Once there was an old man who lived in a cave. The old man was so intelligent and knowledgeable .People believed that the old man got some magical powers and he was able to solve their problems.
One day a young man came to visit the old man.
"What is the purpose of your visit ",asked the old man.
''O my respected elder , I have a wish ,will you please grant my wish?" , said the young man.
''What is your wish ?", the old man asked.
"Sir, I want to help the needy people for my whole life.I want to serve the human kind."
"Oh! that is very noble wish, I am giving you a magic box it will help you to make your wish come true'', said the old man.
''Thank you so much sir, I am really grateful to you.", the happy young man said.
''But keep in mind , that you must open this box only after reaching home'', the old man warned the man.
On the way to home out of curiosity the young man opened the magic box. And guess what ? He immediately turned into a coconut tree.
But his wish still came true as the coconut tree is very useful and has a lot of benefits for human kind.
Chinese Folktale
Re-told by-Aunt Mary
This had happened with me a few years ago when I met a person who made my condition serious by her behavior.
She was my neighbor and the wife of my husband's senior colleague.We lived in the same building. I do not want to disclose her name so I will call her Mrs.X here. The lady was suffering from a disease called 'Humiliating other people by unnecessary criticism'. Though I could not recognize her disease in the beginning and took her and her criticism seriously and in a very genuine way.
I remember that it was a small get together of ladies at my house.I served the sweets and snacks which I had made after long hours of devoted cooking. While everyone was enjoying eating the items I
cooked and liked them a lot, dear Mrs.X asked after having four or five of them, '' Have you made these Laddoos (Indian sweet) with rice flour!? It is not having the taste of Laddoo.''(with a facial expression of 'you have made a huge mistake!')
I was feeling very bad that I served such bad Laddoos for my distinguished guest and was filled with guilt though I didn't make the laddoos with rice flour. This was the first time when I was victimized by Mrs.X.
One day she met me at the school where my kids studied .She was there to get the admission form for her niece. I went to school to pickup my youngest daughter ,I was just five minutes late because I had to withdraw some cash and as the A.T.M machine was not working well , I got late by a few minutes. 'And that was my horrible mistake.'
''You should have come on time, you are late, it will leave a negative impact on your daughter. She will never understand the importance of time in future.'', said Mrs.X .
"How bad I was as a mother , I was ruining my own child!'' , I was catching the disease!
My next encounter with the respected lady was when we met at a wedding, This time I had made the mistake of appreciating the beauty of the bride, ''Look at her, she is looking stunning!'' I said to Mrs.X , pointing out towards the bride .
''I don't think so...", Mrs.X said , "Look at her hair , what has she done with it! , it is looking like she has got a mountain on her head!" .
This time I really felt bad , I felt bad for the poor bride because she was really looking beautiful.
After that meeting I realized that Mrs.X had a habit to criticize other people in order to demean them. Later I came to know from my friends that Mrs.X behaved in this way with everybody and that is why people who knew her well didn't take her seriously. After that I had many encounters with Mrs.X but I was determined not to take her criticism seriously.
Now when I remember those encounters with Mrs.X , a smile comes on my face remembering how foolish I was that I became a victim of a person like Mrs.X.
So my friends, one thing we must have in our minds that healthy criticism is good for us and we should welcome it. But unnecessary criticism is not worthy of being accepted.
- Aunt Mary
Wow, wow, wow,
winter is gone now
No more foggy days,
no cold waves,
Weather is clear,
no cold's fear,
We can go out ,
To play and chill out.
- Aunt Mary
One day a king came out from his palace for the morning walk surrounded by his soldiers. A man who was standing outside the palace wanted to meet the king. The king's soldiers took him to the king . The king asked " Why did you want to meet me?''
"O' respected king , you are so lucky for me. I have gambled in your name and I have won a big amount of money, so I bought a chicken for you please accept it, my heart will break if you will not take it." King was flattered by what the man said about him and he accepted the gift ( the chicken ).
After few days after that man again came to the king and said, '' O my king how lucky you are for me , today I have again gambled in your name and I won a very big amount of money , I am so grateful to you and I want to gift you a goat. The king became very happy and he accepted the goat.
The very next day the gambler came crying and said ,"O' king yesterday I gambled in the name of you and I lost my cow. What do I do now? I get my earnings by selling cow's milk.Now my wife and children will die with hunger. Please help me''.
The King had to behave like a king so he gave the man a cow, but he learned a lesson that never get flattered by any one's sweet talks and never accept a gift from a gambler.
- Indian folktale Retold by Aunt Mary
The warm sun rays......
On cold winter days,
Relief for all
As they fall,
Pleasant and bright,
Rays of sun light,
Help us to fight.......
With cruel cold waves,
The mild sun rays,
On sharp winter days.
-Aunt Mary
.jpg)
.jpg)
