wit and wisdom stories

O nce a wolf was roaming about in a field of grass where a flock of sheep came grazing everyday. He was hiding behind a bush. Getting a chance, he carried away a lamb to eat it at a safe place. Unfortunately, a lion came there, snatched the lamb and went to his den to eat it at leisure. When the lion had walked just a few steps away, the wolf said, "It is down daylight robbery- so unjust for a lion to snatch my morsel from me. It is below his dignity." Hearing the wolf's grumble, the lion laughed and replied, "A thief is questioning a robber- how strange! Did you get this lamb as a gift from a friend? You stole it out of a flock. Was that fair?" A sin is a sin- whether big or small. Moral of the story- A THIEF CAN'T QUESTION A ROBBER

O nce there was a big pool near a village. The villagers used the water of the pool for drinking and for other purposes also. The pool was abounded with fish. Once a fisherman went fishing to the pool. He cast his net into the pool and sat down. But he was very impatient. So, he tied a long string to a small stone. Then putting it into the pool, he began to stir the water to drive more fish into his net. A villager saw him do so and asked him not to make the water muddy. But the fisherman didn't listen to him and went on beating the water and making it dirty. So, the villagers brought some companions armed with weapons. Seeing them, the fisherman got scared. He drew out his stone and apologized." Moral of the Story - LIVE AND LET LIVE 

A fir-tree stood on a hill-side. Several shrubs had grown around it. It always looked down upon these plants saying that they were of no use to anyone. He was very proud of his tall and impressive personality as compared to their stunted growth and prickly structure. One day, the tree filled with pride said to a bramble, "You poor fellows! All of you are worthless and moreover you prick those who pass by you." The bramble had no words to reply. Seeing this the tree put on an air of victory on it's face. The bramble thought for a while and retorted, "You are absolutely right. But you live in an ever-present danger of the axe and the saw while we have no such fear at all. Even men pass by with caution lest they should be prickled." From this story we conclude that- better be poor but care-free. Moral of the story- POVERTY WITHOUT CARE IS BETTER THAN RICHES FULL OF ANXIETY 

O nce upon a time, a wolf while rambling in a forest reached a field of oats belonging to a farmer. But the fact is that wolves don't eat oats. The wolf was about to move away when he saw a horse coming towards him. He decided to wait for him and extend a hand of friendship towards him. When the horse came, the wolf said to him, "Hello! Mr. Horse! How are you? See this fine field of oats; I have left it untouched for you. I shall enjoy seeing you munching the ripen grains. " The horse smiled and said, "Mr. Wolf! Had you been able to eat the oats, you would not have thought of troubling your eyes at all. Rather you would have engaged in filling your appetite." The wolf felt highly ashamed and went away. Moral of the Story - NEVER GIFT A THING USELESS TO YOU 

T he Sun-god was getting married. The happy news spread far and wide and reached the earth too. Most of the creatures were happy with the news except the frogs. They called a meeting and decided to have the marriage stalled. One of the young frogs asked, "But how to do that?" Another said, "We will request god Jupiter." So, the frogs started croaking day and night. Their croak reached the skies and the gods informed Jupiter of it. Immediately, he made for the earth to see the frogs. Reaching there, he asked, "What is you problem?" The frogs replied, "The sun is terrible even when single. He dries up our homes with his scorching heat. What will happen if he gets married and begets two or three more suns?" Jupiter laughed and said, "Don't worry; we shall send the new suns away from this part of the sky. Moral of the story- NATURE OBSERVES HER LAWS 

T his is really surprising but it's a fact that all ants were human-beings to begin with. They lived by tilling soil and raising crops just as farmers do even today. Dissatisfied with what they used to get through their labour, these farmers always had their eyes on the crops of their neighbours. Not only this, they even used to steal their crops whenever they got a chance and adding on to their own store. The gods got highly offended by these acts and went to their chief- Jupiter to complain against the thieving farmers. He got so angry that he converted these farmers into ants. Though the form of these farmers got changed, their habit of stealing is the same till today. The ants go about the corn-fields and gather grains not belonging to them. This shows that one's nature seldom changes. Moral of the story - HABITS DIE VERY HARD

