The Eagle Who Lived Like a Hen

In a forest an eagle lived on a tree. It had built a nest wherein to lay its eggs. There the eagle would
hatch its eggs all through the day.

Under the same tree there lived a hen. The hen had also laid eggs during the same period when the
eagle had laid its eggs.

One day, while the eagle had gone for hunting, a bear climbed up the tree to eat the eagle’s eggs.
The bear had finished three of the eggs when the fourth one slipped off its hands and fell into the
hen’s nest. On returning, the eagle could not find her eggs. Feeling terribly upset, she decided to
leave the place.

The hen which lived under the tree saw the eagle’s egg by the side of her eggs. She felt eggs pity on
the eagle’s egg, and decided to hatch it too. After a few days, the hen’s chicks hatched. The eagle’s
chick hatched, too.

The hen would feed all the chicks, including the eagle’s chick, as if it were her own. Soon the chicks
began to grow.

The young chicks would listen to their mother’s sounds and try to imitate her. The eagle’s chick also
picked up the hen’s sounds. The chicks would all play together and make lots of noise.

Within no time the hen’s chicks as well as the eagle’s chick grew up to their full size. The eagle’s chick
never realized that it was an eagle and not a hen. Considering itself a hen, the eagle would. eat hen’s
food, would walk and run like other hens and would make sounds like hens. The eagle never learnt to
fly like other eagles and lived its whole life like a hen only.

The Cows and The Lion.

In the forest there lived a wicked lion. He used to kill a cow now and then and eat her. This was
happening for quite sometime. The cows were frightened.

One day, all the cows held a meeting. An old cow said, “Listen everybody, the lion eats one of us only
because we go into the jungle separately. From now on we will all be together”.

From then on all the cows went into the jungle in a herd. When they heard or saw the lion all of them
unitedly moo and chased him away.

The Crow and The Eagle.

There lived a crow on a tree top. Everyday he used to watch with utter wonder the acts of an eagle.

The eagle had a nest high up on a mountain. He used to swoop down from there to get hold of a lamb
and fly up again and all in one go.

The crow was amazed by the feat of the eagle.

One day he was so excited that he wanted to imitate the eagle. So up he flew as high as he could.
From there he began to swoop down. He came down and down. But alas, he could not control
himself. He crashed on the ground and broke his beak.

The Cat and The Fox

The cat said, “I hate hounds. They are very nasty animals. They hunt and kill us”.

The fox said, “I hate hounds more than you”. .

The cat asked, “How do you save yourself from hounds?”

The fox replied, “There are many tricks to get away from hounds”.

The cat asked “Can you say what your tricks are?”

“They are very simple”, said the fox. He added, “I can hide behind thick bushes. I can run along thorny
hedges. I can hide in burrows. There are many more such tricks”.

Now it was the turn of the fox to ask the cat about her tricks.

The fox asked, “How many tricks do you know?”

The cat replied, “I know just one trick”.

The Fox sneered, “Oh! How sad! You know only one trick? What is your trick?”

The cat was about to answer. But, she found a flock of hounds fast approach. She said, “I am going to
do it now. Because the hounds are coming”.

Saying these words, the cat ran up a nearby tree safe from the hounds. The fox tried all his tricks but
the hounds out beat him. “My one trick is better than all his tricks”, said the cat to herself.

The Dog and The Donkey

It was a hot afternoon. The dog was sleeping under the shady veranda. There was some noise
outside. The dog just lifted up his head and went back to sleep.

The donkey asked, “Why don’t you bark. It could be thieves”. The dog replied, “Mind your own
business”. But the donkey would not listen. He wanted to save his master from thieves. He started to
bray.

The master who was sound asleep got wild with the donkey and came running out with a stick and
gave hard beatings to the donkey.

The Foolish Donkey

A salt seller used to carry the salt bag on his donkey to the market every day. On the way they had to
cross a stream. One day the donkey suddenly tumbled down the stream and the salt bag also fell into
the water. The salt dissolved in the water and hence the bag became very light to carry. The donkey
was happy.

Then the donkey started to play the same trick every day. The salt seller came to understand the trick
and decided to teach a lesson to it. The next day he loaded a cotton bag on the donkey. Again it
played the same trick hoping that the cotton bag would be still become lighter.

