The Family Fun » kids stories

Animal In a Well

Administrator — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:02:17 +0000

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred – Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries – Most never happen.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

A Difference at The Beach

Administrator — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:56:50 +0000

A friend of mine was walking down a deserted beach at sunset. As he
walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew
nearer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking
something up and throwing it out into the water.

Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean. As my friend
approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish
that had washed up on the beach, and, one at a time, he was throwing
them back into the water. My friend was puzzled. He approached the man
and said. “Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you are doing.”

“I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide
right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore.
If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack
of oxygen.”

“I understand,” my friend replied, “but there must be thousands of
starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are
simply too many. And don’t you realize this is probably happening on
hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can’t you see that you
can’t possibly make a difference?”

The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish,
and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, “Made a difference to
that one!”There are millions of little things we can do, without taking
much effort, to make this world a better place.

Four Wives

Administrator — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:12:07 +0000

Once upon a time. There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives.
He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.
He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He’s very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men.
He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant’s confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times.
Now, the merchant’s 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.
One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life a nd told himself, “Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I’ll be alone. How lonely I’ll be!” Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?”
“No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.
The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant’s heart.
The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, “I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?”
“No!” replied the 3rd wife. “Life is so good over here! I’m going to remarry when you die!” The merchant’s heart sank and turned cold.
He then asked the 2nd wife, “I always turned to you for help and you’ve always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd wi fe. “At the very most, I can only send you to your grave.” The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.
Then a voice called out: “I’ll leave with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.” The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition.
Greatly grieved, the merchant said, “I should have taken much better care of you while I could have!”

We all have four wifes in our lives.
Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it’ll leave us when we die.
Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.
The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we’re alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.
The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material wealth and sensual pleasure.
Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it’s a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we’re on our deathbed to lament.