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The Boy Who Cried Wolf There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!" The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces. "Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!" They went grumbling back down the hill. Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away. When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!" But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more. Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!" But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come. At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping. "There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?" An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village. "We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the youth, "Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!"
The Little Match Girl
In the winter of 1845, a poor little girl tried to sell matches in the streets for her family. It was a cold, cold evening. It was snowing and people in horse carriages and in the streets did not notice the little girl... - Not until the next morning, when she was lying quiet in the snow... Once upon a time a little girl tried to make a living by selling matches in the street. The snow-clad streets were deserted. From brightly lit windows came the tinkle of laughter and the sound of singing. But the poor little match seller sat sadly beside the fountain. Her ragged dress and worn shawl did not keep out the cold. She hadn't sold one box of matches all day and she was frightened to go home, for her father would certainly be angry. The little girl's fingers were stiff with cold. If only she could light a match! But what would her father say at such a waste! Falteringly she took out a match and lit it. What a nice warm flame! The little match seller cupped her hand over it, and as she did so, she magically saw in its light a big brightly burning stove. She held out her hands to the heat, but just then the match went out and the vision faded. The night seemed darker than before and it was getting colder. After hesitating for a long time, she struck another match on the wall, and this time the glimmer turned the wall into a great sheet of crystal. Beyond that stood a fine table laden with food and lit by a candlestick. Holding out her arms towards the plates, the little match seller seemed to pass through the glass, but then the match went out and the magic faded. She lit the third match and an even more wonderful thing happened. There stood a Christmas tree hung with hundreds of candles, glittering with tinsel and colored balls. "Oh, how lovely!" exclaimed the little match seller, holding up the match. Then, the match burned her finger and flickered out. Scarcely aware of what she was doing, the little match seller lit another match. This time, she saw her grandmother. "Granny, stay with me!" she pleaded, as she lit one match after the other, so that her grandmother would not disappear like all the other visions. However, Granny did not vanish, but gazed smilingly at her. Then she opened her arms and the little girl hugged her crying: "Granny, take me away with you!" A cold day dawned and a pale sun shone on the fountain and the icy road. Close by lay the lifeless body of a little girl surrounded by spent matches. "Poor little thing!" exclaimed the passersby. "She was trying to keep warm!" But by that time, the little match seller was far away, where there is neither cold, nor hunger, nor pain.
The Bear’s Tail
Long, long ago, the bear had a long tail. One cold winter morning, a bear met a fox with some fish. “Good morning, Mr Fox. How can you get so many fish?” the bear asked. The cunning fox decided to make fun of the bear. So he said, “I got the fish from a pond. Follow me and I will show you how to catch them.” The fox and the bear came to the frozen pond. There was a small hole in the ice. “Sit down here and put your tail through this hole in the ice. You must keep your tail there for a long time. It’s difficult for everyone, for the water is very cold.” Said the fox. The bear sat down, nodding his head. “If you feel that a great many fish bite your tail, you can pull with all your might,” said the fox. The bear put his tail through the hole in the ice. He felt very cold. To eat the fish, the bear insisted . he waited and waited. It became dark. The bear’s tail pained. He thought many fish might bite his tail. So he was very happy. He pulled and pulled, but not a single fish came out. Worse than that, the part of the tail was frozen in the ice. It couldn’t come out. The wounded bear went slowly down the road, “I will revenge the fox.” But the cunning fox had already hidden. From then on, the bear had a short tail.
Sand and Stone Two friends were walking through the desert. During the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand, “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.” They kept on walking until they found an oasis where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.” The friend who had slapped and saved him asked, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now you write on a stone, why?” The man replied, “when someone hurts us we should write it down in the sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in the stone where no wind can ever erase it.” Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to curve your benefits in the stone.
A Little Ant Once there was a little ant. She wanted to get married, and she only wanted to marry the strongest creature. But she didn’t know who is the strongest creature. She saw the wind blow houses down. So she wanted to marry the wind. But the wind told the little ant that he wasn’t the strongest creature. “There was a tower in the forest. He had stood there for a thousand years against my force. The tower was the strongest creature.” “Why do you want to marry me?” the tower asked.
“Because you are the strongest creature in the world. You are stronger than the wind,” said the ant. “You are right, I’m stronger than the wind. But I’m not the strongest creature in the world. Look, how I’m damaged! Can’t you guess who has done this to me? It’s you, ants.” At last, the little ant married her own kind, because they were the strongest creature.