But the dampened cotton became very heavy to carry and it suffered much. It learnt a lesson.
Afterwards it did not play the trick and the seller was happy.
Live Like a Bamboo Tree
Deep in a village lived an old man and a very young man. The old man’s name is
Mr. Oldwise,and the young man’s is Hearty. Mr. Oldwise was a quiet person. He
barely spoke to anyone unless hewas asked to. His character was so much
different from Hearty’s.
He really liked to speak abouteverything to everyone.One day Mr. Oldwise was
doing his job in front of his house. Hearty came and sat next to him.
“What are you doing, Mr. Oldwise?” asked Hearty.
 
“What do you think I am doing anyway?” asked the old
man briefly.
“Well, seems to me that you are making a chair of bamboo.”
 The old man said nothing. There was a pause between them.
“Why don’t you just buy one instead of putting yourself in difficulty?” asked the
young man
again.The old man was sucking
at his pipe deeply and said, “Who says I am in difficulty?”
 
“Ehmm, you’re too old to make such thing.”
 
“That’s what you think, not what I think.”
 
Hearty paid attention to what this old man was doing. He just couldn’t hold his
tongue not to
say a word. So he began to tell the old man how he had wanted to be successful
person in his life, and
that’s what he was after.
 
Hearing all the words spoken by Hearty, the old man just said, “Remember young man, be
like a
bamboo tree when you become what you want t
o be.”
 
“What’s that supposed to mean, Old Man?” asked Hearty with a confused look.
 
“You’ll understand it someday,” answered Mr. Oldwise.
 Time went by so fast. Hearty had been wandering in some places, searching for
what he wanted: success. Good fate had been on his side apparently. He
somehow had become a new person. After hegot what he wanted, he went back
to his hometown.The first person that he wanted to see was his old friend, Mr.
Oldwise. As usual, the oldman wasdoing something in the porch.
“Hello, Mr. Oldwise. Long time no see. I hope you still remember me.”
 Mr. Oldwise was still busy with the bamboo. Not long after,he looked at the
man before himfrom top to down.
“I see you’ve changed a lot now,” said the old man.
 
“Yes of course. I was n
othing a log time agi but you see now I am a verry different man. I have
everything now. I can conquer this world. Pretty much easily, though,” said Hearty
arrogantly.
 The old man reluctantly heard what the man had said. He drank tea by himself.
“No more
 
words to say, Old Man?” asked Hearty.
 The old man just shook his head.With the power and money that Hearty had,
his name was well-known among the othervillagers. Everybody was talking about
his success. Hearty was more and more becoming such a big-headed person.One

day Hearty felt that it was the right time for him to find a wife. He asked his

servant toannounce this every woman in the village. Soon the news was
spreading, and the parents were racing to
make their daughters become Hearty’s wife.
 Nevertheless, Hearty said no to every woman who wanted to become his future
wife. Hethought that none of them was beautiful enough to be his partner in
life. The momen there felt sodisappointedwith his refusal. Many of them cried
hysterically.

 
On a sunny day, Hearty took a walk alone. When he almost reached the river, he
saw a woman
passing by. He couldn’t stop looking at her. “Ohh, she is very beautiful,” he
murmured to himself. Hethen followed her. To his surprise, the woman went to Mr.
Oldwise’s house.
He, then, asked his servantto find out who she was.
When he knew that the woman was Mr. Oldwise’s granddaughter, he went there in rush.
 
“I just found out that you have a very beautiful granddaughter,” went Hearty.
 
The old man answered, “So what?”
 
“I came here for one purpose. I want to take your granddaughter to be my wife.”
 
“I’m afraid I cannot allow that.”
 
“Why? Your granddaughter will not lack anything. She will have and get what she wants.”
 
“She won’t be happy to have such an arrgant person like you.”
 
“you are so arrogant and stubborn, Old Man. I’ll give you a lesson later,” said
Hearty with a high
tone and walked away.
Hearty couldn’t accept the old man refusal. He felt that it was insult for him because he, as
arespected man, didn’t want an
yone to look down at him. So the next day he came to the house of theold man
again.
“I still want to take the woman to be my wife. I’ll give you everything you want.”
 
Mr. Oldwise said, “Why do you insist on taking her to be your wife? There are
many oth
er
beautiful mowen here.”
 
“But they are not as beautiful as your granddaughter.”
 
“Alright then I’m giving you one challenge.”
 
