Short stories

SHORT
STORIES
And other
motivational
thoughts
Compiledby:
Mark Vincent Silvano

THE CHILD AND HIS MOTHER
A curious child asked his mother:
“Mommy, why are some of your hairs
turning grey?”
The mother tried to use this occasion to
teach her child: “It is because of you,
dear. Every bad action of yours will turn
one of my hairs grey!”
The child replied innocently: “Now I
know why grandmother has only grey
hairs on her head.”

ELEPHANT
The class teacher asks students to name an
animal that begins with an “E”. One boy
says, “Elephant.”
Then the teacher asks for an animal that
begins with a “T”. The same boy says, “Two
elephants.”
The teacher sends the boy out of the class
for bad behavior. After that she asks for an
animal beginning with “M”.
The boy shout from the other side of the
wall: “Maybe an elephant!”

Captain
A navy captain is alerted by his First Mate that
there is a pirate ship coming towards his
position. He asks a sailor to get him his red
shirt.
The captain was asked, “Why do you need a red
shirt?”
The Captain replies, “So that when I bleed, you
guys don’t notice and aren’t discouraged.” They
fight off the pirates eventually.
The very next day, the Captain is alerted that 50
pirate ships are coming towards their boat. He
yells, “Get me my brown pants!”

Clever kids
A police officer found a perfect hiding place for
watching for speeding motorists.
One day, the officer was amazed when everyone was
under the speed limit, so he investigated and found
the problem.
A 10 years old boy was standing on the side of the
road with a huge hand painted sign which said
“Radar Trap Ahead.”
A little more investigative work led the officer to the
boy’s accomplice: another boy about 100 yards
beyond the radar trap with a sign reading “TIPS”
and a bucket at his feet full of change.

Will’s experience at the airport
After his return from Rome, Will couldn’t find his
luggage in the airport baggage area. He went to the
lost luggage office and told the woman there that his
bags hadn’t shown up on the carousel.
She smiled and told him not to worry because they
were trained professionals and he was in good
hands.
Then she asked Will, “Has your plane arrived yet?”

Determining Your True Path
A master was strolling through a field of wheat
when a disciple came up to him and asked, “I can’t
tell which is the true path. What’s the secret?”
“What does that ring on your right hand mean?” –
asked the master.
“My father gave it to me before dying.”
“Well, give it to me.”
The disciple obeyed, and the master tossed the ring
into the middle of the field of wheat.
“Now what?” – shouted the disciple.

“Now I have to stop doing everything I was doing to
look for the ring! It’s important to me!”
“When you find it, remember this: You yourself
answered the question you asked me. That is how
you tell the true path: It is more important than all
the rest.”

The Falcon & The Branch
Once there was a king who received a gift of two
magnificent falcons. They were peregrine falcons,
the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave
the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.
Months passed, and one day the head falconer
informed the king that though one of the falcons was
flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other
bird had not moved from its branch since the day it
had arrived.
The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all
the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make
the bird fly.
He presented the task to the member of his court, but
the next day, the king saw through the palace

window that the bird had still not moved from its
perch.
Having tried everything else, the king thought to
himself, “May be I need someone more familiar with
the countryside to understand the nature of this
problem.” So he cried out to his court, “Go and get a
farmer.”
In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the
falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He
said to his court, “Bring me the doer of this miracle.”
The court quickly located the farmer, who came and
stood before the king. The king asked him, “How
did you make the falcon fly?”

With his head bowed, the farmer said to the king, “It
was very easy, your highness. I simply cut the
branch where the bird was sitting.”
We are all made to fly — to realize our incredible
potential as human beings. But at times we sit on our
branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to
us. The possibilities are endless, but for most of us,
they remain undiscovered. We conform to the
familiar, the comfortable, and the mundane. So for
the most part, our lives are mediocre instead of
exciting, thrilling and fulfilling. Let us learn to
destroy the branch of fear we cling to and free
ourselves to the glory of flight!

The farmer and a donkey
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!
MORAL :
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.

