THE FOX AND THE HEDGEHOG

A Fox swimming
across a rapid river
was carried by the
force of the
current into a very
deep ravine, where
he lay for a long
time very much
bruised, sick, and
unable to move. A
swarm of hungry
blood-sucking flies
settled upon him. A
Hedgehog, passing
by, saw his
anguish and
inquired if he
should drive away
the flies that were
tormenting him.
"By no means,"
replied the Fox;
"pray do not
molest them."
"How is this?' said
the Hedgehog; "do
you not want to be
rid of them?' "No,"
returned the Fox,
"for these flies
which you see are
full of blood, and
sting me but little,
and if you rid me of
these which are
already satiated,
others more
hungry will come in
their place, and will
drink up all the
blood I have left."

THE FOX AND THE HEDGEHOG

A Fox swimming
across a rapid river
was carried by the
force of the
current into a very
deep ravine, where
he lay for a long
time very much
bruised, sick, and
unable to move. A
swarm of hungry
blood-sucking flies
settled upon him. A
Hedgehog, passing
by, saw his
anguish and
inquired if he
should drive away
the flies that were
tormenting him.
"By no means,"
replied the Fox;
"pray do not
molest them."
"How is this?' said
the Hedgehog; "do
you not want to be
rid of them?' "No,"
returned the Fox,
"for these flies
which you see are
full of blood, and
sting me but little,
and if you rid me of
these which are
already satiated,
others more
hungry will come in
their place, and will
drink up all the
blood I have left."

THE BAT AND THE WEASELS

A Bat who fell
upon the ground
and was caught by
a Weasel pleaded
to be spared his
life. The Weasel
refused, saying
that he was by
nature the enemy
of all birds. The
Bat assured him
that he was not a
bird, but a mouse,
and thus was set
free. Shortly
afterwards the
Bat again fell to
the ground and
was caught by
another
Weasel,whom he
likewise entreated
not to eat him. The
Weasel said that
he had a special
hostility to mice.
The Bat assured
him that he was
not a mouse, but a
bat, and thus a
second time
escaped.
It is wise to turn
circumstances to
good account.

ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN

An Ass once found
a Lion's skin which
the hunters had
left out in the sun
to dry. He put it on
and went towards
his native village.
All fled at his
approach, both
men and animals,
and he was a
proud Ass that
day. In his delight
he lifted up his
voice and brayed,
but then every
one knew him, and
his owner came up
and gave him a
sound cudgelling
for the fright he
had caused. And
shortly afterwards
a Fox came up to
him and said: "Ah, I
knew you by your
voice."
Fine clothes may
disguise, but silly
words will disclose
a fool...

THE HORSE THAT WANTED MOST BEAUTY

A cosmic god had a
horse. The horse was
beautiful and also it had
many good qualities. But
it wanted to be more
perfect in every way. It
especially wanted to
become beauty
unparalleled.
One day the horse said
to the cosmic god, “0
Lord, you have given me
beauty. You have given
me other good qualities.
I am so grateful to you.
But how I wish you
could make me more
beautiful. I would be
extremely, extremely
grateful if you could
make me more
beautiful.”
The cosmic god said, “I
am more than ready to
make you more
beautiful. Tell me in
what way you want to
be changed.”
The horse said, “It
seems to me that I am
not well proportioned.
My neck is too short. If
you can make my neck
a little longer, my upper
body will be infinitely
more beautiful. And if
you can make my legs
much longer and
thinner, then I will look
infinitely more beautiful
in my lower body.”
The cosmic god said,
“Amen!” Then
immediately he made a
camel appear in place of
the horse. The horse
was so disheartened
that it started to cry,
“0 Lord, I wanted to
become more beautiful.
In what way is this kind
of outer form more
beautiful?”
The cosmic god said,
“This is exactly what
you asked for. You have
become a camel.”
The horse cried, “Oh no,
I do not want to
become a camell I wish
to remain a horse. As a
horse, everybody
appreciated my good
qualities. Nobody will
appreciate me as a
camel.”
The cosmic god said,
“Never try to achieve or
receive more than I
have given you. If you
want to lead a desire-
life, then at every
moment you will want
more and more. But you
have no idea what the
outcome will be. If you
cry for a longer neck
and legs, this is what
will happen. Each thing in
my creation has its own
good qualities. The
camel is not as
beautiful as you are,
but it carries heavy
loads and has a
tremendous sense of
responsibility.