“I’ll take it. What is it, Old Man?”

 
“I challenge you to beat yourself.”
 Hearty felt so confused with what he had just heard.
He asked him, “What do you mean?”
 
“Do you remember I ever told you to become like a bamboo tree when you have
reachedeverything you want?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“I am perfectly sure until now you haven’t understood that yet. Am I right?”
 Hearty felt a bit embarrase
d by all this. He then said. “Carry on.”
 
“Find out what it is and try to beat yourself. When you have found out the answer, come to
me.Then you shall get what you want.”
 Hearty took the challenge. It took him many days to understand what that
meant. He started atthe bamboo trees and learned everything about them. He
touched the and a thought hard about them.
“Aha,” he said to himself. “I finally know what he meant by beating myself.”
 
Hearty came to the oldman’s house in the next morning. He found that
the old man was makingsomething. But this time he was accompanied by his
granddaughter.
“So you’re here. Did you get the answer?” asked the old man.
 
“Yes. And I’m telling you now. Bamboo is strong when it’s young but it’s getting stronger
whenit’s getting old and old. It stands erectly when it’s young but when it’s old
and it’s starts to duck. Thatmeans when we are young we have to work hard with
great spirit, but when we get older we shouldn’tbe arrogant because of what
we’ve achieved during young days. The success we’ve got shouldn’t make
us big-
headed but humble instead.”
 
“And?”
 
“And I should beat myself from being arrogant now.”
 
The old man said, “You have understood it now. So, what are you going to do?”
 
“I’m going to change myself into someon
e who is not arrogant person. With the power and
money I have now, I’ll use them wisely. I’ll use them only for kindness. Thank
you, Sir, for reminding meof what I am now.”
 

 
 
The old man felt touched by the young man’s heart. Finally he let him take the wo
man to be hiswife. The three lived happily then.

How the Stars Came to Live in the Nighttime Sky

How the Stars Came to Live in the Nighttime Sky

©2005, 2010, 2013 by Billie S. Noakes. All Rights Reserved

Long dreams ago, and more years than anyone can count, when Creator made the earth, the universe was dark
and silent, and the earth held back her beauty and her bounty.

So Creator made the sun, and the sun sent his warmth and light to hug the earth and bring forth her abundance.

Creator gazed upon the earth’s deep blue oceans, lush green forests, golden prairies and dark, mighty mountains,
and Creator’s heart was filled with joy. But as you know, joy is never complete until it is shared, and there was
no one to share with Creator in the marvels of this wonderful work.

So Creator made the People, and placed the People to live upon the earth. And it wasn’t long before the People,
like Creator before them, celebrated the wonders of the earth, and Creator’s joy and their own was complete.

But People are people, after all, and prone to find fault, and they eventually came to realize there was one small
detail that kept the earth from being absolutely perfect in every way.

So they traveled to the place where they could speak with Creator in all reverence, and they said:

"Creator, we love the earth you have made for our home. The plains feed us abundantly, the vast waters cool
and refresh us, and the forests and mountains entice us always to explore their mysteries.

"The warm sunshine that lights all our activities is a blessing, as well, Creator. But the sunlight tickles our
eyelids open when we need to rest, making it hard to sleep.

"Creator, is there not something to be done to help us with this one small problem?"

Creator heard the People, and thought long and carefully, and then said, "Yes."

And Creator set the earth to spin slowly, so that at every minute of every day, part of the earth was bathed in
sunlight, and part was cloaked in darkness.

"Now," said Creator, "you have both Day and Night."

Oh, how the People rejoiced! They returned to their villages, and their days were spent working and playing,
while their nights were spent in restful sleep, with no sunlight to disturb them.

But People are people, after all, and it wasn’t very long before they noticed there was another small detail that
kept the earth from being absolutely perfect in every way.
They knew they must make another journey to seek Creator’s help, so back they went to the place where they
could speak to Creator in all reverence.

"The night is so dark!" they told Creator. "We have so much to do that we often work well into the night.
Without the sun’s light to guide us home, we might fall into a pit, or walk into a tree, or come to some other
great harm. Creator, is there not some way to solve this one very small problem?"

Creator heard the People, and thought long and carefully, and then said, "Yes."

And Creator made the moon, and placed the moon high in the nighttime sky to gently reflect the light of the sun
onto the night side of the earth.