The Carpenter
A highly skilled carpenter who had grown old was
ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of
his plans to leave the house building business and
live a more leisurely life with his family. He would
miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire.
The employer was sorry to see his good worker go
and asked if he could build just one more house as a
personal favor. The carpenter agreed to this proposal
but made sure that this will be his last project. Being
in a mood to retire, the carpenter was not paying
much attention to building this house. His heart was
not in his work. He resorted to poor workmanship
and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate
way to end his career.
When the job was done, the carpenter called his
employer and showed him the house. The employer

handed over some papers and the front door key to
the carpenter and said "This is your house, my gift to
you."
The carpenter was in a shock! What a shame! If he
had only known that he was building his own house,
he would have made it better than any other house
that he ever built!
Our situation can be compared to this carpenter. God
has sent us to this world to build our homes in
paradise by obeying His commands. Now, we have
to decide how well we wish to build the homes
where we will live forever.

BEAUTIFUL WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS
A Father was reading a magazine and his little
daughter every now and then distracted him. To
keep her busy, he tore one page on which was
printed the map of the world. He tore it into pieces
and asked her to go to her room and put them
together to make the map again.
He was sure she would take the whole day to get it
done. But the little one came back within minutes
with perfect map……When he asked how she could
do it so quickly, she said, “Oh…. Dad, there is a
man’s face on the other side of the paper….. I made
the face perfect to get the map right." She ran
outside to play leaving the father surprised.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
There is always the other side to whatever you
experience in this world. Whenever we come across
a challenge or a puzzling situation, look at the other
side…. You will be surprised to see an easy way to
tackle the problem.
Life is short, energy limited, with this limited energy
we have to find the unlimited; with this short life we
have to find the eternal. Don't waste it with
unimportant matters.

THE SCORPION
"An old man saw a scorpion drowning and decided
to pull it out from the water. He calmly extended his
hand to reach the creature. When he did, the
scorpion stung him. With the effect of the pain, the
old man let go the creature and it fell back into the
water. The man realizing that the scorpion was
drowning again, got back and tried to rescue it but
then again it stung him. He let go of it again.
A young boy standing by, approached the old man
and said, "Excuse me Sir, you are going to hurt
yourself trying to save the evil-vicious creature, why
do you insist? Don't you realize that each time you
try to help the scorpion, it stings you?"
The man replied, "The nature of the scorpion is to
sting and mine is to help. My nature will not change
in helping the scorpion."

So the man thought for a while and used a leaf from
a nearby tree and pulled the scorpion out from the
water and saved it's life.
MORAL LESSON:
Do not change your nature. If someone hurts you,
just take precautions. Some pursue happiness while
others create it. Let your conscience be your guide in
whatever you do."

THE BUMBLEBEE
According to scientists, the bumblebee's body is too
heavy and its wing span too small. Aerodynamically,
the bumblebee cannot fly. But the bumblebee doesn't
know that and it keeps flying.
When you don't know your limitations, you go out
and surprise yourself. In hindsight, you wonder if
you had any limitations. The only limitations a
person has are those that are self-imposed. Don't let
education put limitations on you.

MEANINGLESS GOALS
A farmer had a dog which 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. 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.
Life is hard by the yard,
but by the inch,
it's a cinch.
--Gean Gordon

A POUND OF BUTTER
There was a farmer who sold a pound of butter to the
baker. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter
to see if he was getting a pound and he found that he
was not. This angered him and he took the farmer to
court. The judge asked the farmer if he was using
any measure. The farmer replied, amour Honor, I am
primitive. I don't have a proper measure, but I do
have a scale." The judge asked, "Then how do you
weigh the butter?" The farmer replied "Your Honor,
long before the baker started buying butter from me,
I have been buying a pound loaf of bread from him.
Every day when the baker brings the bread, I put it
on the scale and give him the same weight in butter.
If anyone is to be blamed, it is the baker."
What is the moral of the story? We get back in life
what we give to others. Whenever you take an

action, ask yourself this question: Am I giving fair
value for the wages or money I hope to make?
Honesty and dishonesty become a habit. Some
people practice dishonesty and can lie with a straight
face. Others lie so much that they don't even know
what the truth is anymore. But who are they
deceiving? Themselves…