I t was summer time and sun was very hot. A bull was sitting in the cool shade of a tree and chewing cud with his eyes half-shut. All of a sudden a goat came there and looked out for a place to sit under the shade. Silently, it sat on one of the horns of the bull and kept sitting there till it had taken full rest. Now, before leaving the goat wanted to show it's shrewdness. It wanted to show the bull that it has used it's horn as a seat without letting him know about it. So, the goat asked the bull, "Would you mind, if I go now?" The bull replied, "I hardly care when a tiny creature like you comes and goes away after resting on my body. If you would have thanked me for using my horn, it must have raised your importance in my eyes." The goat felt very small and went away.   Moral of the story - SELF IMPORTANCE ALWAYS LETS YOU DOWN 

O ne upon a time there was a fat man. He had a strong hefty body- so much so that he had to struggle a lot to get through the door of his house. One day a young boy happened to came that way and saw the man forcing himself inside the house. The boy couldn't control his laughter and said, "If you step aside for a moment, I will show you how to get in." The man was amused to hear the words of the young boy and said; "I knew the way even before you were born." The young boy had no words to say and realized his folly that he should not have advised the man who was quite older than him. Moral of the Story - RESPECT THE WISDOM OF ELDERS

O nce there was a gardener having a beautiful garden of flower-plants-mostly rose plants. By chance a lily plant blossomed near a rose-bush. Lily is believed to yield flowers that never fade and have an everlasting beauty. But the rose flowers have a short life. The lily said to the rose, "How beautiful you are! What an aroma you possess! No wonder, you are universally a favourite flower. I really envy you. " The rose replied, "You wouldn't have said so, if you knew the reality. My bloom is very short-lived. I bloom in the morning and by sunset I begin to loose shine. By the next morning I fade completely and then I die. But you are known to have flowers that never fade even if they have been cut. Beauty is only a nine-day wonder." Moral of the Story -BEAUTY IS NOT ETERNAL

O nce a wolf saw a lamb at a distance and decided to eat it up. So, he moved light-footedly towards it. But as the wolf moved, the poor animal saw him and ran for its life. The wolf chased it but couldn't catch it. The lamb entered a temple and felt quite safe there. The wolf felt very disappointed and called out to the lamb. Putting on a loving look, he said, "Its unsafe for you to stay inside the temple. The priest will catch you and sacrifice you before the gods." Staying inside, the lamb replied, "Thanks a lot for your advice, Mr. Wolf. I would prefer to stay inside and be sacrificed on the altar rather than coming out and satisfy your appetite." The wolf had no words to say and went away glum and grumpy.   Moral of the story - NEVER HEED YOUR ENEMY'S ADVICE 

O ne night a guy and a girl were driving home from the movies. The boy sensed there was something wrong because of the painful silence they shared between them that night. The girl then asked the boy to pull over because she wanted to talk. She told him that her feelings had changed & that it was time to move on. A silent tear slid down his cheek as he slowly reached into his pocket & passed her a folded note. At that moment, a drunk driver was speeding down that very same street. He swerved right into the drivers seat, killing the boy. Miraculously, the girl survived. Remembering the note, she pulled it out & read it. "Without your love, I would die." Moral of the Story - Live to love and Die for Love

O nce there was a magpie who realised that one of his most prized coins was missing. So he called the best detectives in the forest: the hare and the mouse. The mouse was a bit cleverer and more shrewd than the hare; so, following the clues and using his reasoning powers, soon led him to the great labyrinth of tunnels under the forest. On entering, he saw Mr. Mole, but the mouse was very shy, so he said nothing to the mole about why he was there, and he carried on looking for the missing coin. The hare was also a great detective, and, before long, he too arrived at the labyrinth. He was not a bit shy, and the first thing he did was go and ask the mole if he knew were the coin was. The mole was all too pleased to lead the hare to the coin. That coin had been bothering the mole for months, getting in the way of his tunnelling. So the hare took the coin and collected his reward. The mouse, who had been watching all this, learned a lot from it. From then on he would never allow shy...

