The Fowler and The Viper

A fowler, taking his bird-lime and his twigs, went out to catch birds. Seeing a thrush sitting upon a tree, he wished to take it, and fitting his twigs to a proper length, watched intently, having his whole thoughts directed towards the sky. While thus looking upwards, he unknowingly stepped upon a viper asleep just before his feet. The viper, turning about, stung him, and falling into a swoon, the man said to himself, “Woe is me! that while I purposed to hunt another, I am myself fallen unawares into the snare of death.”

-Based on Aesop's Fable

The Fox and the Grapes

While walking through the woods, the fox saw a vine full of grapes hanging on a branch of a tree. The fox's mouth watered. But the grapes hung from a high branch and the fox had to jump for it. It jumped to reach the grapes, but could not. It tried several times but could not reach the grapes. At last, the fox was fed up and it gave up. The fox walked away saying, "Anyway, those grapes are sour."

Insight: People often despise things that they cannot achieve. 

The Stone

There was a famous sculptor in a village who converted stones into marvellous pieces of art. The villagers wanted to build a temple of Lord Ganesh in their village. For that, they needed the statue of Lord Ganesh. They commissioned the job to the sculptor. 

The sculptor searched for the right kind of the stone for carving on a bank of the river where he usually went. Not all the stones were good for the carving. After searching for a while, he found a perfect stone for the work. With his expertise in the stone, he knew he could find no better stone than that one. He brought the stone to his workshop and started carving it. As he started to hit the hammer on the chisel, the stone cried, "Please stop it, I can't bear the pain!"

The sculptor said, "But you'll make the finest statue. You're the perfect and deserving stone to become the statue of Lord Ganesh. Endure this pain and you will be converted into the statue of Lord Ganesh."

"I'm sorry, I can't endure this pain", pleaded the stone, "Please leave me." 

The sculptor then put the stone in a corner of his workshop and went to the riverbank in search of another stone. Not finding a better stone, he had to pick a stone which was a little inferior to the first one. After coming back with the second stone, he started working on it. He started to hammer it. The stone endured the pain of the hammer and the chisel. After a few days of carving the stone had turned into the beautiful statue of Lord Ganesh.  

The statue of Lord Ganesh was taken by the villagers. The jubilant villagers took rally all around the streets of the village before the statue was placed in the temple. As time passed by, not only the villagers but people from far away also came to worship Lord Ganesh in the temple. The villagers felt that they needed another stone to break the coconuts brought by the devotees to offer for Lord Ganesh. They went to the sculptor to ask for the stone. The sculptor gave the first stone which was lying at the corner of his workshop. The villagers fixed the stone just outside of the temple. All the devotees bringing coconuts broke the coconuts on the stone before offering to the statue of Lord Ganesh. The statue, which stayed safely inside the temple, was worshipped with offerings like flowers, sweets, coconuts and incense, whereas the first stone had to bear rain and heat, and also it had to bear the hard hits of the coconuts.  

Moral:

• The first stone was better and more deserving to become the statue, but the second stone, which was a little inferior to the first one became the statue. Talent is not the sole factor for success.
• We must endure problems if we are to meet a bigger purpose in life.

The Jackdaw and the Doves

Once a jackdaw saw a flock of doves enjoying the good food. The jackdaw painted itself into white and joined the dove to enjoy the meal. Everything was fine until the jackdaw kept itself silent while eating. As the doves were having a nice conversation, the jackdaw also joined the conversation. As soon as it started to speak, the doves realised its true identity. The doves drove the jackdaw away by pecking it with beaks. Then, the jackdaw went back to its own flock of the jackdaws. As the jackdaw was white in colour, the other jackdaws also drove it away from their group.

Moral: Always accept your true nature, otherwise you will land nowhere.

-Based on Aesop's fable

If I Could Just Get Organized

- Douglas Malloch

There may be nothing wrong with you,
The way you live, the work you do,
But I can very plainly see
Exactly what is wrong with me.
It isn’t that I’m indolent,
Or dodging duty by intent;
I work as hard as anyone,
And yet I get so little done,
The morning goes, the noon is here,
Before I know, the night is near,
And all around me, I regret,
Are things I haven’t finished yet.
If I could just get organized!
I oftentimes have realized
Not all that matters is the man;
The man must also have a plan.

With you, there may be nothing wrong
But here’s my trouble right along;
I do the things that don’t amount
To very much, of no account,
That really seem important though
And let a lot of matters go.
I nibble this, I nibble that,
But never finish what I’m at.
I work as hard as anyone
And yet, I get so little done,
I’d do so much you’d be surprised,
If I could just get organized!

Thinking

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost a cinch- you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost;
For out in this world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are;
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can!

-Walter D. Wintle

The Power of Investment

One day, a man got lost walking in the desert. The next day, he was still lost. After two days under the scorching sun, he was very thirsty. All of a sudden, he saw a little wooden shed. He ran to it, thinking of only one thing - Water! When he arrived there, he saw an old, rusty water pump sticking from the ground. He gripped the handle and began pumping like a mad man. But nothing came out. Disappointed, he stepped back and thought about how to make it work. Looking around, he saw a jug covered with dust. When he grabbed it, he saw a piece of paper stuck on it. The message read, “Open this jug and you’ll find water. Don’t drink it. Pour it instead on the pump and you’ll have all the water you want.”

