was near it. He saw the coffin on the mountain, and beautiful Snow-white within. Reading what was written in golden letters upon it, he said to the dwarfs, “Let me have the coffin with Snow-White in it, and I will give you whatever you ask for it.” The dwarfs told him that they could not part with it for all the gold in the world. But he said, “please give it me, for I cannot live without looking upon Snow-white; if you consent you will be given great honours, and I will care for you all, as if you were my brothers.” When he said this the good dwarfs had pity upon him and gave him the coffin, and the King’s son called his servants and bid them carry it away on their shoulders. Now it happened that as they were going along they stumbled over a bush, and with the shaking, a bit of poisoned apple flew out of Snow-White’s throat. Soon her eyes fluttered opened, she threw open the cover of the coffin, and sat up, alive and well. “Where am I?” she cried. The King’s son answered, full of joy, “You are with me,” and, told her all that had happened, he said, “I would rather have you next to me than anything in the world; come with me to my father’s castle and you shall be my bride.” Snow-white thought she might grow to like the handsome young Prince and went with him.

The wedding was held with great pomp and splendour. But Snow-white’s wicked stepmother was also invited to the feast, when she had dressed herself in beautiful clothes she went to her mirror and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is fairest one of all?" The mirror answered, “Oh Queen, although you are of beauty rare, the young bride is a thousand times more fair." The wicked Queen screamed and cursed and beat her fists in frustration and anger on the walls of the palace until they bled. At first she thought she would not go to the wedding; but then she felt she would have no peace until she saw the bride. She went to the wedding and saw, to her horror, that the bride was Snow-white, but she could not move from the place for anger and terror. When Snow-white looked into her eyes, her stepmother could see that Snow-White was by far more beautiful than she ever was or could be, and since this was all the woman cared about in the world, the jealousy burned into her heart, like acid, and she died there, in the feasting hall. None mourned her passing.

THE END

PART THREE

When the wicked woman got home she went to her mirror and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" The mirror answered as before, “Queen, thou art of beauty rare, but Snow-White living in the glen with the seven little men is a thousand times more fair." When she heard that she was so shocked that all the blood left her heart, for she knew that Snow-white must still be living. “But this time,” she said, “I will do something that will be her ruin.” And by witchcraft she made a poisoned comb. Then she disguised herself as yet another old woman, different from the first, and went to the house of the seven dwarfs again, she knocked at the door crying, “beautiful combs for sale!” Snow-white looked out and said, “Sorry, please go away, I must not let anybody inside the house.”

“But you are not forbidden to look,” said the wicked Queen, taking out the poisoned comb and holding it up. It pleased Snow-White so much that she opened the door, (foolish girl) and when the bargain was made the old woman said, “Now, your hair shall be properly combed.” Poor Snow-white, thinking no harm, let the old woman do as she would, (rather silly of her, I think, don’t you?) Sure enough, no sooner was the comb put in her hair than the poison began to work, and the poor girl fell down senseless.

“Now, you paragon of beauty,” said the wicked woman, “this is the end of you,” and off she went, laughing that laugh again.

By good luck it was now near evening, and the seven dwarfs came home. When they saw Snow-white lying on the ground as though dead, they knew that it was the wicked Queen’s doing, one of them found the poisoned comb, and no sooner had they taken it out of her hair than Snow-white recovered, and told them all that had happened. They warned her once more to be on her guard, and never again to let anyone in the house.

Back in the palace, the Queen stood before the looking-glass and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" The mirror answered as before, “Queen, thou art of beauty rare, But Snow-white living in the glen with the seven little men is a thousand times more fair." When she heard the mirror say this, she trembled and shook with anger. “Snow-white shall die,” she cried, “even if it should cost me my own life!” She went to a secret chamber, where no one was likely to come, and there she made a poisonous apple. It was beautiful to look upon, this lush, red and green apple, anyone who should see it must long for it, but whoever ate even a little bit of the poisoned part, would die. When the apple was ready she painted her face and clothed herself like a peasant woman and went to where the seven dwarfs lived.

When she knocked at the door Snow-white put her head out of the window and said, “I dare not let anybody in; the seven dwarfs told me not to.” “Alright,” answered the woman; “I can easily get rid of my apples elsewhere. Here, I will give you this one.”

“No,” answered Snow-white, “I dare not take anything.”