THE MIDAS TOUCH

We all know the story of the greedy king named Midas. He had a lot of gold and the more he had the more he wanted. He stored all the gold in his vaults and used to spend time every day counting it.
One day while he was counting a stranger came from nowhere and said he would grant him a wish. Theking was delighted and said, "I would like everything I touch to turn to gold." The stranger asked the king, Are you sure?" The king replied,"Yes." So the stranger said, "Starting tomorrow morning with the sun rays you will get the golden touch." The king thought hemust be dreaming, this couldn't be true. But the next day when he woke up,he touched the bed, his clothes, and everything turned to gold. He looked out of the window and saw his daughter playing in the garden. He decided to give her a surprise and thought she would be happy. But before he went to the garden he decided to read a book. The moment he touched it, it turned into gold and he couldn't read it.Then he sat to have breakfast and the moment he touched the fruit and theglass of water, they turned to gold. He was getting hungry and he said to himself, "I can't eat and drink gold." Just about that time his daughter came running and he hugged her and she turned into a gold statue. There were no moresmiles left.
The king bowed his head and started crying. The stranger who gave the wishcame again and asked the king if he was happy with his golden touch. The king said he was the most miserable man. The stranger asked, "What would you rather have, your food and loving daughter or lumps of gold and her golden statue?" The king cried and asked for forgiveness. He said, "I will give up all my gold. Please give me my daughterback because without her I have lost everything wo rthhaving." The stranger said to the king, "You have become wiser than before" and he reversed the spell. He got his daughter back in his arms and the king learned a lesson that he never forget for the rest ofhis life.
What is the moral of the story?
1. Distorted values lead to tragedy.
2. Sometimes getting what you want may be a bigger tragedy than not getting what you want.
3. Unlike the game of soccerwhere players can be substituted, the game of lifeallows no substitutions or replays. We may not get a second chance to reverse our tragedies, as the king did.

THE STORY OF CREATION

In the beginning
God made the
heavens and the
earth, and while
the earth was still
unformed, God
said, "Let there be
light," and there
was light. And God
saw that the light
was good. Then
God separated the
light from the
darkness. And God
called the light Day
and the darkness
Night. And there
was an evening
and a morning,
making the first
day.
And God said, "Let
there be a sky and
let it divide the
waters that are
below from the
waters that are
above the sky."
And it was done.
And God called the
sky the Heavens.
And there was an
evening and a
morning, making
the second day.
And God said, "Let
the waters under
the heavens be
brought together,
and let the dry
land appear." And
it was done. And
God called the dry
land Earth and the
waters that were
brought together
Seas. And God saw
that it was good.
And God said, "Let
plants and trees
grow from the
earth." And it was
done. And plants
and trees grew
from the earth,
each plant bringing
forth its own kind
of seed and each
tree its own kind
of fruit, and God
saw that it was
good. And there
was an evening
and a morning,
making the third
day.
And God said, "Let
there be lights in
the heavens to
separate the night
from the day. Let
them be signs to
mark the seasons,
the days, and the
years. Let them be
lights in the
heavens to light
the earth." And it
was done. So God
made the two
great lights (the
sun and the moon):
the greater to rule
the day and the
lesser to rule the
night. God made
the stars also and
placed them in the
heavens to throw
light upon the
earth. And God saw
that it was good.
And there was an
evening and a
morning, making
the fourth day.
And God said, "Let
the waters bring
forth many living
creatures and let
birds fly above the
earth and in the
sky." And God
made large sea-
monsters and all
kinds of living
creatures with
which the waters
abound, and all
kinds of birds. And
God saw that it
was good. And he
blessed them,
saying, "Increase
and fill the waters
in the seas, and let
the birds increase
on the earth." And
there was an
evening and a
morning, making
the fifth day.
And God said, "Let
the earth bring
forth all kinds of
living creatures,
cattle and creeping
things and wild
beasts." And it was
done. So God made
all the different
kinds of wild
beasts, and the
cattle, and
everything that
crawls upon the
ground. And God
saw that it was
good.
And God said, "Let
us make man like
ourselves. Let him
rule over the fish
in the sea, the
birds of the sky,
the cattle, the wild
beasts and all the
living things that
crawl upon the
ground." And God
made man like
himself, like God he
made him. He made
them male and
female.
And God blessed
them, and said to
them, "Have
children, increase,
live all over the
earth, and conquer
it; rule over the
fish of the sea, the
birds of the sky,
and over every
living thing that
crawls upon the
ground."
And God said, "See,
to you I give every
plant which grows
on all the earth,
and every tree
which bears fruit
with its own kind
of seed. It shall be
food for you. And
to every wild
beast and to every
bird of the sky and
to every thing that
crawls on the
earth and is alive, I
give every green
herb for food." And
it was done.
And when God saw
everything that he
had made, he saw
that it was very
good. And there
was an evening
and a morning,
making the sixth
day.
And the heavens
and the earth
were finished and
all that there was
in them. And on the
seventh day when
God had finished
the work which he
had done, he
rested from all his
work. And God
blessed the
seventh day and
made it holy, for in
it he rested from
all the work which
he had done.