eye for an eye

 

Fran the Frog was the best chef in the whole swamp, and all the toads and frogs of the region enjoyed coming to her very select restaurant. Her ‘Flies in spicy bug sauce’ and her ‘Caramelised dragon flies wings with honey of bee’ were the kind of delicacies that every self-respecting frog should try; and that made Fran feel truly proud.

One day, Toby came to her restaurant, ready for a nosh. Toby was a great big toad, and certainly wasn’t the brightest. When Fran’s fine creations were brought before him he complained, saying that that wasn’t food, and that what he really wanted was a botfly burger. Fran came out of the kitchen to see what the problem was, and Toby told her that these dishes weren’t good enough for – and certainly wouldn’t fill – a Smooth Newt. This made Fran so offended, and furious, that she went to the kitchen, came back with a frying pan, and whacked Toby squarely on the forehead.

A slight scuffle ensued.

Even though Fran realised she should have controlled her temper, and she kept asking Toby to forgive her, the toad was so angry that he said he could only forgive her if she handed him the frying pan so he could hit her back.
Everyone tried to calm Toby down, knowing full well that, given his strength, he could easily crack little Fran’s head open with that frying pan.

Toby would not accept an apology, and Fran felt awful for having bashed him, so she tried everything. She gave him a special cream for bruises, she poured him an exquisite puddlewater liqueur. Even better than that, she cooked him a… beautiful botfly burger!

But Toby the Toad still insisted he would not be satisfied until he got to return the blow he had received. It had reached the stage where he was almost getting out of control.

Then a very old toad entered the restaurant, shuffling along with the help of two crutches.

– Wait Toby, – said the old toad -you can give her a whack after I’ve broken your leg. Remember that you are the reason why I have to walk with these crutches.

Toby didn’t know what to say.

He recognised the old toad. It was Reddit, his old teacher. When Toby was small, Reddit had saved him from a bunch of young hooligans. In the process, Reddit had lost a leg. Toby remembered that it had all happened because he had been highly disobedient, but he had never given a thought to Reddit until now…

Toby now realised he was being very unfair to Fran. Everyone, including himself, made mistakes sometimes. And if we are to return blow for blow, wound for wound, all we are doing is prolonging the damage. So, even though his head still hurt and he thought Fran had made quite a remarkable mistake with that frying pan, seeing her feeling so sorry, and doing everything she could to put things right, Toby decided to forgive her.

Apology accepted, they spent the rest of the evening laughing at what had happened, and enjoying wonderful botfly burgers. And everyone heartily agreed that that was a rather better idea than getting into problems with pans.

story source: a frog and a frying pan

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If every one lived by the rule an eye for an eye, the whole world would be blind.

when your cup over flows with cuteness… smile!

(~_~)

Fireflies and inch worms

There were two fireflies buzzing around the woods one night. One claimed it was enlightenend because of its ability to shine in the darkness. The other was a clown/comedian, always laughing and playing, saying, “My butts on fire,” or “Lightening struck my back side.”

The two fireflies happened upon a cabin in the woods and lighted upon the front porch where an old man sat watching the clouds embrace the moon. The zen master watched as the two fireflies danced around, “Ah, two fireflies, nearly the same,” the master said. ” Except one is brighter than the other.” (But which?)

by Art~

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Out in the state of California there is a great valley known as the Yosemite Valley, and here once lived a tribe of Indians who tried to explain how the wonderful streams and trees and rocks came to be.

The story of one of the highest peaks, El Capitan, is very interesting. One day some Indian boys went fishing in a beautiful lake in the Yosemite, and after they had grown tired they lay down in the sun upon a rock beside the lake. They soon fell fast asleep. How long they slept they did not know, but when they awoke they found that during their sleep the rock on which they lay had been stood on end, so that they were now nearly a mile high in the air and had no means of getting down. They were in a bad plight.

