Short stories:

Potato, egg and coffee beans:

A little boy named John lives in a beautiful home with his parents. One day, his father finds him crying and asks if something is wrong. John says meekly, “I have so many problems in life,” and talks about his ‘problems’.

John’s father patiently listens to him. Then he brings a bowl and places a potato, an egg and some coffee beans in it. He asks John to touch and feel the ingredients in the bowl, and tell what he feels about them. John describes how he feels about each of them on touching.

The father smiles and asks John to place them all in three different bowls and pour water in them. He then boils them all. After a few minutes, the father turns off the stove and places all the bowls on the counter to cool them down.

When they have cooled down, John’s father asks him to touch them once again and feel the egg, potato, and coffee beans. John has a different answer this time. And he says, the potato’s skin is easier to peel as it has turned very soft, the egg has hardened, and there is a fresh coffee aroma coming from the beans.

Listening to John, his father smiles and tells him how the potato, egg, and coffee beans reacted to adverse situations. The potato has become soft, the egg turned very strong, and the coffee beans have changed their form completely during their testing time in the boiling water.

Moral: Problems are a part of life. How we react to them makes us a better individual.

A Merchant and his Donkey:

One beautiful spring morning, a merchant loaded his donkey with bags of salt to go to the market, in order to sell the salt. The merchant and his donkey were walking along together. They had not walked far when they reached a river on the way.

Unfortunately, the donkey slipped and fell into the river. As it scrambled up the bank of the river, it noticed that the bags of salt loaded on his back had become lighter.

There was nothing the merchant could do except return home, where he loaded his donkey with more bags of salt. As they reached the slippery riverbank again, the donkey fell into the river, this time deliberately. Thus the salt was wasted again.

By now the merchant knew the donkey's trick. He wanted to teach the animal a lesson. As he returned home the second time with the donkey, the merchant loaded bags of sponges on its back.

The duo set out on their trip to the market a third time. On reaching the river, the donkey very cleverly fell into the water again. But now, instead of the load becoming lighter, it became heavier.

The merchant laughed at the donkey and said, "You foolish donkey, your trick has been discovered. You should know that you cannot fool anyone too many times."

Change Yourself and not The World:

Long ago, people lived happily under the rule of a king. The people of the kingdom were very happy as they led a very prosperous life with an abundance of wealth and no misfortunes.

Once, the king decided to go visiting places of historical importance and pilgrim centres at distant places. He decided to travel by foot to interact with his people. People of distant places were very happy to have a conversation with their king. They were proud that their king had a kind heart.

After several weeks of travel, the king returned to the palace. He was quite happy that he had visited many pilgrim centres and witnessed his people leading a prosperous life. However, he had one regret.

He had intolerable pain in his feet as it was his first trip by foot covering a long distance. He complained to his ministers that the roads weren't comfortable and that they were very stony. He could not tolerate the pain. He said that he was very much worried about the people who had to walk along those roads as it would be painful for them too!

Considering all this, he ordered his servants to cover the roads in the whole country with leather so that the people of his kingdom can walk comfortably.

The king's ministers were stunned to hear his order as it would mean that thousands of cows would have to be slaughtered in order to get sufficient quantity of leather. And it would cost a huge amount of money also.

Finally, a wise man from the ministry came to the king and said that he had another idea. The king asked what the alternative was. The minister said, "Instead of covering the roads with leather, why don't you just have a piece of leather cut in appropriate shape to cover your feet?"

The king was very much surprised by his suggestion and applauded the wisdom of the minister. He ordered a pair of leather shoes for himself and requested all his countrymen also to wear shoes.

Moral: Instead of trying to change the world, we should try to change ourselves.

Unhelpful Friends:

Bunny rabbit lived in the forest. He had many friends. He was proud of his friends. One day Bunny rabbit heard the loud barking of wild dogs. He was very scared. He decided to ask for help. He quickly went to his friend deer. He said, "Dear friend, some wild dogs are chasing me. Can you chase them away with your sharp antlers?"

The deer said, "That is right, I can. But now I am busy. Why don't you ask bear for help?"

Bunny rabbit ran to the bear. "My dear friend, you are very strong. Please help me. Some wild dogs are after me. Please chase them away," he requested to the bear.

The bear replied, "I am sorry. I am hungry and tired. I need to find some food. Please ask the monkey for help."

Poor Bunny went to the monkey, the elephant, the goat and all his other friends. Bunny felt sad that nobody was ready to help him.

He understood that he had to think of a way out by himself. He hide under a bush. He lay very still. The wild dogs did not find the bunny. They went chasing other animals.

Bunny rabbit learnt that he had to learn to survive by himself, not depending on his unhelpful friends.

Moral:  It is better to rely on yourself than depend on others.

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Strong or Weak:

There was a proud teak tree in the forest. He was tall and strong. There was a small herb next to the tree.

The teak tree said, "I am very handsome and strong. No one can defeat me." Hearing this, the herb replied, "Dear friend, too much pride is harmful. Even the strong will fall one day."

The teak ignored the herb's words. He continued to praise himself.

A strong wind blew. The teak stood firmly. Even when it rained, the teak stood strong by spreading its leaves.

During these times, the herb bowed low. The teak made fun of the herb.

One day, there was a storm in the forest. The herb bowed low. As usual, the teak did not want to bow.

The storm kept growing stronger. The teak could no longer bear it. He felt his strength giving way.

He tried his best to stand upright, but in the end, he fell down. That was the end of the proud tree.

When everything was calm again, the herb stood straight. He looked around. He saw that the proud teak had fallen.

Moral: Pride goes before a fall.

Dream Big:

Lily is a little girl, who is shy and reserved. But she enjoys playing soccer. Her friends and classmates ridicule Lily for her interest in soccer. Nonetheless, she is determined to pursue her passion and become a successful soccer player.

Every day, after returning from school, Lily quickly finishes her homework and practices soccer. Her mother understands the love Lily has for the sport and supports her in every way.

When the interschool competitions are announced at the school, Lily decides to participate. She takes part in the selection trials, and her classmates mock her once again. But they are shocked when Lily performs well and the judges select her to represent the school. Lily’s commitment and hard work mute every person who mocked her.

Moral: Determination, strong will, and focus can help you achieve even the toughest of goals, in spite of ridicule by others.