He popped the cork.

True enough, the jug was filled with water - lovely, thirst-quenching water.

The thirsty man had not drunk water for two whole days. His mouth was so dry; his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth. He was literally dying of thirst. And he was now holding a jug full of water. But the message said that he should throw it away!

For a moment, his heart was torn. 

What if the message was a joke? A cruel prank? What if he poured the water on that rusty pump and nothing happened?

But the man chose to take the risk.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and poured the water. He held the handle and pumped like crazy. A few seconds later, torrents of water gushed out. Indeed, he had more water than he could ever need!

He drank to his heart content. He also found water containers to take with him in his journey and filled them up to the brim. But before leaving the place, he filled the jug with water and underneath the sign attached to it, he scribbled, “I tried it. Believe me, it works." 

Reverse the Statement

She said to him,"If I had brain like yours, I'd be a better person."

He replied,"Be a better person, and you'll have brain like mine!"

Lets see some of the statements we come across which we should reverse.

- If I had money, I'd do good business.

-If I had favourable environment, I'd achieve more.

-If I had time, I'd meditate.

भए…. 

उसलाई उनीले भनिन्,"मसंग तपाईको जस्तो बुद्धि भएको भए म अझ बढी राम्रो व्यक्ति हुन्थें।"

उसले भन्यो,"तिमी अझ राम्रो व्यक्ति बन्यो भने मेरो जस्तो बुद्धि हुनेछ!"

हाम्रा जीवनका यी जस्ता वाक्यहरुलाई पनि हामी उल्टाएर बिचार गर्न सक्छौं कि?

- मसंग पैसा भैदिए, म राम्रो ब्यापार गर्थें। 

-वातावरण अनुकूल भैदिएको भए, म अझ बढी उपलब्धि हासिल गर्न सक्थें। 

- मसंग अलि बढी समय भैदिएको भए, म ध्यान गर्ने थिएँ। 

Target

Whenever someone with a lot of money but little hunting experience arrived in Viscos, he would take them out to a piece of waste ground. There, he would place a beer can on top of a stone. Then he would stand about fifty yards from the can and, with a single shot, send it flying. 

'I'm the best shot in the region,' he would say. 'And now you're going to learn how to become as good as me.'

He replaced the can on the same stone, walked back to where he had stood before, took a handkerchief out of his pocket and asked the newcomer to blindfold him. Then he aimed once more in the direction of the target and fired again. 

'Did I hit it?' he would ask, removing the blindfold. 

'Of course not,' the new arrival would say, pleased to see the proud guide humbled. 'You missed it by a mile. I don't think there's anything you can teach me.' 

'I've just taught you the most important lesson in life,' Berta's husband would reply. 'Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.'

- From The Devil and Miss Prym By Paulo Coelho

Plunge

She was on the beach with her father, and he asked her to go and see what the temperature of the water was like. She was five years old and glad to be able to help. She went to the water’s edge and dipped in a toe.

 “I put my feet in and it’s cold,” she told him. 

Her father picked her up and carried her down to the water again and, without any warning, threw her in. She was shocked at first, but then laughed out loud at the trick he’d played.

 “How’s the water?” asked her father.

 “It’s lovely,” she replied.

 “Right, from now on, whenever you want to find out about something, plunge straight in.”

- Extracted from Brida By Paulo Coelho

Following

One day, a calf needed to cross a virgin forest in order to return to its pasture. Being an irrational animal, it forged out a tortuous path full of bends, up and down hills.

The next day, a dog came by and used the same path to cross the forest. Next it was a sheep’s urn, the head of a flock which, upon finding the opening, led its companions through it.

Later, men began using the path: they entered and left, turned to the right, to the left, bent down, deviating obstacles, complaining and cursing – and quite rightly so. But they did nothing to create a different alternative.

After so much use, in the end, the path became a trail along which poor animals toiled under heavy loads, being forced to go three hours to cover a distance which would normally take thirty minutes, had no one chosen to follow the route opened up by the calf.

Many years passed and the trail became the main road of a village, and later the main avenue of a town. Everyone complained about the traffic, because the route it took was the worst possible one.

Meanwhile, the old and wise forest laughed, at seeing how men tend to blindly follow the way already open, without ever asking whether it really is the best choice.

(Original source of this story is unknown. Some attribute this story as on of Aesop's fables, some say this story is based on traditional Portuguese story and some say it is based on Malayam story.)

Meaningless Goal

A farmer had a dog who used to sit by the roadside waiting for vehicles to come around. As soon as one came he would run down the road, barking and trying to overtake it. But the dog never succeeded in catching the car. One day a neighbor asked the farmer "Do you think your dog is ever going to catch a car?" The farmer replied, "That is not what bothers me. What bothers me is what he would do if he ever caught one." Many people in life behave like that dog who is pursuing meaningless goals.