A Cold Winter Night
..... He was driving home one evening on a two-lane country road. Ever since the Levi's factory closed, he'd been unemployed, but he'd never quit looking. Now with winter raging, the chill had finally hit home.
It was a lonely road. He could go down this road blind and tell you what was on either side, and with his headlights not working, that came in handy. It was getting dark and the snow flurries had started.
He almost didn't see the old lady stranded on the side of the road. He could see she needed help. So he pulled his sputtering old car up in front of her Mercedes and got out. Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hours. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe--he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened and cold. He knew how she felt. He said,"I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in my car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Joe."
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an older lady, that was bad enough. Joe skinned his knuckles a time or two setting up the jack. His bare hands were so cold he didn't feel it. Soon the tire was changed. as he put the jack away in the trunk, she came back to her car, warmed and calmed. She told Joe that she was from St. Louis and was on her way home. She thanked him and asked how much she owed him, Joe just smiled as he closed the trunk.
Any amount would have been all right with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Joe never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way and it never occured to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed, and Joe added, "and think of me."
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat and take the chill off before making the last part of her trip. It was a dingy looking place. Outside were two old gas pumps. Neither the cash register or the telephone rang very often.
The waitress brought her a clean towel to wipe the snow from her head and face. She had a sweet smile even after being on her feet all day. And she was eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Joe.
After the lady finished her meal, and the waitress went to get her change from the hundred dollar bill, she slipped right out the door. When the waitress returned to the table she noticed something written on the napkin. It said,"You don't owe me a thing. I've been there too. Someone once helped me out the way I'm helping you. If you want to pay me back, here's what you do. Don't let the chain of love end with you."
Well, that night when the waitress got home from work and climbed into bed, she thought about the money and what the lady had written. How could she have know how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's gonna be all right. I love you, Joe."
Power of Determination
“One day a sparrow laid her eggs on the shore of the ocean, but the big ocean carried away the eggs on its waves.
The sparrow became very upset and asked the ocean to return her eggs. The ocean did not even consider her appeal. So the sparrow decided to dry up the ocean.
She began to scoop out the water with her small beak. Everyone laughed at her impossible determination. The news of her activity spread, and at last Garuda, the gigantic bird carrier of the Lord, heard it. He became compassionate toward his small sister bird, and came to see the sparrow.
Garuda was very pleased by the determination of the small sparrow, and he promised to help. Garuda gave the ocean an ultimatum: to return the sparrow’s eggs or he himself would take up the work of the sparrow and scoop out its water.
The ocean was frightened by this, and returned the eggs. Thus the sparrow became happy by the grace of Garuda.”
Make rest a priority
Two woodcutters head out to the forest for a day’s work. The first woodcutter picks up his saw and goes as hard as he can, all day, not even stopping for a drink of water or for lunch, believing that as long as he keeps working hard, he’ll chop more wood and, therefore, earn more money.
The second woodcutter also works hard but frequently takes breaks, and it seems to the first woodcutter that every time he glances over at his colleague the other man is resting, taking a drink of water or fiddling with his saw. Yet, despite this, his pile of wood always seems larger and higher than the first woodcutter’s. How could this be?
After hours of persistent hard work, covered in sweat and close to exhaustion, the first woodcutter eventually takes a minute out of his labours and asks the other man how he has been able to chop so much wood when he seems to take so many breaks. The other cutter responds: “That’s simple. Every hour or so I stop and sharpen my saw. That way, my blade is more able to cut through the wood and the chopping is so much easier!”
Sharing A Secret
Two experienced deep-sea fishermen decided to go ice fishing. They each chopped holes in the ice, put worms on their hooks, dropped their lines into the water, and waited. After three hours, they had caught nothing.
As they sat, they watched a boy come along and cut a hole in the ice midway between them. He put a worm on his hook, dropped his line into the water, and almost instantly he caught a fish. The boy repeated the process and quickly had a catch of more than a dozen fish. The two other fishermen watched and were flabbergasted.
Finally, one of the men approached the boy and said, “Young man, we’ve been here for more than three hours and haven’t caught a single fish. You’ve caught at least a dozen in just a few minutes. What’s your secret?”
The boy mumbled an answer, but the man didn’t catch a word of it. Then he noticed a bulge in the boy’s left cheek. “Please, could you take the bubble gum out of your mouth so I can understand what you’re saying?” the man said.
The boy cupped his hands, spat it out, and said, “It’s not bubble gum; it’s my secret. You’ve got to keep the worms warm.”
