The Praying Hands Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood. Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Durer the Elder’s children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send eit ... read more

Father and Sons A father had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion. One day he told his sons to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so, he placed the fagot into the hands of each of them in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. They tried with all their strength, and were not able to do it. He next opened the fagot, took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them into his sons’ hands, up ... read more

Pundit and Rich Man There was Pundit in the village. He was well-versed in all Scriptures. He knew everything, but, he was poor. He did not have a house. He used to get his meals also with great difficulties. Even his clothes were very much worn out. So, the Pundit used to beg for his meals. He went from House-to-House begging. “Please give me alms”. On seeing his old clothes many people were thinking that he is mad. So, saying “Go Away” they shut the door. For many days he did not even eaten. Once somehow he obtained new clothes. A rich man gave those clothes to the Pundit. Wearing tho ... read more

The Boy who cried Wolf Once there was a shepherd boy, who had to look after a flock of sheep. One day, he felt bored and decided to play a trick on the villagers. He shouted, "Help! Wolf! Wolf!" The villagers heard his cries and rushed out of the village to help the shepherd boy. When they reached him, they asked, "Where is the wolf?" The shepherd boy laughed loudly, "Ha, Ha, Ha! I fooled you all. I was only playing a trick on you." A few days later, the shepherd boy played the trick again. He cried, "Help! Help! Wolf! Wolf!" Again, the villagers rushed up the hill to help him a ... read more

Akram was sitting under a tree in the pasture near to the camps. He was counting the stars, which looked like diamonds twinkling in the darkness. Every night, Akram enjoyed making different shapes out of them: As a child, one of his favourite pastimes had been to sit outside at night with his grandfather, where together they enjoyed describing the different shapes that each constellation made. These memories were now the essence of his life, and it was one reason he liked this area of pastureland so much; it provided the perfect gateway to those precious childhood memories. He was a shepher ... read more