O nce there broke a war between the birds and the beasts. Many battles were fought one after the other. If vow the birds got the upper hand, the next time beasts were successful. The bats played a very treacherous role in this war. They sided with whichever side got the better of the other. Thus they were changing their loyalty from side to side. Neither side paid any attention to the bats till the war lasted. But when the war got over, the bats didn't know which side to go. First, they went to the birds. But the birds refused to own them as many birds had seen them fighting for the beasts. Then, the bats went to the beasts. But there also they faced the same situation as the beasts doubted their loyalty. So, they were left all alone because of their disloyalty. Moral of the Story - LEARN TO FIX YOUR LOYALITY 

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.” After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks,… “Who was that?” “It was Bob the next door neighbor,” she replies. “Great!” the husband says, “Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?” Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

I n a lost land of tropical forests, on top of the only mountain in the region, trapped inside an old volcanic crater system, lived the last ever group of large, ferocious dinosaurs. For thousands and thousands of years they had survived all the changes on Earth, and now, led by the great Ferocitaurus, they were planning to come out of hiding and to dominate the world once more. Ferocitaurus was an awesome dinosaurs who had decided they had spent too much time isolated from the rest of the world. So, over a few years, the dinosaurs worked together, demolishing the walls of the great crater. When the work was done, all the dinosaurs carefully sharpened their claws and teeth, in readiness to terrorise the world once again. On leaving their home of thousands of years, everything was new to them, very different to what they had been used to inside the crater. However, for days, the dinosaurs continued on, resolute. Finally, from the top of some mountains, they saw a small town. It...

O nce, in a village, there lived a farmer who was very kind hearted by nature He could not see anybody in trouble and was always ready to help others. It was a high winter morning and it was so cold that everything looked frozen. While returning home from his farm, the farmer saw a snake lying by the foot-path. It was almost frozen and looked half-dead due to severe cold. The farmer could not see it in such a condition and decided to help it. He lifted the snake and took it to his home. There, he placed it near the fire. In a short time, the warmth of the fire revived it and it started moving, turned upon the farmer and bit him. The farmer died repenting, "Had I not shown mercy to this wicked creature, I would have been alive today." Moral of the story - WICKED DESERVES NO MERCY 

D erek loved Melissa every since second grade. Melissa had long shiny dark brown hair and sparkling green eyes. Derek had short black hair and blue eyes. Derek was Melissa’s best friend. Melissa had a hard time since her dad left, but Derek was there for her no matter what. He even helped her through some bad break ups. Then one day they Derek decided to tell Melissa he was in love with her. He was walking towards her house thinking of how he would tell her. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door. No one answered. Derek knocked again. Still no answer. He knew where the kept an extra key on the top of the door frame. He reached up and grabbed it unlocked the door and went inside. “Melissa?” Derek called out. No answer. He started to get worried and went to her bedroom door and knocked. “Melissa are you here? I need to talk to you.” He opened the door and saw a note it said i love Derek and always have i can’t take living and not having him more than just a friend. I can’t take...

A sales representative, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out.  The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish”  “Me first! Me first!” says the admin. clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Poof! She’s gone.  “Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii,relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone.  “OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.” Moral of the story : Always let your boss have the first say.

T here was once a little grey planet that was very sad. The people living there hadn't looked after it, despite them having all the inventions and space ships you could ever need. They had contaminated the whole countryside so much with rubbish and pollution that there were no plants or animals left. One day, a little boy was walking on the planet, when he passed a cave and noticed a small red flower inside. The flower was very sick - almost dying - so the boy carefully dug up the flower, with roots, soil and everything. Then, he started looking for a place where he could look after it. He searched all over the planet, but everywhere was so contaminated that there was no place the flower could possibly live in. Then he looked up at the sky and noticed the moon. It seemed to the boy that maybe the plant could survive there. So the little boy put on his astronaut suit, and climbed into a space ship. He put the little red flower in the back, and off they went to the moon. Far ...

O nce a ship got caught in a violent storm. It wrecked and the waves cast it's wrecks on the sands of the shore. Among them was a sailor who lay senseless on the beach. When he came to his senses, he cursed the sea saying, "The sea is a cheat indeed. It attracts people with it's cool and calm waters and once they are in it's grip, it turns furious and destroys them." Hearing his reproach, the sea felt pinched. But it didn't want to trouble the sailor anymore. So, it came to the sailor in form of a damsel. "Who are you, O lovely lady?" asked the sailor. "I am the sea and am as lovely as you see me now. You are blaming me for the wreck but it isn't just." Surprised, the sailor asked, "Who is just then?" The sea urged, "The wreck was caused by the cruel winds that blew into gusts and gales over me and created stormy waves in my calm waters." The sailor had nothing to say except feeling sorry.   Moral of ...