A Wise Crab
Once upon a time, there lived a crane by the side of a pond. He used to catch the fish from the same pond. The crane always had a full meal, but with the growing age he got older and weaker. He became so weak that he could not arrange for his food. The condition was that the fish swam around him, but he could not catch them.
One day, he was extremely hungry. He hadn’t eaten anything for the past many days. To satisfy his hunger, without much toil and trouble, he devised a plan. In order to start off with his plan, he went to the side of a pond with a gloomy face without any intention to catch a fish. The fish, frogs and crabs thought why he was not trying to catch any food. One big crab, on seeing the sad crane asked him what the matter was.
The crane replied, “Alas! I am worried that the pond is soon going to be devoid of any fish, which are in turn my source of food. I have heard that some people are going to fill the tank with mud and grow crops over it”. All the creatures of the pond got worried after hearing the crane. Founding the situation in his favor, the stork said, “I know of a pond somewhat far away, where all the creatures will be safe. If the creatures are interested, I can carry a few each day to the other pond where they will be safe”.
Everyone in the lake was eager to take the help of the crane. The crane also confirmed that he required rest between trips due to his age. Also, he would be able to carry a few fish at a time. The creatures were ready to go with the crane on his condition. In the very first trip, the crane took some fish in his beak, but instead of taking them to another pond, he took them to a nearby hill and ate them. After taking rest for sometime, again when he felt hungry, he took the second trip.
In this manner, the crane was getting a continuous supply of fish without any effort. Within a few days, he regained his health and became fleshy. The big crab also wanted to be saved. One day, the crab requested the crane to take him to the other pond. The crane thought it was a nice idea to try different food. He agreed to take the crab on the next trip.
On the next trip, the crab happily went with the crane. During the trip, when some time had passed, the crab asked, “How far is the pond now?” The crane found that the crab was quite an innocent creature and would never know about his evil plans. So, he said angrily, "You fool, do you think I am your servant? There is no other pond around here. I made this plan in order to be able to eat you all. Now you too be prepared to die."
The crab realized the foul play of the crane. Without loosing his senses, he quickly tightened his sharp claws around the neck of the crane. The crab snapped off the head of the crane. Thus, the crane died a selfish death. The crab somehow dragged himself back to the pond and narrated the whole incident to all the creatures of the pond. Every one of them thanked the crab for his effort and they lived happily thereafter.
Good Luck? Bad Luck? Who Knows?
There is a story about a Chinese farmer who had an old horse for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills, and when the farmer's neighbours sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, he replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?"
A week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills, and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply, again was "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"
Then when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only repy was "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?"
Weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied man they could find. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck? Who knows?
Moral of the stories are truly amazing ! Would like to share it with some of my friends with your permission !
Originally posted by williams22:Moral of the stories are truly amazing ! Would like to share it with some of my friends with your permission !
Permission granted!
Once upon a time, there lived two friends in the shade of a rock. It would sound strange, but one of them was a lion and the other was a tiger. They were friends since their childhood. They knew each other from the time, when they were too small to understand the difference between the lions and the tigers. Thus, their friendship was not at all strange to them.
Moreover, the part of the mountain under which they lived was peaceful; it could be due to the presence of a monk who lived under the same rock. He was a hermit, one who lives far away from worldly affairs. One day, the two friends got into a stupid argument for some unknown reason. The Tiger said,” Everyone knows that cold comes when the moon decreases from full to new”. The Lion said, “You are a stupid fellow. From where did you hear such nonsense? Everyone knows that cold comes when the moon increases from new to full”.
The argument between them became stronger and stronger. Both of them were firm at their own opinion. They could not arrive at any conclusion to resolve the growing disagreement. They even started calling ill names to each other. Suddenly, they thought that like this they would lose their friendship. At last, they decided to go and ask the learned monk, who would definitely know about the actual answer.
Both of them went together to the peaceful monk and bowed respectfully before him. The hermit asked them the reason for their sudden arrival. They put their question to him and said, “Sir, only you can answer to this problematic question”. The hermit thought for a while and said, “It can be cold in any phase of the moon, from new to full and back to new again. It is the wind that brings the cold, whether from west or north or east. Therefore, both of you are right and neither of you is defeated by the other”.
The hermit also said, “Both of you share healthy friendship since your childhood. It is not good to get into arguments and think about separation. The most important thing is to live without conflict, to remain united. Unity is best by all means”. The Lion and the Tiger understood the message of the wise monk. They thanked him for the kind suggestion given by him. Both of them lived happily thereafter as good friends.