BUILDING BRIDGES
Once upon a time two brothers who lived on
adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first
serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side,
sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as
needed without a hitch.
Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with
a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major
difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange
of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.
One morning there was a knock on John's door. He
opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox.
"I'm looking for a few days work," he said.
"Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and
there. Could I help you?"
"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for
you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my
neighbor, in fact, it's my younger brother. Last week
there was a meadow between us and he took his
bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek

between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me,
but I'll go him one better. See that pile of lumber
curing by the barn? I want you to build me a fence -
an 8-foot fence - so I won't need to see his place
anymore. Cool him down, anyhow."
The carpenter said, "I think I understand the
situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger
and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."
The older brother had to go to town for supplies, so
he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and
then he was off for the day.
The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring,
sawing, nailing.
About sunset when the farmer returned, the
carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes
opened wide, his jaw dropped.
There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge... a
bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the
other! A fine piece of work handrails and all - and

the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming
across, his hand outstretched.
"You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all
I've said and done."
The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge,
and then they met in the middle, taking each other's
hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his
toolbox on his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few days.
I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older
brother.
"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but, I have
many more bridges to build."

BANK ACCOUNT
Imagine there is a bank, which credits your account
each morning with Rs 86,400, carries over no
balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash
balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of
the amount you had failed to use during the day.
What would you do? Draw out every pence, of
course!
Well, everyone has such a bank. Its name is Time.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this
you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries
over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it
opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the
records of the day. If you fail to use the day's
deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against
the "tomorrow."

Therefore, there is never not enough time or too
much time. Time management is decided by us
alone and nobody else. It is never the case of us not
having enough time to do things, but the case of
whether we want to do it.

Frog in a Milk-Pail
A frog was hopping around a farmyard, when it
decided to investigate the barn. Being somewhat
careless, and maybe a little too curious, he ended up
falling into a pail half-filled with fresh milk.
As he swam about attempting to reach the top of the
pail, he found that the sides of the pail were too high
and steep to reach. He tried to stretch his back legs
to push off the bottom of the pail but found it too
deep. But this frog was determined not to give up,
and he continued to struggle.
He kicked and squirmed and kicked and squirmed,
until at last, all his churning about in the milk had
turned the milk into a big hunk of butter. The butter
was now solid enough for him to climb onto and get
out of the pail!
The Moral of The Story? "Never Give Up!"

Thinking "Out of the Box"
Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town,
a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum
of money to the moneylender. The moneylender,
who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant's
beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said
he would forgo the merchant's debt if he could marry
the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter
were horrified by the proposal.
The moneylender told them that he would put a
black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag.
The girl would then have to pick one pebble from
the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would
become the moneylender's wife and her father's debt
would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble
she need not marry him and her father's debt would
still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble,
her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the
merchant's garden. As they talked, the moneylender
bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them
up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up
two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He
then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag.
What would you have done if you were the girl? If
you had to advise her, what would you have told
her? Careful analysis would produce three
possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black
pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a
cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice
herself in order to save her father from his debt and
imprisonment.
The above story is used with the hope that it will
make us appreciate the difference between lateral
and logical thinking.
The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew
out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and
let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it
immediately became lost among all the other
pebbles.
"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind,
if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you
will be able to tell which pebble I picked." Since the
remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that
she had picked the white one. And since the
moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl

changed what seemed an impossible situation into an
advantageous one.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Most complex problems
do have a solution, sometimes we have to think
about them in a different way.

Reaction vs. Response
Suddenly, a cockroach flew from somewhere and sat
on her. I wondered if this was the cockroach’s
response to all the glory that was spoken about it!
She started screaming out of fear. With panic
stricken face and trembling voice, she started doing
jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to
get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was
contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to
what was happening. The lady finally managed to
push the cockroach to another lady in the group.
Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to
continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to
their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach
next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm,
composed himself and observed the behavior of the
cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident
enough,
he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the
antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and
started wondering, was the cockroach responsible
for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the
waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to
perfection, without any chaos. It is not the
cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle
the disturbance caused by the cockroach that
disturbed the ladies.
I realized even in my case then , it is not the
shouting of my father or my boss that disturbs me,
but its my inability to handle the disturbances caused
by their shouting that disturbs me.
It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me,
but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by
the traffic jam that disturbs me.
More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the
problem that hurts me.
Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood, I should not react in life. I should
always respond.
The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.
Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses
are always intellectual...