“Are you afraid of poison?” said the woman, “look here, I will cut the apple in two pieces; you shall have the red side, I will have the green one.” For the apple was so cunningly made, that all the poison was in the rosy half of it. Snow-white longed for the delicious looking apple, and as she saw the peasant woman eating a piece of it she could no longer resist and took the poisoned half. No sooner had she bitten into it than she fell to the ground as though dead. And the Queen, her beautiful face twisted into a mask of vile horror, laughed aloud, and cried, “As white as snow, as red as blood, as black as ebony! This time the dwarfs will not be able to bring you to life again.” And she laughed like the mad woman she was as she made her way back to the palace.

PART TWO

When it was quite dark, the masters of the house came home. They were seven dwarfs, who worked all day digging underground among the mountains for gold and precious stones. When they had lighted their seven candles, and it was bright in the little house, they saw that someone had been there, things were not as they’d been left in the morning. Then one of them looked at his bed and saw Snow-white lying there asleep. “Look!” He said. The others came running up, crying out in their astonishment, and holding up their seven little candles to throw light upon Snow-white. “O goodness! O gracious!” They cried, “who is this beautiful girl?” They were so full of joy to see her that they did not wake her but let her sleep on. The seventh dwarf shared a bed with one of his comrades.

When it was morning, and Snow-white awoke and saw the seven dwarfs, she was very frightened; but they seemed quite friendly, they asked her what her name was, and she told them; then they asked how she came to be in their house. She told them how her stepmother had tried to have her put to death and of her escape. The dwarfs said, “If you will keep our house for us, and cook, and wash, and make the beds, and sew and knit, and keep everything tidy and clean, you may stay with us, and you shall lack nothing.”

“With all my heart, I will happily stay here.” said Snow-white. And so, she stayed, and kept the house in good order. In the morning, the dwarfs went to the mountain to dig for gold and precious stones; in the evening they came home, and their supper would be ready for them. All day long Snow-White was left alone, and the good dwarfs warned her, saying, “beware of your stepmother, she will soon find out that you are here. Let no one into the house.”

Now the Queen, having eaten Snow-white’s heart, as she supposed, felt quite sure that she was the most beautiful in the land again, and so she came to her mirror, and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, Who is the fairest one of all?" And the mirror answered, “Queen, thou art of beauty rare, But Snow-white living in the glen with the seven little men is a thousand times more fair." The wicked Queen was extremely angry, for the mirror always spoke the truth, the huntsman had deceived her! Snow-white is still alive! She thought and thought until her nose bled, on how she could make an end of Snow-White, she could not be happy so long as there was another more beautiful than herself in the land, so poisoned was she with envy. At last she thought of a plan; she painted her face and dressed herself like an old peddler woman, so that no one would have known her. In this disguise she went across the seven mountains, until she came to the house of the seven dwarfs, and she knocked at the door and cried, “Fine lace for sale! fine lace for sale!” Snow-white peeped out of the window and cried, “Good-day, good woman, what have you to sell?” “Good wares, fine wares,” answered she, “laces of all colours.” And she held up a piece that was woven of silk.

I need not be afraid of letting in this good woman,thought Snow-White, and she unbarred the door and bought the pretty lace. “What a figure you are, child!” said the old woman, “come and let me lace you properly.” Snow-White, suspecting nothing, stood up before her, and let her tie the lace. But the old woman laced it so quickly and tightly that it took Snow-White’s breath away, and she fell down as though dead. “Now you are not the fairest in the land, you are dead!” said the wicked Queen, as she hastened away, laughing crazily - as all wicked people seem to, when they have done something particularly horrible.

................

SNOW-WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

PART ONE

It was the middle of winter, and snowflakes were falling like feathers from the sky. A Queen sat at her window, working at her embroidery. As she worked, gazing at times out on the snow, she accidentally pricked her finger, and there fell from it three drops of blood on the snow. When she saw how bright and red it looked, she said to herself, “Oh I wish I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the ebony wood of this embroidery frame!”

Not long after she had a daughter, with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, and she was named Snow-White. But there is a price for every wish, and when she was born her mother, the Queen, died.

Some years later, the King took another wife, a beautiful woman, but proud, vain, and demanding. She could not bear to be surpassed in beauty by anyone. The woman had a magic mirror and she used to stand before it, look in it, and say, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" And the mirror would answer, “You are fairest of them all.” And she was contented, for she knew that the mirror could only speak the truth.

