Struggles of our Life Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. T ... read more

Written by Guy de Maupassant With the first day of spring, when the awakening earth puts on its garment of green, and the warm, fragrant air fans our faces and fills our lungs and appears even to penetrate to our hearts, we experience a vague, undefined longing for freedom, for happiness, a desire to run, to wander aimlessly, to breathe in the spring. The previous winter having been unusually severe, this spring feeling was like a form of intoxication in May, as if there were an overabundant supply of sap. One morning on waking I saw from my window the blue sky glowing in the sun above t ... read more

Rose for Mother A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars.” The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me. I’ll buy you a rose.” He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, “Yes, please! You can take ... read more

The Stranger in the Garden Once upon a time, there was a man who had a big garden. He had planted many fruit trees and cared for them till they bore fruits. Now he wanted to harvest the fruits and sell them to make money for his family. One fine day, while picking the fruits with his son, the man saw a stranger sitting on the branch of a tree and picking fruits. The man became angry and shouted, "Hey you! What are you doing on my tree? Aren't you ashamed of stealing?" The stranger sitting on the branch looked at the gardener, but didn't reply, and continued picking the fruits. The gar ... read more

The value of a copper coin Mahatma Gandhi, honoured as the father of India, was a very special person. The following story illustrates one of the reasons for him to be called 'Mahatma' (great soul). Once, Gandhi was on an expedition to collect funds from various cities and villages for an organization to help the poor. He went to several places and finally reached Orissa. He organized a meeting in Orissa. There, he gave a speech to the public, requesting them to give him funds for the organization. At the end of his speech, a very old woman with bent back, tattered clothing, white hai ... read more