The carrot, the egg, and the coffee bean
A young woman went to her mother and told her
about her life and how things were so hard for her.
She did not know how she was going to make it and
wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and
struggling.
It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new
one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She
filled three pots with water and placed each on a
high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first,
she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs,
and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.
She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In
about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners.
She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.
She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.
Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a
bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me,
what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the young woman
replied. The mother brought her closer and asked her
to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were
soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it.
After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-
boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee.
The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The
daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had
faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each
reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard
and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to
the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had
protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through
the boiling water, its inside became hardened! The
ground coffee beans were unique, however. After
they were in the boiling water, they had changed the
water.

"Which are you?" the mother asked her daughter.
"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you
respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee
bean?" Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot
that seems strong but, with pain and adversity, do I
wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the
egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes
with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a
death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my
shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and
tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am
I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the
hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.
When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance
and flavour.
If you are like the bean, when things are at their
worst, you get better and change the situation around
you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are
their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How
do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or
a coffee bean?

Frogs
A group of frogs was traveling through the woods,
and two of them fell into a deep pit.
All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When
they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two
frogs that they were as good as dead.
The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to
jump out of the pit with all of their might.
The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they
were as good as dead.
Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other
frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and
died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he
could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him
to stop the pain and just die.

He jumped even harder and finally made it out.
When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not
hear us?"
The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He
thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
Lessons to be learnt:
1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An
encouraging word to someone who is down can lift
them up and help them make it through the day.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can
be what it takes to kill him or her.
Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who
cross your path. The power of words.... it is
sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging
word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak
words that tend to rob another of the spirit to
continue in difficult times.
Special is the individual who will take the time to
encourage another.

The Triple-Filter Test
In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold
knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance
met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know
what I just heard about your friend?"
"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before you
talk to me about my friend, it might be good idea to
take a moment and filter what you’re going to say.
That’s why I call it the triple filter test. The first
filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that
what you are about to tell me is true?"
"Well, no," the man said, "actually I just heard about
it and…"
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don’t really know
if it’s true or not. Now, let’s try the second filter, the
filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me
about my friend something good?"
"Umm, no, on the contrary…"
"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me
something bad about my friend, but you’re not

certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though,
because there’s one filter left—the filter of
Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my
friend going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really."
"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell
me is neither true, nor good, nor even useful, why
tell it to me at all?"

value
A well known speaker started off his seminar by
holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked,
"Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up.
He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you
but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple
the dollar bill up.
He then asked, "Who still wants it?"Still the hands
were up in the air.
"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he
dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into
the floor with his shoe.
He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now
who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.
"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable
lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still
wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was

still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are
dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the
decisions we make and the circumstances that come
our way.
We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter
what has happened or what will happen, you will
never lose your value. You are special - Don't ever
forget it!

" ACHIEVING HAPPINESS WITH SELFISHNESS"
There is this story of a man who had a dream one
night. He dreamed that he died and found himself
immediately in a large room. In the room there was a
huge banquet table filled with all sorts of delicious
foods. Around the table people were seated who
were hungry but the chairs were five feet from the
edge of the table and people apparently could not get
out of the chairs and their arms were not long
enough to reach the food. In the dream there was a
single large spoon, five feet long. Everyone was
fighting, quarrelling, pushing each other, trying to
grab hold of that spoon. Finally in that awful scene,
one strong bully got hold of the spoon. He reached
out, picked up some food, and turned it to feed
himself. Only to find out that the spoon was so long
that as he held it out he could not touch his mouth.
The food fell off. Immediately someone else grabbed
the spoon. Again, the person reached far enough to
pick up the food, but could not feed himself. In the
dream, the man was observing it all said to his

guide, “this is hell-to have food and not be able to
eat it”.
The guide replied, “Where do u think u are? This is
hell. But this is not ur place. Come with me.”
And they went into another room. In this room
things were the same as the previous room. People
were not able to reach food coz of the same reasons.
Yet they had a satisfied, pleasant look on their faces.
Only then the visitors see the reason why. Exactly as
before, there was only one spoon. It, too, had a
handle five feet long. Yet no one was fighting for it.
In fact, one man, who held the handle, reached out,
picked up the food, and put it into the mouth of
someone else, which ate it and was satisfied. That
person then took the spoon by the handle, reached
for the food from the table, and put it back to the
mouth of the man who had just given him something
to eat. And the guide said, “This is heaven”.
People who try to achieve happiness with selfishness
end up it in a hell on earth. If you live by the laws of
God and choose to look for people who have

burdens, you might be able to help them. But if you
look for your own happiness, ignoring the needs of
those around you, you will lose out altogether.