Now, Snow-white was growing prettier and prettier, and when she was sixteen years old she was as beautiful as day, far more so than the Queen herself. So, one day when the Queen went to her mirror and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" It answered, “Queen, you are full fair, it’s true, But Snow-white is fairer than you." This shocked the Queen to her very core, she became yellow and green with envy, and from that hour her heart turned against Snow-white, and she hated her. Envy and pride like poison weeds grew in her heart, twisting up higher every day, until she had no peace. When her hatred became unbearable she sent for a huntsman, and said, “Take the girl out into the woods, so that I may set eyes on her no more. You must kill her and bring me her heart.” The huntsman did as he was told and led Snow-White away; but when he drew his dagger to pierce her innocent heart, she began to weep, and said, “dear huntsman, don’t kill me. I will go away into the wild wood, and never come home again.” The huntsman had pity on her, and said, “Away with you then, poor child.” He thought the wild animals would be sure to devour her, but he also felt as if a stone had been rolled away from his heart when he decided not to kill the innocent girl. As he walked back, wondering what to tell the wicked Queen, a young wild boar came running by, so he caught and killed it, and taking out its heart, he brought it to the Queen and told her it was Snow-White’s heart. The Queen had it salted and cooked, and the wicked woman ate it up, thinking that was the end of Snow-white.

Now, the poor girl found herself alone in the wild woods, she was terrified, even of the very leaves on the trees, she didn’t know what to do for fright. She ran over sharp stones and through thorn bushes and believed that the wild beasts of the forest were after her, but they did her no harm. She ran as long as her feet would carry her. When the evening drew near she had some luck and came upon a little house, she went inside to rest. Everything was small inside the house, but as pretty and clean as possible. There stood the little table ready laid, and covered with a white cloth, and seven little plates, and seven small knives and forks, and drinking cups. By the wall stood seven little beds, side by side, covered with clean white quilts. Snow-white, being very hungry and thirsty, ate from each plate a little porridge and bread, and drank out of each little cup a drop of wine, so as not to finish up one portion alone. After that she felt so tired that she lay down on one of the beds and fell asleep.

The Fox and the Crow

A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. "That's for me!" said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree. "Good-day, Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds." The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox.

And, the moral is…

Do not trust flatterers.

The Lion and the Mouse

Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. "Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows, but I may be able to do you a turn one of these days?" The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Some time after, the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a waggon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by and seeing the sad plight of the Lion, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "There, your kindness and friendship to me was not a mistake." said the little Mouse.

And, the moral is…

Little friends may prove great friends.

Man and the Serpent

A Countryman's son by accident trod upon a Serpent's tail, which turned and bit him so that he died. The father in a rage got his axe, and pursuing the Serpent, cut off part of its tail. So the Serpent in revenge began biting several of the Farmer's cattle and caused him severe loss. Well, the Farmer thought it best to make it up with the Serpent, and brought food and honey to the mouth of its lair, and said to it: "Let's forget and forgive; perhaps you were right to punish my son, and take vengeance on my cattle, but surely I was right in trying to revenge him; now that we are both satisfied why shouldn’t we be friends again?"

"No, no," said the Serpent; "take away your gifts; you can never forget the death of your son, nor can I forget the loss of my tail."

And, the moral is…

Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten.

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Now you must know that a Town Mouse once upon a time went on a visit to his cousin in the country. He was rough and ready, this cousin, but he loved his town friend and made him heartily welcome. Beans and bacon, cheese and bread, were all he had to offer, but he offered them freely. The Town Mouse rather turned up his long nose at this country fare, and said: "I cannot understand, Cousin, how you can put up with such poor food as this, but of course you cannot expect anything better in the country; come with me and I will show you how to live. When you have been in town a week you will wonder how you could ever have stood a country life." No sooner said than done: the two mice set off for the town and arrived at the Town Mouse's residence late at night. "You will want some refreshment after our long journey," said the polite Town Mouse, and took his friend into the grand dining-room. There they found the remains of a fine feast, and soon the two mice were eating up jellies and cakes and all that was nice. Suddenly they heard growling and barking. "What is that?" said the Country Mouse. "It’s only the dogs of the house," answered the other. "Only!" said the Country Mouse. "I don’t like that music at my dinner." Just at that moment the door flew open, in came two huge mastiffs, and the two mice had to scamper down and run off. "Good-bye, Cousin," said the Country Mouse, "What! going so soon?" said the other. "Yes," he replied;

"Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear."

PART THREE

So sad the king was dead, (ha, ha!) but the queen was expecting his baby, she brought a beautiful child into the world, and she never gave a thought to the goblin who had helped her and saved her life. But one day there he was, in her room, and he said, "Now give me your first-born, as you promised."

The queen was horror-struck and offered the goblin all the riches of the kingdom if he would leave her the child. But the goblin said, "Don’t bother me with that rubbish, I don’t need it – I can spin straw into gold, as you know! Something alive is dearer to me than all the treasures in the world."