Life Is an Echo I am sure that you have heard the story of the little boy, who shouted to his mother in great anger that he hated her. Then, perhaps fearing punishment, he ran out of the house to the hillside and shouted to the valley, “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.” Back from the valley came the echo, “ I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.” The boy ran into the house and told his mother there was a little boy in the valley saying he hated him. His mother took him back to the hillside and told him to shout,” I love you. I love you. I love you.” The little boy did as his mother say and this time he discovered there was a nice little boy in the valley saying,” I love you. I love you. I love you.” Life is an echo. What you send out comes back. What you sowyou reap. What you giveyou get. What you see in others exists in you.
The Wheel of Fortune Some people believe that we are born lucky or unlucky. They think that if we are born when the Wheel of Fortune is at the top, we shall be lucky in life. If we are born when the Wheel of Fortune is at the bottom, we shall be unlucky in life. In Iraq they tell the story of two brothers, Ahmed and Abdul. From the
moment he was born, Ahmed seemed to have good luck. When he became a man, he was successful in everything he did.’ you were born,’ said his mother,’ when the Wheel of Fortune was at the top.’ Abdul seemed to have only bad luck. When he became a man, he failed in everything he did.’ You were born,’ his mother told him,’ when the Wheel of Fortune was at the bottom.’ One day, Ahmed thought,’ I must help poor Abdul. He needs money badly. But he’s proud. He won’t accept any money. What can I do?’ Ahmed thought about the problem all day. Then he knew what to do. Every morning Abdul walked from his house to his workshop. Ahmed put a bag of money on the path for Abdul to find. Then he hid behind a tree. As Abdul walked to work, he saw the flowers and the trees. He thought to himself, ‘how lucky I am to be able to see. It must be sad to be blind. I’ll walk with my eyes closed for a while. Then I’ll know what it’s like to be blind.’ Abdul put his hands over his eyes and did not see the bag of money on the path in front of him. He walked straight past it. As he passed, Abdul thought, ‘it’s true about the Wheel of Fortune. If someone is born when it is at the bottom, there is nothing anyone can do to help him.’
The Clever Parrot A man had a parrot. It was a very beautiful bird and every day the man talked to it. ‘Pretty Polly,’ he said, ‘you are a pretty Polly.’ Every day the man spoke new words to the parrot.’ Hello,’ he said and ‘Goodbye.’ One day the parrot was not in its cage. It was flying about the room. The man came into the room and saw the parrot.’ What are you doing?’ he said. ‘What are you doing?’ the parrot said. The man laughed. Then he went out to visit his friends.
That evening a thief came to the house. He walked around the house and looked into the windows. There was no one at home. The thief broke open the door and entered the house. First he went into the sitting room. In the sitting room he found some bowls and vases. He put them into a sack. Then he went into the bedroom. In the bedroom he found a gold watch and some money. He put these into the sack, too. He stole many things from the house and put them into his sack. The sack was soon full. The thief put it over his shoulder and walked to the door. He opened the door and looked out. There was no one there. ‘What are you doing?’ a voice said. The thief jumped high into the air and dropped his sack. Then he ran out of the house and down the road. ‘What are you doing?’ the voice said again,’ Pretty Polly! Hello! Goodbye! What are you doing?’
The Boy and His Empty Basin Long, long ago there lived a king. He was very old and he had no own children, so he wanted to select a new king in the country. One day, the king asked his ministers give all the children in the country some flower seeds and told them, ‘who can plant the most beautiful flowers will be the king.’ A child named David planted the seeds and looked after them carefully. But day after day, no flowers came out from the basin. He was very disappointed. It was time to show the most beautiful flowers. The children from all over the country came with their most beautiful flowers. The king walked in front of the children. When he saw the beautiful flowers, he was very unhappy.
Suddenly, he saw a child carrying an empty basin. He was very glad and asked the boy, ‘Why do you carry an empty basin? The boy cried and told him the truth. The king laughed, “you are an honest boy. You will be the future king.” In fact, the seeds had been boiled.
The City Mouse and the Country Mouse Once there were two mice. They were good friends. One lived in the country, and the other lived in the city. One day, the country mouse invited the city mouse to his home in the country. The city mouse went. But he said，“I don’t like your house. It’s very small and dirty. I don’t like your food. It’s too terrible. You must come to my house in the city. It’s much better than yours.” So the country mouse went. He saw the city mouse’s house was very nice. When they were eating the delicious food, the city mouse shouted suddenly, “Hurry up. The cat is coming. Run! Run!” The country mouse was almost caught by the cat. He said to the city mouse,” Your home is very nice but not safe, so I don’t like it. I still like living in the country.”
The Monkey and the Peaches One day, a monkey was looking for food. He came to a fence.There were a lot of big peaches inside the fence. The monkey tried to get inside. But he failed. At last, he found a hole in the fence. But the hole was too small for him to go through. “What should I do?” the monkey thought. He wandered around the fence. Day after day, the monkey became th