.  A girl and guy were speeding over 100 mph on a motorcycle late one evening. Girl: Slow down. I'm scared. Guy: No this is fun. Girl: No its not. Please, it's too scary! Guy: Then tell me you love me. Girl: Fine, I love you. Slow down! Guy: Now give me a big hug. (Girl hugs him) Guy: Can you take my helmet off and put it on? It's bugging me. In the paper the next day: A motorcycle had crashed into a building because of break failure. Two people were on the motorcycle, but only one survived. The truth was that halfway down the road, the guy realized that his breaks broke, but he didn't want to let the girl know. Instead, he had her say she loved him, felt her hug one last time, then had her wear his helmet so she would live even though it meant he would die. Moral of the story - Love means dying for the other

A turkey was chatting with a bull “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, but I haven’t got the energy.” “Well, why don’t you nibble on my droppings?” replied the bull. “They’re packed with nutrients.” The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.  The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.  Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree. Moral of the story : Bullshit might get you to the top, but it wont keep you there.

O nce upon a time, there was a gang of evil goblins who lived in a forest. They spent a lot of their time making fun of a poor old man who could now hardly move, see, or hear. They showed no respect for his age. The situation became so extreme that the Great Wizard decided to teach the goblins a lesson. He cast a spell, and from that moment, every insult they directed at the old man made the old man better, but had the opposite effect on the goblin who was doing the insulting. Of course, the goblins knew nothing about what was happening. The more they called the man an "old fool", the younger and sharper of mind he became, while the goblin who had shouted at him aged rapidly, and became a little more foolish. As time went on, those evil goblins were becoming terribly old, ugly, stupid, and clumsy... without even realising it. Finally, the Great Wizard allowed the goblins to see themselves, and, terrified, they saw that they had turned into the disgusting creatures we no...

F aith and doubt cannot coexist. Faith cannot be measured as little or large as there can be either faith or no faith. A man wanted to cross a river and Vibhishana came forward to help him. Vibhishana simply tied a leaf with a name of Rama on it to the dress that he was wearing and asked him to venture into the river. However he warned him not to doubt the easiness in crossing the waters, lest he will be drowned. The man consented to Vibhishana's idea and embarked on crossing the waters. He simply walked on the waters effortlessly. All of a sudden he was seized with the desire to look at the leaf that was tied to his clothes. He thus halted and untied the leaf from his dress to see the letters 'Rama' written on it. No sooner did he read, a doubtful thought popped up in his mind, "Just Rama?" The next moment he sank in its depths. Moral of the story- Absolute faith in God thus helps one in traversing his sorrows effortlessly. However a small doubt that creep...

T here was a girl named Becca and a boy named Joe. Becca was in a burning house. None of the firefighters could get in the house because the fire was too big. Joe dressed in one of the fire suits and got into the house. When he got up the stairs, the steps fell off behind him. When he got into her room he sealed the door up behind him.  He held her tight, kissed her, huged her, then said that he loved her. She asked what was wrong, and he said that he was going to die. Her eyes widened as she began to cry. He picked her up and jumped out of the four story house.  He landed on his back with her on top of him. He died to save her life. Moral of the story - Jump for your love with all might

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.  A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him. Moral of the story: 1. Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy 2. Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend 3. And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut!

T here was a blind girl who was filled with animosity and despised the world. She didn't have many friends, just a boyfriend who loved her deeply, like no one else. She always used to say that she'd marry him if she could see him. Suddenly, one day someone donated her a pair of eyes… And that's when she finally saw her boyfriend… She was astonished to see that her boyfriend too was blind… He told her, "You can see me now, can we get married?" She replied, "And do what? We'd never be happy. I have my eye sight now, but you're still blind. It won't work out, I'm sorry." With a tear in his eye and a smile on his face, he meekly said, "I understand. I just want you to always be happy. Take care of yourself, and my eyes." Moral of Story- Love till it hurts.

O nce, in a lovely garden, lived the most beautiful butterfly in the world. She was so pretty, and had won so many beauty contests, that she had become vain. So much so, that one day, the cheeky cockroach got fed up with her showing off, and decided to teach her a lesson. She went to see the butterfly, and in front of everyone she told her that she wasn't really that beautiful, and that if the butterfly won contests it was because the jury had been bribed. In reality, the cockroach was the most beautiful. The butterfly was furious, and with laughter and disdain told the cockroach, "I'll beat you in a beauty contest, with whichever jury you yourself choose." "OK, I accept. See you on Saturday," answered the cockroach, without waiting for a reply. That Saturday everyone went to the beauty contest, the butterfly arriving completely confident of victory until she saw who was on the jury panel: cockroaches, worms, beetles, and nits. All of the judges pr...