Then the queen began to lament and cry, crying always seemed to work for her in the past, and it did now - the goblin pitied her.

"I will give you three days," he said, "if by that time you can find out my true name, then you can keep your child."

So, the queen thought the whole night of all the names that she had ever heard, and she sent a messenger over the country to inquire, far and wide, for any other names that there might be. When the goblin came the next day, she began with the names, Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar, and said all the other names she knew, one after another, but to everyone the little man said, "No! Not my name."

On the second day she had inquiries made in the neighbourhood, and she repeated to the goblin the most uncommon and curious names she found. Perhaps your name is Shortribs, or Sheepshanks, or Laceleg, but he always answered, "No! Not my name."

On the third day the messenger came back from his searching, and said, "I’m not sure if this is much help, your Majesty, but as I came to a high mountain at the end of the forest, where the fox and the hare say good night to each other, there I saw a little house, and before the house a fire was burning, and round about the fire an odd little goblin was dancing, he hopped upon one leg, and sang -

'Today I bake, tomorrow I brew,

My true name no one ever knew.

Ha, glad am I to play this game

For Rumpelstiltskin is my name.'"

You can imagine how glad the queen was when she heard the name. And when soon afterwards the little man came in, and asked, "Now, mistress queen, what is my true name?"

At first she said, "Is your name Conrad?"

"No."

"Is your name Harry?"

"No."

“Donald?”

“No.”

“Boris?”

“No.”

“Lifeng?”

“No.”

"Then your true name must be - Rumpelstiltskin!"

"The devil has told you that! Only the devil knows my true name!" Cried the little man, and in his anger he plunged his right foot so deep into the earth that his whole leg went in, and then in a rage, he pulled at his left leg so hard with both hands that he tore himself in two and never recovered from the injury. Not fair, really. Poor thing.

The Queen married a nice man and lived happily ever after.

THE END

PART TWO

The girl was crying again, when the door magically opened, the little man came in and said, "What will you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you this time?"

"The ring on my finger," answered the girl.

The little man took the ring, again he began to turn the wheel, and by morning had spun all the straw into glittering gold.

The king rejoiced beyond measure at the sight, but he wanted even more gold, and he took the miller's daughter into a still larger room full of straw, and said, "You must spin this, too, in the course of this night, if you succeed, you shall be my wife, but if you fail – well, let’s just say that you’d better not fail – you know what will happen to you if you do."

Nasty! Just because he was a king, he thought every girl wants to marry him – and, to tell you the truth, he was right, most of them did. The king liked the idea of marrying this one, he had noticed the miller’s daughter’s beauty, but the gift of spinning straw into gold was what he found to be really attractive about her. He was greedy, you see.

When the girl was alone and crying – AGAIN - the goblin came for the third time, and said, "What will you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you now?"

"I have nothing left to give - you’ve got it all." Answered the girl.

"Then promise me, if you should become queen, to give me your first-born child."

The girl thought about it, who knows whether that will ever happen? That’s all in the future. And since there is no future if you’re dead, and, not knowing how else to help herself, she promised the goblin what he wanted. Happily, he once more spun the straw into gold.

When the king came in the morning, and found all that lovely gold filling the room, he married her, and the pretty miller's daughter became a queen. After a while though, the king told her it was about time she got busy making some more gold out of straw, but as I told you, the girl was clever, and before long the greedy king died of ‘natural causes.’

PART ONE

Once there was a miller who was not only poor, but a bit stupid as well. He had a beautiful daughter, who was cleverer than her father but, being clever hadn’t done her much good, so far. Now it happened that the miller had to go and speak to the king, and in order to make himself appear important he said to the king, "I have a daughter who can spin straw into gold."

The king said to the miller, "Ooh! That’s nice, I happen to have a lot of straw! If your daughter is as clever as you say, bring her to-morrow to my palace, and I will put her to the test."

The miller’s daughter, furious with her stupid father for putting her in this predicament, was brought to the king and he took her into a room which was full of straw, with only enough room to spare for the girl to sit down at a spinning wheel. "Now set to work,” said the king, “and if by to-morrow morning, early, you have not spun this straw into gold during the night, you must die." That’s not very nice, you must be thinking, and you’re right, it isn’t.

The king himself locked up the room, and left the poor girl in it, alone. So, there she sat, and for the life of her she had no idea how straw could be spun into gold. She grew more and more frightened, thinking of having her head cut off in the morning, until at last she began to weep.

Then, incredibly, the door magically opened, in came a little man, a goblin, and he said, "Good evening, mistress miller, why are you crying?"