The moon was just what the People had hoped for! Its light was not so bright as to tickle their eyelids open
when they tried to sleep, nor so dim that they worried about coming to harm in the darkness. And for a while,
the People were most happy.

But People are people, after all, and they gradually became aware of one more detail that kept the earth from
being absolutely perfect in every way. Once again, they made the journey to seek Creator’s help.

"Creator," they said now, "the moonlight is just what we wanted, but every so often, the moon fails to shine in
the nighttime sky. Without its light to guide us, we can still come to harm when we must walk in the darkness.
Creator, can you not find some way to bring a little light to the sky when the moon is away?"

Creator again heard the People, and again thought long and carefully, and just when the people expected a new
solution to remedy this latest problem, Creator said, "No.

"My People, you have the power to bring light to the darkness of the world, and you must find that power for
yourselves." And Creator would say nothing more on the subject.

The People were stunned! Creator had never denied them before. How were they to bring light into the
darkness? The People had no powers to match those of Creator. Creator told them the power was there, but what
mystery must they penetrate to find it?

The People thought long and hard about the challenge Creator had set before them.

They looked at their cooking fires and watched as small embers drifted up from the flames. Perhaps, if they but
built their fires large enough and hot enough, the embers would be lifted higher into the sky until they could
burrow into the velvety darkness and be held there.

But when the People matched action to idea, their embers drifted up, higher and higher, and then winked out.

The People then remembered that when they carried torches to light their way at night, the wind sometimes
carried the light from their torch fires a short distance ahead of them into the dark of the night. So they
fashioned larger torches and carried them high up onto the windswept mountain tops, thinking the stronger
winds there would carry their light farther than their embers could rise, and that the fire from their torches would
travel forever across the heavens.

But the winds on the mountain tops were so strong that they blew the People’s torches right out, leaving the
People to make their way blindly back down the rocky mountain slopes.

Some of the People built a catapult, and gathered old sticks and dried grasses and leaves and all manner of
things that would burn, and they rolled them into a great ball and slathered the ball with animal fat. The People
hoisted the sticky ball onto the catapult, set the ball aflame, and sent it hurtling into the night.

Up and up the flaming ball went, higher and higher ... but then it fell back to the ground, where it burned itself
out.
By now, the People were weary of their quest. They were sure that Creator was mistaken, that the People were
powerless to light the world’s darkness.

Frustrated by Creator’s seeming indifference, the People returned home to their villages, resigned to accept the
occasional nights of darkness. Perhaps in the comfortable familiarity of their homes, they would one day think
of better solutions.

But the People had been away so long that when they reached their villages, they discovered that their homes
had fallen into disrepair. Their fields had gone to weed. Their herds had returned to the wild.

The People felt overwhelmed. How could they begin to restore their villages with so much to do? Where should
they begin such monumental tasks?

Ah, but People are people, after all, and quick to learn important lessons. And they learned that what one could
not do alone, many could accomplish by working together.

And so it was that, one by one, each family’s home and fields and herds were brought aright, and with so much
work to be done for so many, the People often toiled from dawn until dusk, and still they pushed on, laboring
into the night, even on those nights when the moon failed to light the nighttime sky.

And that is when something wonderful happened!

As the People worked beyond the light of day, there appeared a small chip of light in the darkened sky for each
man, each woman, and each child who worked to help his or her neighbors. Together, these small points of
brilliance made just enough light to illuminate their tasks and see the People safely home when it was finally
time to sleep.

And so it continued: when any one of the People helped another and performed an act of kindness or
compassion, that act was matched by a sparkling gleam of light in the sky, bright and constant.

The People felt a need to acknowledge these small sparks of brilliance, and named them "Stars."

Every night, after they finished their work, the People would gather together, look up at the sky, and share the
story behind each new Star that now glistened above them.

The stories spread quickly from village to village, and eventually the realization came that the People had
fulfilled Creator’s promise, and found within themselves the power to light the darkness. That realization was
the cause of great celebration.

And that power is alive to this very day: one person lightening the darkness of another’s life, and each light
multiplying the brightness of those around it.

So, my friends, whenever you wonder whether the kindness we show each other really matters, just look up at
the nighttime sky, count the Stars, and know that it is just as Creator promised:

Each one of us does, indeed, carry the power to bring light into the world’s darkness.

Each one of us does, indeed, carry the spark of the Creator.