STORY OF A BLIND GIRl
There was a blind girl who hated herself just because
she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving
boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that
if she could only see the world, she would marry her
boyfriend.
One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and
then she could see everything, including her
boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you
can see the world, will you marry me?”
The girl was shocked when she saw that her
boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him.
Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote
a letter to her saying:
“Just take care of my eyes dear.”

ENJOY LIFE AT EVERY MOMENT
Once a fisherman was sitting near seashore, under
the shadow of a tree smoking his beedi. Suddenly a
rich businessman passing by approached him and
enquired as to why he was sitting under a tree
smoking and not working. To this the poor
fisherman replied that he had caught enough fishes
for the day.
Hearing this the rich man got angry and said: Why
don’t you catch more fishes instead of sitting in
shadow wasting your time?
Fisherman asked: What would I do by catching more
fishes?
Businessman: You could catch more fishes, sell
them and earn more money, and buy a bigger boat.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could go fishing in deep waters
and catch even more fishes and earn even more
money.

Businessman: You could buy many boats and
employ many people to work for you and earn even
more money.
Businessman: You could become a rich businessman
like me.
Businessman: You could then enjoy your life
peacefully.
Fisherman: What do you think I’m doing right now?

Puppies
For Sale
A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that
read "Puppies For Sale." Signs like that have a way
of attracting small children, and sure enough, a little
boy appeared under the store owner's sign. "How
much are you going to sell the puppies for?" he
asked.
The store owner replied, "Anywhere from $30 to
$50."
The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out
some change. "I have $2.37," he said. "Can I please
look at them?"
The store owner smiled and whistled and out of the
kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his
store followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur.
One puppy was lagging considerably behind.
Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging,
limping puppy and said, "What's wrong with that
little dog?"

The store owner explained that the veterinarian had
examined the little puppy and had discovered it
didn't have a hip socket. It would always limp. It
would always be lame.
The little boy became excited. "That is the puppy
that I want to buy."
The store owner said, "No, you don't want to buy
that little dog. If you really want him, I'll just give
him to you."
The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into
the store owner's eyes, pointing his finger, and said,
"I don't want you to give him to me. That little dog
is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and
I'll pay full price. In fact, I'll give you $2.37 now,
and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for."
The store owner countered, "You really don't want
to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to
run and jump and play with you like the other
puppies."

To his surprise, the little boy reached down and
rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted,
crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He
looked up at the store owner and softly replied,
"Well, I don't run so well myself, and the little
puppy will need someone who understands!"
We ALL need is someone who understands us!!!

Law of the Garbage Truck
Recently I hopped in a Taxi and we took off for the
Airport. We were driving in the right lane when
suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space
right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and
missed the other car by just inches! The driver of
the other car whipped his head around and started
yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.
And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy
almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'
This is when my Taxi driver taught me what I now
call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'

He explained that many people are like garbage
trucks. They run around full of Garbage, full of
frustration,
full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their
Garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it
and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it
personally.
Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.
Don't take their Garbage and
spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the
streets. The bottom line is that successful people do
not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.
Life's too short to wake up in the morning with
regrets,
so ... Love the people who treat you right. Pray for
the ones who don't.

Life is Ten percent what you make it and Ninety
percent how you take it!
Have a garbage-free day

EVERY DAY BE KIND TO A STRANGER
On his deathbed , Aldous Huxley reflected on his
entire life's learning and then summed it up in seven
simple words: "LET US BE KINDER TO ONE
ANOTHER". All too often we believe that in order
to live a truly fulfilling life we must achieve some
great act or grand feat that will put us on the front
covers of magazines and newspapers. Nothing could
be further from the truth. A meaningful life is made
up of a series of daily acts of decency & kindness
which adds up to something great over the course of
a lifetime.
Everyone who enters your life has a lesson to
teach & a story to tell. Every person you pass during
the moments that make up your days represents an
oppurtunity to show a little more of the compassion
& courtesy that defines your humanity. Why not
start being more of the person you truly are during
your days & doing what you can to enrich the world
around you????? In my mind, If you make even one

person smile during your day or brighten the mood
of even one stranger , your day has been a
worthwhile one.
"kindness quite simply is the rent we must pay for
the space we occupy on this planet "
Become more creative in the ways you show
compassion to strangers. Paying the toll for the
person in the car behind you , offering your seat on
the subway and being the first to say hello are great
places to start.