"Alas," answered the girl, "I have to spin straw into gold, and I do not know how to do it. I mean, who does know how to spin straw into gold?"

"I do!” Said the goblin. “What will you give me, if I do it for you?"

"My necklace," said the girl.

The goblin took the necklace, seated himself in front of the wheel, and whirr, whirr, whirr, three turns, and the reel was full, then he put another reel on, and whirr, whirr, whirr, three times round, and the second was full too. And so it went on until the morning, when all the straw was spun, and all the reels were full of gold.

By daybreak, the little man had gone. When the king arrived and saw the room full of gold, he was astonished and delighted, but his heart became only more greedy. He had the miller's daughter taken into another room full of straw, which was much larger, and commanded her to spin that straw into gold, also in one night - if she valued her life. What a rotten person he was!

A long time ago, there lived a girl in ancient China named Mulan. Mulan's father was a retired general. He had come home sick and frail. He was too old to fight, but not too old to teach Mulan how to ride a horse and use a sword. Girls usually did not learn these skills. But Mulan's father believed everyone should know how to fight, even girls.

One day, the government officials sent warriors to Mulan's village. War was coming. Men were needed for the army. The military leader of the group posted a list of names in the village square. Each name represented one volunteer, one man from each family.

Mulan saw her father's name on the list. She knew her father would never survive another battle. Mulan's brother was a young child. There was only Mulan who could take her father's place. But the military did not take girls as replacements for fighting men.

Quietly, the next morning, before her father could report for duty, Mulan stole his armour. She disguised herself as a man and reported for duty. The warriors accepted Mulan in her father's place, thinking she was a young man. Later that day, as the all men taken from the village marched away, Mulan saw her father, standing by the side of the road, shaking his head in confusion. He had reported for duty but was told he was not needed. That made no sense to him. He had not yet returned home and did not know that Mulan was missing.

Mulan was very careful over the years. No one ever suspected that she was a girl. When the war was over, Mulan received a special award from the emperor himself for her outstanding courage. The emperor gave her a horse, a bagful of gold, and wished her a safe trip home.

Her family greeted her with joy. Her brother was delighted with the gift of her military clothes. He dressed in them immediately. Mulan dressed once again in the clothes of a woman. That evening, Mulan and her family gathered together to watch the sunset.

A few days later, two of the men who had served with Mulan stopped by her home, on their way home. When Mulan came forth to greet them, they could not believe their eyes. One of them shouted, "You are not Mulan! What have you done with our friend?"

After recounting many shared memories, they finally believed that Mulan was the person they had believed was a man, who had fought by their side in many battles. They spread Mulan's story across China. Mulan's story inspired many young women, who demanded to learn how to ride a horse and use a sword, just like Mulan.

THE EAGLE, THE JACKDAW, AND THE SHEPHERD

Jackdaw sat in a tree, amazed, his eyes fixed on an eagle, soaring overhead. He watched as the eagle swooped over a flock of sheep, grazing on the grassy hills, his wings glinting like gold in the late summer sun. Jackdaw sighed. More than anything he wished he could be like Eagle.

“He’s so beautiful.” Thought jackdaw. “So magnificent, and so powerful.”

Then, suddenly, Eagle swooped down, fast. He shot past the shepherd on the hill and grabbed a lamb in his outstretched talons. The shepherd ran to save his lamb, but with a triumphant cry, the eagle flew off, the lamb dangling from his claws, and disappeared toward the distant mountains.

Jackdaw watched it all, longingly, day dreaming that he were an eagle.

“Ha, ha, ha! You could never be like Eagle,” came a small voice.

Jackdaw glanced up to see a caterpillar on the branch above, laughing at him.

“Look at your sooty black feathers,” the caterpillar went on, “and your raggedy little wings. What do you eat? Nuts and fruit? Baby birds? You couldn’t catch anything as big as an eagle could catch.”

“I could catch you!” Snapped the jackdaw. The caterpillar darted behind some leaves, then laughed,

“And I could catch a lamb,” Jackdaw said. “Ha, I could catch a ram if I wanted,”

“Show me!” retorted the caterpillar, boldly popping up again.

“I will!” Said Jackdaw.

He set off, flapping his scraggy black wings, cawing loudly. He made so much noise, the shepherd on the hill looked over to see what was happening.

With a dramatic dive, jackdaw plopped down onto a ram’s back and grabbed its fleece with his claws. “Easy!” He cried. He looked around, pleased with himself, then flapped his wings to take off again. Nothing happened. The ram wouldn’t budge.