A man was walking along and fell into such a deep hole that he could not get out. So he began to shout very loud for help. A learned professor came along and found him. He looked down into the hole and began to scold him: "How could you be so careless as to fall down there? You should be more careful. If you ever get out again, watch your step." And with that he walked away.  Then a holy man came along. He looked down into the hole and told the man, "I'll reach down as far as I can and you reach up as far as you can. If I can grab your hand, I'll pull you out." But it did not work: the hole was too deep. So the holy man said he was sorry, and left the trapped man to his fate.  Then Christ came along. He saw the man's problem, and without asking him any questions, he jumped down into the hole. Then he let the man climb up onto his shoulders, and even onto his outstretched arms. And the man got out. Moral of the story - This is known as being persona...

O nce, there was a mouse that had his hole near a pool in a thick forest. A frog often came out for basking in the sun. Within no time, they became buddies. But the friendship of a frog and mouse is highly undesirable because the frog's home is in water and the mouse on land. One day the frog said to the mouse, "let's bind ourselves together with a string so that we may never get separated." The mouse agreed. So, both tied themselves together leg-to-leg. Though on land, it went quite well, but in the pool, it was tragic for the mouse. The frog swam about delightfully in the pool dragging the mouse with him. Soon, the mouse drowned and his body floated on the surface of the pool. A kite hovering in the sky saw the dead mouse it swooped down to carry it off. Up went the frog as well and became the kite's meal. MORAL OF THE STORY - UNWISE START LEADS TO A SAD END

T hey have been married for two years. He loves literature and often posts his work on the net, but nobody ever reads them. He is also into photography and he handles their wedding photos. He loves her very much. Likewise with her. She has a quick temper and always bullies him. He is a gentleman and always gives in to her. Today, she's being willful again. Her: "Why can't you be the photographer for my friend's wedding? She promised she'd pay." Him: "I don't have time that day." Her: "Don't have time? Write less of those novels, and you will have all the time you need." Him: "I... Someone will definitely recognize my work some day." Her: "Humph! I don't care, you'll have to do it for her!" Him: "No." Her: "Just this once?" Him: "No." Negotiation's broken. So, she gave the final warning: "Give me a Yes within three days, or else..." First day, she ...

A long, long time ago a little boy was walking through a park. In the middle of the park there was a tree with a sign on it. The sign said "I am a magic tree. Say the magic words and you will see." Exhausted, he threw himself on the floor, saying: "Please, dear tree!" and suddenly, a big door opened in the trunk. Inside everything was dark, except for a sign which said "Carry on with your magic." Then the boy said "Thank you, dear tree!" With this, the inside of the tree lit up brightly and revealed a pathway leading to a great big pile of toys and chocolate. The little boy brought all his friends to the magic tree, and they had the best party ever. This is why people always say that "please" and "thank you" are the magic words. Moral of the story The origin of good manners

T here was once a forest where all the animals played happily and contentedly together. So much so, that the sun noticed them and wanted to join in. The animals told the sun he could play with them, but when the sun left his place in the sky, and came down to the forest, none of the animals could stand the heat, and they all went running to hide. The sun went back up into the clouds, feeling terribly sad. So sad, that no longer did he want to come out every day and light up the world. Without the sun, life was beginning to run down, the lovely forest and its animals included. Knowing what the problem was, the animals had a meeting to think of ways to cheer the sun up. Someone suggested that they play with the sun at night, when he no longer shone. That would avoid the heat of his rays. So that's what they did. All the animals had to make a great effort to rest during the day, so that they could play at night. But they so wanted to cheer the sun up that all the animals managed ...

O nce upon a time lived on a cloud that was grown up over a very beautiful country. One day, she saw another much bigger cloud and she felt so much envy, than the cloud decided that in order to get bigger and grow more, her water would never abandon her, and will never start raining again. Indeed, the cloud grew up, while his country was getting dried. First, rivers dried up, then people, animals, plants, and finally, the whole country became a desert. The cloud did not care much, but she also did not realize that by being over a desert there was no place where she could obtain new water to keep growing. So slowly, the cloud began to lose size, and was unable to do anything to stop it . The cloud then realized her mistake, and that her greed and selfishness were the cause of her vanishing; but just before evaporating, when she was just a sigh of cotton, there started blowing a gentle breeze. The cloud was so small and weighed so little that the wind took her far away, to a faraway...