Man in the beach
There was a man taking a morning walk at or the
beach. He saw that along with the morning tide came
hundreds of starfish and when the tide receded, they
were left behind and with the morning sun rays, they
would die. The tide was fresh and the starfish were
alive. The man took a few steps, picked one and
threw it into the water. He did that repeatedly. Right
behind him there was another person who couldn't
understand what this man was doing. He caught up
with him and asked, "What are you doing? There are
hundreds of starfish. How many can you help? What
difference does it make?" This man did not reply,
took two more steps, picked up another one, threw it
into the water, and said, "It makes a difference to
this one."
What difference are we making? Big or small, it
does not matter. If everyone made a small

difference, we'd end up with a big difference,
wouldn't we?

SPOKEN WORDS CAN'T BE RETRIEVED
A farmer insulted his neighbor. Realizing his
mistake, he went to the preacher to ask for
forgiveness. The preacher told him to take a bag of
feathers and drop them in the center of town. The
farmer did as he was told. Then the preacher asked
him to go and collect the feathers and put them back
in the bag. The farmer tried but couldn't as the
feathers had all blown away. When he returned with
the empty bag, the preacher said, "The same thing is
true about your words. You dropped them rather
easily but you cannot retrieve them, so be very
careful in choosing your words."

"What's the
taste of salty coffee?"
He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, many
guys chasing
after her, while he was so normal, nobody paid
attention to him. At
the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee
with him, she was
surprised but due to being polite, she promised.
They sat in a nice
coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she
felt
uncomfortable, and she thought to herself, "Please,
let me go
home..."

Suddenly he asked the waiter, "Would you please
give me some salt?
I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared at
him, so
strange! His face turned red but still, he put the salt
in his
coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, "Why
you have this
hobby?" He replied, "When I was a little boy, I lived
near the sea,
I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the
sea, just
like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I
have the salty
coffee, I always think of my childhood, think of my
hometown, I miss
my hometown so much, I miss my parents who are
still living there."

While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was
deeply touched.
That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart.
A man who can
tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who
loves home, cares
about home, has responsibility of home... Then she
also started to
speak, spoke about her faraway hometown, her
childhood, her family.
That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful
beginning of their
story. They continued to date. She found that
actually he was a man
who meets all her demands; he had tolerance, was
kind hearted,

warm, careful.
He was such a good person but she almost missed
him! Thanks to his
salty coffee! Then the story was just like every
beautiful love
story, the princess married to the prince, and then
they were living
the happy life... And, every time she made coffee for
him, she put
some salt in the coffee, as she knew that's the way he
liked it.
After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter
which said, "My
dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life's
lie. This was

the only lie I said to you---the salty coffee.
Remember the first
time we dated? I was so nervous at that time,
actually I wanted some
sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so
I just went
ahead. I never thought that could be the start of our
communication!
I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but
I was too
afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you
for
anything... Now I'm dying, I afraid of nothing so I
tell you the
truth, I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad
taste...
But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!
Since I knew you,

I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having
you with me is
my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live
for the
second time, still want to know you and have you for
my whole life,
even though I have to drink the salty coffee again."
Her tears made
the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her,
"What's the
taste of salty coffee?" She replied,"It' s sweet."