“He’s too heavy.” Panted Jackdaw. He looked around, embarrassed. “I’ll just fly away quietly,” he thought, “and pretend the whole thing never happened.” But he couldn’t. He was stuck. His claws were caught in the ram’s fleece, and no matter how hard he pulled and tugged… he was trapped.

From either end of the field, the shepherd and the caterpillar watched jackdaw. They both laughed.

At last the shepherd sauntered over to the struggling bird. He carefully placed his hands around Jackdaw’s belly and untangled his claws. Then he clipped his wings, put him in his bag and that night, took him home to his children.

“What is it? What kind of bird is it?”

“Well, it’s a jackdaw,” the shepherd replied, “But he seems to think he’s an eagle. Here,” he added, holding him out. “You can have him for a pet.”

And the moral is – don’t pretend to be something or someone you’re not.

Then he ate all the sausages in Little Red Riding Hood’s basket, and the bread and butter, and all the jam and honey. Greedy, that’s what he was, greedy!

The wolf, now full of food, including two people, felt happily tired, he lay down on granny’s bed and fell into a deep sleep. Snore, snore, snore!

Back in the sturdy wooden home of Little Red Riding Hood’s family, her mother was getting very worried. Little Red Riding Hood should have been home by now. The snow hadn’t stopped falling, making her even more worried.

“Maybe she stayed with granny.” Said Little Red Riding Hood’s father. “She’s a clever girl, she knows not to try to come home in this weather when she’s safe and warm in her grandmother’s cottage.”

“I know, husband, but I have a terrible feeling that something is not right. Please go to grandmother’s cottage and make sure they’re safe.” Said Little Red Riding Hood’s mother. Because the woodcutter was big and strong, and afraid of nothing, and because he knew that there was no reasoning with his wife when she’s in this sort of mood, the woodcutter put on his warmest cloak, took his sharp axe from where it hung on the wall, and walked into the freezing, snowy night, into the woods, onto the path to grandmother’s cottage.

The snow was deep, but the woodcutter had long, strong, legs, he soon arrived at grandmother’s cottage. All was still – the woodcutter tapped on the door with his gloved hand. No reply. Inside, the wolf slept deeply, too deeply to hear the knocking. The woodcutter peeped in through one of the windows – to his horror, he could see the wolf lying on the bed, his big tummy round and fat, full of food, and, the woodcutter realised, full of his daughter and her granny! Mad with anger the woodcutter kicked the door down, and with a tremendous blow of his axe, he split the wicked wolf in two before it could even wake up. But killing the wolf didn’t stop the sorrow the woodcutter felt from the loss of his daughter and her granny, until – a miracle! The wolf had eaten Little Red Riding Hood and her granny so quickly that they were both still alive! A bit sticky, from being inside the wolf’s tummy, but alive! There they stood, blinking their eyes, and delighted to see Little red Riding Hood’s daddy, who was crying for joy at the sight of them. Little Red Riding Hood and her granny cleaned themselves up and had a cup of tea with Little Red Riding Hood’s daddy before heading back to the village to tell Little Red Riding Hood’s mummy all that had happened to them. Of course, she didn’t believe a word of it.

THE END

“Granny, why is it so dark in here?” Said Little Red Riding Hood..

“I’ve been sick, my child, and the light hurts my eyes. Come closer.” A furry paw beckoned to Little Red Riding Hood from out of the shadows.

“Granny! What big, furry, hands you’ve got!” Said Little Red Riding Hood, definitely a bit shocked.

“All the better to stroke you with, my child.” Said the trembling voice from the shadows. “Come closer so that I can stroke your beautiful hair.”

Two fierce, hungry, eyes glared brightly from out of the dark place where the trembling voice came from. Little Red Riding Hood took a step closer to her grandmother’s bed.

“But grandmother, what big eyes you’ve got!” She said.

“All the better to see you with, my child. Come closer so that I can see your pretty face more clearly.” Said the trembling voice from the shadow, followed by an eager, sniffing sound.

“Granny, I don’t want to seem rude, but - what a big nose you have!” Said Little Red Riding Hood, stepping closer, a little afraid now, but curious, curious, curious.

“All the better to smell you with!” said the trembling voice from the shadows, only this time, the voice trembled less, and there was a sly, hungry sound to it. “come closer, so that I can smell the sweet perfume of your fresh, young skin.” Little Red Riding Hood, uncertain and nervous, stepped closer and saw a set of shiny teeth being licked by a drooling, red, tongue.

“Grandmother! What big teeth you have!” Said Little Red Riding Hood, terrified now.

