Appreciation of Hard Work One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision. The director discovered from the CV that the youth’s academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, Never had a year when he did not score. The director asked, “Did you obtain any scholarships in school?” The youth answered “none”. The director asked, “Was it your father who paid for your school fees?” The you ... read more

There were once two brothers who lived on the edge of a forest. The elder brother was very mean to his younger brother and ate up all the food and took all his good clothes. One day, the elder brother went into the forest to find some firewood to sell in the market. As he went around chopping the branches of a tree after tree, he came upon a magical tree. The tree said to him, ‘Oh kind sir, please do not cut my branches. If you spare me, I will give you my golden apples’. The elder brother agreed but was disappointed with the number apples the tree gave him. Greed overcame him, and he threaten ... read more

Making Relations Special When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made dinner after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all dad did was reached for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every b ... read more

Old Man and His Son An old man lived alone in Minnesota. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation: Dear Son, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden because your mother always loved planting time. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren’t ... read more

The Fox and the Grapes One afternoon, a fox was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from a lofty branch. "Just the thing to quench my thirst," said the fox. Taking a few steps back, the fox jumped and just missed the hanging grapes. Again, the fox took a few paces back and tried to reach them, but still failed. Short StoriesFinally, giving up, the fox turned up his nose and said, "They're probably sour anyway." Then he walked away. MORAL: IT'S EASY TO DESPISE WHAT YOU CANNOT HAVE. A note about the story The 'Fox and the Grapes' is often cited as an ... read more