MY MASTER
A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing
to leave the examination room and said, “Doctor, I
am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other
side”. Very quietly, the doctor said, “I don’t know”.
“You don’t know? You a religious man. Do not
know what is on the other side?”
The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on
the other side came a sound of scratching and
whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang
into the room with his tail wagging and an eager
show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor
said, “Did you notice my dog? He’s never been in
this room before. He didn’t know what was inside
….. He knew nothing except that his master was
here, and when the door opened, he sprang in
without fear. I know little of what is on the other

side of death, but I do know one thing. I know my
Master is there and that is enough for me. :)

The obstacle in our path
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a
roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if
anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the
king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by
and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed
the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none
did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of
vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the
peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the
stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and
straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant
picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse
lying in the road where the boulder had been. The
purse contained many gold coins and a note from the
King indicating that the gold was for the person who
removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never
understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity
to improve our condition.

Man O Man!
When without money, eat wild vegetables at home;
When has money, eats the same wild vegetables in a
fine restaurant.
When without money, rides bicycle;
When has money rides the same ‘exercise machine’.
When without money walks to earn food
When has money, walks to burn fat;
Man O Man! Never fails to deceive thyself!

When without money, wishes to get married;
When has money, wishes to get divorced.
When without money, wife becomes secretary;
When has money, secretary becomes wife.
When without money, acts like a rich man;
When has money acts like a poor man.
Man O Man! Never can tell the simple truth!
Says share market is bad, but keeps speculating;

Says money is evil, but keeps accumulating.
Says high Positions are lonely, but keeps wanting
them.
Says gambling & drinking is bad, but keeps
indulging;
Man O Man! Never means what he says and never
says what he means!

The Butterfly
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a
small opening appeared. He sat and watched the
butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its
body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop
making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten
as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a
pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of
the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it
had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he
expected that, at any moment, the wings would
enlarge and expand to be able to support the body,
which would contract in time. Neither happened! In
fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling
around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It
never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not
understand was that the restricting cocoon and the
struggle required for the butterfly to get through the
tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from
the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it
would be ready for flight once it achieved its
freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our
lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives
without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We
would not be as strong as what we could have been.
We could never fly!
Lessons to be learnt:
When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
Nothing in life is always smooth-sailing nor goes
according to plan, hardships are there to mold us into
stronger individuals. Life is constantly about
overcoming, challenges, it's only through tough
times that we became more resilient.

“I AM SORRY”
Once there was a man who had 3 daughters and was
a single parent to his children. One morning he
asked his oldest daughter, Sonia, to do the breakfast
dishes before going to school. Not realizing that she
was already running late and facing too many tardy
notices, he was stunned by her reaction. She burst
into profuse tears. Again, misinterpreting the motive
behind the outburst, assuming that she was merely
trying to get out of an unpleasant chore, he
demanded that she dry her tears and get back to
work immediately. She reluctantly obeyed him, but
her anger could be clearly heard in the careless
clanking of the dishes in the sink, she turned back to
her father and stared sullenly out the window.
Usually the man use to take advantage of the
uninterrupted time to spend with his children while
driving them to school by teaching poetry or
religious verses. However that morning there was no
songs- only deathly, stubborn silence. The man

dropped his daughter, mumbled a good bye and
moved to office. He tried to work but couldn’t
concentrate all he could see was his daughter’s
scared, tear-stained face as she hesitantly climbed
out of the car to face her teachers and classmates.
The man began to realize that his timing had gone
wrong and with the passage of the day he began to
feel remorseful. So he decided to say SORRY to his
daughter and couldn’t wait till suppertime to
apologize. So he took permission from the school to
take his daughter for lunch and was astonished to see
the surprise on her face. He led her by her arm
through the corridor and as the doors banged behind
them, he turned towards his daughter and said,
“Sonia I am sorry. I am so very sorry! It’s not that I
shouldn’t have asked you to help out at home, but I
had no right on it this morning without any previous
warning. I upset you at a time when you most
needed my love and support- just before you went to
school. And I let you go without saying ‘I love you’.
I was wrong. Please forgive me.”

Sonia put her arms around her father’s neck and
hugged him and said “Oh, Dad, of course I forgive
you. I love you too.”
The power of these restorative words, “I am Sorry!”
is such that they heal relationships – between us and
our friends and loved ones, and between us and God.

The Value Of A Smile :)
The value of a smile is priceless, yet it is the
cheapest, easiest, most rewarding and most sincere
gift to anyone that crosses your path. A smile makes
a person's day, anybody's day even a stranger's day.
A smile is infectious. Start infecting people with
your smile today.
A smile is nature's best antidote for discouragement.
It brings rest to the weary, sunshine to those who are
sad, and hope to those who are hopeless and
defeated.
A smile is so valuable that it can't be bought,
begged, borrowed, or taken away against your will.