“All the better to EAT you with!” Said the wolf, as he leaped out of the bed and swallowed Little Red Riding Hood in one, big bite!

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD PART TWO

Little Red Riding Hood walked swiftly along the woodland path, but the snow kept falling and the path ahead disappeared under the frozen whiteness of it, very quickly, Little Red Riding Hood became lost.

As for the wolf, he really did know a short cut, he slunk through the tangled woods, over and under fallen trees and soon came to the clearing where Grandmother’s cottage stood. Of course, he arrived there long before Little Red Riding Hood, as he knew he would. The wolf knocked upon the door, and waited, he heard a trembling, old lady’s voice from behind the door.

“Who is it?” Said the voice.

The wolf put on his best little girl’s voice. “it’s me, granny, Little Red Riding Hood.” He said.

“Lift up the latch and come in, my child!” Said granny.

Quickly the wolf lifted the latch and ran into the cottage. He greedily swallowed Little Red Riding Hood’s granny in one, big, bite, then he latched the door shut, put on granny’s night gown and bonnet, and tucked himself into her bed, deep in the shadows of the cottage.

Little Red Riding Hood wasn’t lost for very long, but she was annoyed with herself - she thought that she must surely have lost the competition with the wolf, but as she found her way again, and approached her granny’s cottage, she could see that the wolf wasn’t there waiting for her - and there were no wolf footprints in the snow. Maybe she had won the competition after all!

What Little Red Riding Hood didn’t realise, as she knocked on her granny’s door, was that the falling snow had already covered the wolf’s footprints.

“Granny? Grandmother? Can I come in?” Said Little Red Riding Hood, after knocking on the door. A high trembling voice spoke from behind the door.

“Is that my little Granddaughter?”

“Yes, Granny, it’s me, Little Red Riding Hood.”

“Then lift up the latch and come in, my child.” Said the trembling voice. Little Red Riding Hood did as she was told and entered the dark cottage.

Some time ago, when most of the world was covered in deep, dark forests, there was a village. In this village was a sturdy, wooden house where a small family lived; a woodcutter, his wife, who was a baker, and their little girl, whom everybody called Little Red Riding Hood, since she always wore the beautiful, red cloak her mother made for her with the warm hood attached to it.

One day, Little Red Riding Hood’s mother asked her daughter to take a basket of food to her grandmother, who lived in a cottage deep in the forest. “Stick to the path, my dear.” Said her mother. “You don’t want to get lost in those woods - and come straight back home after you’ve had a cup of tea with your granny.”

“Yes, I promise!” Said Little Red Riding Hood.

Little Red Riding Hood sang happily to herself as she skipped along the woodland path, deeper and deeper into the forest. As time passed though, it got colder, and the first flurries of snow drifted down.

Little Red Riding Hood wasn’t worried by the weather, she was snug and warm in her cloak, but because the snow began falling more heavily, and was blowing around her, she didn’t see the dark figure step onto the path in front of her until she had bumped into it. Little Red Riding Hood looked up, startled.

It was a great, big, wolf!

“Hello, young lady!” Said the wolf. “What are you doing walking through these dark woods, all alone in the snow? I am worried for your safety.”

“There is no reason to worry about me, Mister Wolf,” said Little Red Riding Hood, bravely, “I’m on the way to my grandmother’s cottage, to give her this basket of food. If I stay on the path I’ll be quite safe.”

The wolf looked at Little Red Riding Hood hungrily, his tummy rumbled at the thought of eating her right now! But, if he were clever, the wolf realised that he could get more than just the little girl for his supper, he could get her Grandmother, too. He had a cunning plan!

“Ah,” said the wolf, “but the snow is falling thick upon the ground and you will freeze. I know a shortcut to your grandmother’s cottage, come with me and you will be sitting safely by your granny’s fireplace, sipping a cup of tea in a matter of minutes.” Said the wolf.

“No thank you Mister Wolf.” Said Little Red Riding Hood. “I’ll go the way I always go and stay safely on the path through the woods. To take a short cut is to risk getting lost and get into trouble with dangerous creatures.”

“Surely you don’t think that I am dangerous, do you?” Said the wolf, pretending to be upset.

“I don’t know, you might be. You are a wolf, after all.” Said Little Red Riding Hood.

“How rude!” Said the wolf, pretending to be shocked.

“I’m not being rude, I’m being sensible. I don’t know you, in fact, I shouldn’t even be talking to you.” Said Little Red Riding Hood.

