Read the stories and listen to your recording.
Story #1
A salt seller used to carry the salt bag on his donkey to the market every day. On the way they had to cross a stream. One day the donkey suddenly tumbled down the stream, and the salt bag also fell into the water. The salt dissolved in the water, and hence the bag became very light to carry. The donkey was happy. Then the donkey started to play the same trick every day. The salt seller came to understand the trick, and decided to teach a lesson to it. The next day he loaded a cotton bag on the donkey. Again it played the same trick hoping that the cotton bag would be still become lighter. But the dampened cotton became very heavy to carry, and the donkey suffered. It learnt a lesson. It didn’t play the trick anymore after that day, and the seller was happy.
Story #2
A Lion, roaming by the sea-shore, saw a Dolphin lift up its head out of the waves, and asked him to contract an alliance with him; saying that of all the animals, they ought to be the best friends, since the one was the king of beasts on the earth, and the other was the sovereign ruler of all the inhabitants of the ocean. The Dolphin gladly consented to this request.
Not long afterwards, the Lion had a combat with a wild bull, and called on the Dolphin to help him. The Dolphin, though quite willing to give him assistance, was unable to do so, as he could not by any means reach the land. The Lion abused him as a traitor. The Dolphin replied: “Nay, my friend, blame not me, but Nature, which, while giving me the sovereignty of the sea, has quite denied me the power of living upon the land.“
Story #3
A boy named Roger was upset because he had done poorly in his English test. He was sitting in his room when his grandmother came and comforted him. His grandmother sat beside him and gave him a pencil. Roger looked at his grandma puzzled, and said he didn’t deserve a pencil after his performance in the test.
His grandma explained, “You can learn many things from this pencil because it is just like you. It experiences a painful sharpening, just the way you have experienced the pain of not doing well on your test. However, it will help you be a better student. Just as all the good that comes from the pencil is from within itself, you will also find the strength to overcome this hurdle. And finally, just as this pencil will make its mark on any surface, you too shall leave your mark on anything you choose to.” Roger was immediately consoled and promised himself that he would do better.
Story #4
On a hot summer day, a fox wandered across the jungle in order to get some food. He was very hungry and desperately in search of food. He searched everywhere, but couldn’t find anything that he could eat. His stomach was rumbling, and his search continued. Soon, he reached a vineyard that was laden with juicy grapes. The fox looked around to check if he was safe from the hunters. No one was around, so he decided to steal some grapes. He jumped high and high, but he couldn’t reach the grapes. The grapes were too high, but he refused to give up. The fox jumped high in the air to catch the grapes in his mouth, but he missed. He tried once more but missed again. He tried a few more times, but couldn’t reach. It was getting dark, and the fox was getting angry. His legs hurt, so he gave up in the end. Walking away, he said, “I’m sure the grapes were sour anyway.”