You have to be willing to give a smile away before it
can do anyone else any good.
So if someone is too tired or grumpy to flash you a
smile, let him have one of yours anyway. Nobody
needs a smile as much as the person who has none to
give.

SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY.
A man narrating his date with his mother after 21
years…
.After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to
take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She
said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves
you and would love to spend some time with you.”
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit
was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19
years, but the demands of my work and my three
children had made it possible to visit her only
occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go
out for dinner and a movie. “What’s wrong, are you
well?” she asked. Smile

My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a
late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad
news. “I thought that it would be pleasant to spend
some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of
us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then
said, “I would like that very much.”
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her
up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I
noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our
date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She
had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that
she had worn to celebrate her last wedding
anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as
radiant as an angel’s. “I told my friends that I was
going to go out with my son, and they were
impressed, “she said, as she got into the car. “They
can’t wait to hear about our meeting.”
We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant,
was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as

if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had
to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large
print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes
and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic
smile was on her lips. “It was I who used to have to
read the menu when you were small,” she said.
“Then it’s time that you relax and let me return the
favor,” I responded. During the dinner, we had an
agreeable conversation – nothing extraordinary but
catching up on recent events of each other’s life. We
talked so much that we missed the movie. As we
arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with
you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I
agreed.
“How was your dinner date?” asked my wife when I
got home. “Very nice. Much more so than I could
have imagined,” I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart
attack.It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a

chance to do anything for her.Cry Some time later, I
received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant
receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.
An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance. I
wasn’t sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I
paid for two plates – one for you and the other for
your wife. You will never know what that night
meant for me. I love you, son.”
At that moment, I understood the importance of
saying in time: “I LOVE YOU” and to give our
loved ones the time that they deserve.
Nothing in life is more important than your family.
Give them the time they deserve, because these
things cannot be put off till some other time.

TEMPER CONTROL
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.
His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that
every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail
into the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the
fence. Over the next few weeks as he learned to
control his anger, the number of nails hammered
daily, gradually dwindled down. He discovered it
was easier to hold his temper than to drive those
nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the
boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father
about it and the father suggested that the boy now
pull out one nail for each day that he was able to
hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able
to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The
father took his son by the hand and led him to the

fence. He said “you have done well, my son, but
look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never
be the same. When you say things in anger, they
leave a scar just like this one.”
You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It
won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the
wound is still there.
Make sure you control your temper the next time
you are tempted to say something you will regret
later , coz spoken words once out never come back.

An eye
My mom only had one eye. I hated her… She was
such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and
teachers to support the family.
There was this one day during elementary school
where my mom came to say hello to me. I was so
embarrassed.
How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw
her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at
school one of my classmates said, ‘EEEE, your mom
only has one eye!’
I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to
just disappear. I confronted her that day and said, ‘ If
you’re only gonna make me a laughing stock, why
don’t you just die?’

My mom did not respond… I didn’t even stop to
think for a second about what I had said, because I
was full of anger. I was oblivious to her feelings.
I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do
with her. So I studied real hard, got a chance to go
abroad to study.
Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I
had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my
kids and the comforts. Then one day, my Mother
came to visit me. She hadn’t seen me in years and
she didn’t even meet her grandchildren.
When she stood by the door, my children laughed at
her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited. I
screamed at her, ‘How dare you come to my house
and scare my children!’ GET OUT OF HERE!
NOW!!!’

And to this, my mother quietly answered, ‘Oh, I’m
so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address,’ and
she disappeared out of sight.
One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to
my house. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a
business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old
shack just out of curiosity.
My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed a
single tear. They handed me a letter that she had
wanted me to have.
My dearest son,
I think of you all the time. I’m sorry that I came to
your house and scared your children.

I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the
reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed
to see you. I’m sorry that I was a constant
embarrassment to you when you were growing up.
You see……..when you were very little, you got
into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I
couldn’t stand watching you having to grow up with
one eye. So I gave you mine.
I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole
new world for me, in my place, with that eye.
With all my love to you,
Your mother.

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