“You’re quite right of course, but I can prove to you that I know a short cut to your granny’s cottage. You continue, safely on the path through the woods, and I will take my short cut. I’ll meet you at your granny’s cottage. If I get there first, then you must promise to give me one of those sausages I can smell in the basket you’re carrying.” Said the wolf.

“And, what if I get to granny’s cottage before you? What do I get?” Said Little Red Riding Hood.

“Hmmmn – then I will promise to never steal another lamb, piglet, or calf from your village for so long as I live.” Said the wolf. “And I’ll send you a card, every year on your birthday.”

“Never mind about the birthday card. Just leave the animals alone. And don’t bother granny if you get there first, wait for me outside the cottage. My granny is scared of wolves” Said Little Red Riding Hood.

“It’s a deal, see you at your granny’s, don’t let me wait too long for you.” Said the wolf, and he trotted off into the woods.

"Long ago, there lived a young man, called Lisheng, who had just married a beautiful woman, but she was spoilt and wilful. One day, she had an idea that a coat of fox fur would look pretty on her. So, she asked her husband to get her one. But a fox coat is rare and too expensive. The helpless husband was ashamed to go home and tell his wife that he couldn’t give her the fox coat she desired, so he took the long way home, over the hills. As luck would have it, a fox walked into view, Lisheng quickly grabbed it by the tail.

‘Get off!’ Said the fox. ‘Let go of my tail!’

'Well, dear fox, I’m not letting you go until you take your skin off and give it to me to make a coat. You don’t mind doing this for me, do you?

"The fox thought that Lisheng was crazy, of course, but one has to be careful when around crazy people, so he replied calmly, 'Well, my dear fellow, that's easy. But let my tail go so that I can pull off my skin for you.' The delighted man let go of the fox’s tail happy to oblige if it meant getting the skin. But the moment the fox got free, he ran away as quickly as he could into the forest - laughing.

And – the moral is.

It is pointless to ask something of someone that they are not able or willing to give.

There was once a boy whose father, one day, told him that he is old enough to look after the sheep. Every day he had to take the sheep over the grassy fields and watch them as they grazed, munching on the grass all day to become strong sheep with thick wool. The boy was unhappy though. He wanted to run and play, not watch the boring sheep. So, he decided to have some fun. He cried ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ until the entire village came running with stones to chase away the wolf before it could eat any of the sheep. Once they saw that there was no wolf, they left muttering under their breath about how the boy was wasting their time and giving them a nasty fright, too.

The next day, the boy again cried ‘Wolf! Wolf!’ and the villagers rushed to chase the wolf away again.

As the boy laughed at the fright he had caused, the villagers left, some angrier than the others. The third day, as the boy went up a small hill, he suddenly saw a wolf attacking his sheep. He cried as hard as he could, ‘Wolf! Wolf! WOLF!’, but the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again and did not come to rescue the sheep. The little boy lost three sheep that day, all because he lied, and cried wolf too many times for no good reason.

And - the moral is…

Do not make stories up for attention, for people will stop believing you, and no one will help you when you actually need it.

Chinese New Year began being celebrated many thousands of years ago. It is still celebrated today. It’s a time for enjoying family and friends, for remembering ancestors, for feasting, and for giving gifts of "red envelopes" of lucky money. There are many ancient customs and stories that surround Chinese New Year, and here is one of them:

Once upon a time ....

A long time ago, there was a monster named Nian. Nian loved to visit a little village in China each year and scare everybody he saw. He thought that was great fun. He liked to do this just as the new year began, to remind people that Nian was still around. Each year, after scaring all the people, he could hardly wait for the new year to roll around, so that he could scare them again.

This probably would have gone on forever. But one day, just by luck, one of the villagers was wearing a red tunic.  When Nian jumped out to scare him, Nian took one look at the red tunic and ran away. He startled the villager so much that the villager dropped the heavy, metal bucket he had been carrying. The bucket bounced down the hill behind Nian, hitting every rock in its path. It made a horrible noise. Nian looked fearfully over his shoulder and began running even faster.

The villager told everyone of his fabulous luck, and how his red tunic had scared Nian, and how the noise of the bouncing bucket had sent him running away.

This was good news.

All year long, the villagers prepared. When Nian appeared the following year, everyone in the village ran for the red banners and the loud rattles they had made. They shook their rattles and waved their banners, Nian, terrified, ran away. The villagers never saw him again.

That's why people in China believe the colour red signifies luck, and why all the children and many adults shake rattles and light firecrackers and make all kinds of noise on Chinese New Year's Eve. It's to scare away evil spirits, and even Nian, just in case he's still hanging around.