C enturies ago in the country of Greece there was a young athlete who had so distinguished himself in the public games that his fellow citizens raised a statue in his honor, to keep fresh the memory of his victories. This statue so excited the envy of another athlete who had been defeated in the races, that one night he went out under cover of darkness with the intention of destroying that statue and knocking it to pieces. First he tried and tried to tip over the statue. He tugged and pulled and shoved... and after an hour it moved just a little bit. This encouraged him and he gave one mighty push and the statue fell -- on top of him, and killed him. Envy always harms the one who is guilty of it. Did it ever occur to you that when you envy somebody or you are jealous of somebody, that this does not hurt that person in any way... He or she does not feel it at all... It only hurts you: it eats your insides out... So, you see, that it is a useless, self-destructive exercise.  As B...

W hen Nun turned 13, his father bought him a Donkey. Nun loved that Donkey very much. He washed and brushed him every day, and took him for long walks to show him off to his friends. Nun would not let any one ride him. Some times when his friends asked to ride him and Nun would not let them, they would get mad at Nun and would not talk to him for days. Every day Nun told his Donkey he was special. Nun could sense the Donkey knew he was special because he would smile at Nun. One day when Nuns parents had gone into town to do some shopping, two men came by and began undoingthe rope from the post the Donkey was tied to. The Donkey did not resist as he always did around strangers but went willingly. Some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that Donkey"? They said, "The Master needs him, we will return him shortly." Not long after wards, Nun and his family heard a lot of noise some distance away. So they went to see what all the noise ...

O nce upon a time, there was a boy who was so badly behaved that the Chief Fairy of the land came by to punish him. The Fairy turned the boy into a monster, in a spell which meant the boy could only escape from being a monster if he managed to seriously frighten someone. At first the boy thought this would be easy, but he soon found that the children in his area were very difficult to scare. A long time passed, and he got more and more fed up; so he decided to look for some easy prey: a boy who was well known as a sucker. To ensure success, he studied this boy for some time, following him wherever he went, and in passing, seeing all the good works he did. His target gave to charity, played with the children in hospital, helped old people... Finally, he had fully prepared the best fright ever. A fright that would free him from monsterhood forever, and leave that good, unsuspecting boy, scared stiff. However, when he went to frighten the boy, there came into his mind the images of ...

O nce upon a time, there was a colourless tiger. All his shades were greys, blacks and whites. So much so, that he seemed like something out of an old black and white movie. His lack of colour had made him so famous that the world's greatest painters had come to his zoo to try to put some colour on him. None of them succeeded, as the colours would always just drip down off his skin. Then along came Van Cough the crazy painter. He was a strange guy who travelled all about, happily painting with his brush. Well, it would be more accurate to say that he moved his brush about, as if to paint; because he never put any paint on his brush, and neither did he use canvas or paper. He painted the air, and that's why they called him Van Cough. So, when he said he wanted to paint the colourless tiger, everyone had a good laugh. When entering the tiger's cage he began whispering in the animal's ear, and moving his dry brush up and down the tiger's body. And to everyone...

O nce upon a time . . . in the Indian jungle, lived a young elephant whose playmate was a very large hare. In spite of the difference in size, they were great friends and had fun playing strange guessing games. One day, the hare said to his chum: "Which of us is bigger: you or me?" At that silly question, the little elephant nearly choked on his banana. "You must be joking!" he exclaimed, "Why, even on tiptoe, you re not as high as my knee!" But the hare went on: "That's what you think! Since I say that I'm bigger than you, we need a judge. Don't you agree?" "Oh, yes," said the elephant in surprise. "Well, let's go along to the village and see what the Humans have to say. They're the cleverest of all the animals, and the best judges!" As they reached the village, they met some of the villagers. "Look at that young elephant! Isn't he small?" folk remarked as the unusual couple strolle...

A loutish kid and his mates were visiting a theme park. They arrived very early and everything was empty and clean. A park cleaner came by, singing and dancing as he swept. As everything was already so clean, the group of friends found it amusing to see how the cleaner worked so joyfully, and so early in the morning. They had a great time making fun of him. But the cleaner didn't mind, and just kept sweeping the area clean. So the gang started throwing bags and bits of paper on the ground, 'to give him something to do'. When more visitors started arriving, and saw the lout and his friends throwing litter about, they thought it was one of the park's fun activities. So they joined in, and as more people arrived, the park became covered in rubbish. The park cleaner couldn't cope. No one seemed to be bothered, but something strange started happening. As time went on, the park attractions were emptying, and more people were looking down at the rubbish on the grou...

O nce, a rabbit built a fantastic warren, where he lived very happily. He had designed it so well that, when a great rainstorm arrived - which flooded nearly the whole wood, and the homes of many animals - his remained untouched. Soon, one after another, the homeless animals came to his door, asking if they could spend that winter with him, in his warren. He invited each visitor in, and gradually the warren filled up until there was no room left. This discomfort didn't bother the rabbit, because he felt he was being generous. One day in spring, when all the animals had returned to their old homes, the rabbit was hopping along so absent-mindedly that he didn't realise that a lynx was lying in wait for him. One of the animals who had spent the winter in the rabbit's warren saw this, and warned the rabbit just in time, shouting an invite to the rabbit to quickly take shelter in his home. The lynx destroyed that home, but the rabbit managed to escape and run to hide in th...

T here was once a little bird who was very nice, but very, very lazy. Every day, when it was time to get up, they had to shout at him again and again before he would finally struggle out of bed. And when there was some job he had to do, he would keep putting it off until there was hardly enough time left to do it. People kept telling him "What a lazy bird you are! You can't just keep leaving everything to the last minute”. "Bah! There's really no problem", answered the little bird, "I just take a bit longer to get around to doing things, that's all". The birds spent all summer flying and playing, and when autumn came and you could start feeling the cold, they began to prepare for the long journey to a warmer land. But our little bird, lazy as ever, kept putting it off, feeling quite sure that there would be plenty of time to prepare for the journey. That was, until one day when he woke up and all the other birds were gone. Just like every othe...

T here was once a truly miserable land where everyone was depressed. There was no reason for this to be so: the people were normal, and they led normal lives, but they were very sad. One day, a baby boy was born. He was a really good child; always thinking of others, always clean and tidy, always quick to do as he was told... he was equally good in all such matters. As a result, the boy managed to cheer up everyone around him. People saw him and wanted to be like him, so they behaved cheerfully, and, in turn, cheered up others. The boy travelled the whole land, bringing smiles to people's faces, and happiness to their hearts. He ended up transforming the entire country from one of sadness and depression to one which could even be called Happyland. Moral of the story A pervasive negative atmosphere can be dispelled by the presence of one infectiously cheerful individual

There was once an elephant who wanted to be a photographer. How his friends would laugh when they heard him talk about it! - "How silly," said some, "there aren't any cameras for elephants!" - "What a waste of time," others would say, "there's nothing to photograph here anyway..." But the elephant kept following his dream, and, piece by piece, he managed to cobble together some old bits of junk and some spare parts, and ended up with a camera of sorts. With this camera, the elephant had to design practically everything himself, from a button he pressed with the end of his trunk, to a lens made to fit an elephant's eye, to a load of wrought iron used to make a frame so the elephant could attach the camera to his head. When it was all finished, he could finally get to taking his first photos. However, the elephant camera was so enormous and strange-looking that it seemed like some huge ridiculous mask. So many people laughed as h...

T he dove and the wrinkled little bat once went on a journey together. When it came toward night a storm arose, and the two companions sought everywhere for a shelter. But all the birds were sound asleep in their nests and the animals in their holes and dens. They could find no welcome anywhere until they came to the hollow tree where old Master Owl lived, wide awake in the dark. "Let us knock here," said the shrewd bat; "I know the old fellow is not asleep. This is his prowling hour, and but that it is a stormy night he would be abroad hunting. What ho, Master Owl!" he squeaked, "will you let in two storm-tossed travelers for a night's lodging?" Gruffly the selfish old owl bade them enter, and grudgingly invited them to share his supper. The poor dove was so tired that she could scarcely eat, but the greedy bat's spirits rose as soon as he saw the viands spread before him. He was a sly fellow, and immediately began to flatter his host into good h...

O ne fine day, a bus driver and conductor went to the bus garage and began their routine job quietly. It was their normal route and there were no problems for the first few stops - a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well. At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet, eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the conductor and said, “Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back. The bus conductor was five feet, three, thin, and basically meek. Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it. He was angry within but he dared not express it. The next day the same thing happened - Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. It became a routine drama, everyday, the same route, the same conductor and the same big John refusing to pay. The regular commuters began to look forward to this little drama and the meek conductor’s reaction. ...