But the animals in the valley which were friendly to mountaineers saw their misfortune and held a conference as to how to help the boys get down. They decided that the only thing to do was to try to climb up the face of the cliff. But the rock, was too steep, and so they tried to jump up. First the raccoon tried it, then the bear, then the squirrel, then the fox, and finally the mountain-goat. It was all to no avail, however, and they gave up in discouragement, and were about to leave the boys to perish, when the inch-worm came along and offered her services. The animals laughed her to scorn. What could she do, with her snail-pace, when they all, who were so fleet of foot, had to give it up!

But she would not be laughed out of her purpose, and she began to climb up the cliff. Slowly, inch by inch, she crawled up, so slowly that it seemed as if she would take a thousand years to get there. But as she passed crag after crag the animals below ceased making fun of her and began to shout encouragement. At last she reached the top. And then the Great Spirit turned her into a huge butterfly so strong that she flew down, with the boys on her back, to safety.

There is a verse in the Old Testament which says that the race is not always to the swift, which means that it is not always the strongest who win. It is the one who keeps at it. Many a bright boy fails in school because the lessons come so easily he does not work. Many a dull boy wins because he sticks to it and plods away.

If you are tempted to trust too much to your brightness, remember the animals who made fun of the inch-worm. If you are dull, remember the inch-worm, take courage, and plod away. You will get there sometime.

 

Howard J. Chidley’s short story: Inch-Worm And The Mountain

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live life inch by inch and moment by moment

(~_~)

never know what the future holds

Many years ago, a man and his wife lived in a small thatched hut on a very small piece of land.  They were poor and barely had enough to live.  Every day they both went into the woods together to cut two bundles of firewood.  They kept one burn for cooking and for heating their small home.  They carried the other on their backs to the market to sell in order to buy other things they needed to live.

One day they came back from the woods carrying firewood as usual.  They put one bundle in the kitchen and the second outside.  But, the next morning, the wood outside was gone.

They had to sell the wood they had kept for themselves.  This meant they had no wood to heat their home that night and no wood to cook with.

The next day they again cut two bundles of firewood. But, again found the bundle of wood outside had disappeared.  This happened each day for four days in a row.

The husband got an idea.  On the fifth day, he hollowed out the bundle of wood and climbed inside.  He was determined to find out who or what was takling his firewood.  About midnight, a rope came down from the sky and attached itself to the bundle of wood and lifted it into the sky with the woodcutter still inside it.

When the bundle of wood quit moving, the old man climbed out of the bundle to find himself up in the clouds.  There he saw a white haired old man coming towards him.  The white haired man untied the bundle of wood and was surprised to see the man inside.  The old man asked, “Other people only cut one bundle of wood each day.  Why do you cut two?”

“The woodcutter explained, “My wife and I are very poor.  We cut one bundle to sell and the other to heat our home and cook our food.”

The old man laughed and said, “I already knew the answer.  I have been watching you from here in the clouds for a long time.  You are kind to people and animals.  You treat everyone with love and kindness, and you work hard to live.  Because you are such a good couple, I will give you a special treasure – a magic moneybag.”

Then the white haired man man picked up a bag and handed it to the husband.  Every day, you can take one silver coin from the bag.  The coin will be enough for your needs, and you will have a little left over to put buy bigger things you want over time.  Take no more than one coin each day, and good fortune will be yours for years to come.

The man took the bag and turned it inside out, but there was no money in it.  Still, he thanked the old man and walked back to the rope that brought him to the clouds.  He took hold of the rope, and the white haired man lowered him back to the ground.

Once home, he gave the moneybag to his wife and told her the story.  She was very excited.  She put her hand in the empty bag and pulled out a silver coin.  The coin was enough to buy what they needed to live and have a little left over.  Between the money from the bag and the money from the sale of the wood, they began to save money and think about what they wanted to spend it on.  

Days went by, and the couple’s savings grew.  Each day, the husband became more impatient.  “Let’s buy an ox,” he suggested.  The wife didn’t agree. 

A few days later, the he suggested, “How about buying a few acres of land?”  His wife didn’t agree with that either.

A few days later, he said let’s build a new house.  While the wife wanted to save longer and have enough before buying anything new, she agreed to building a house that was a little larger than the thatched hut they lived in.  But, the husband insisted on building a large brick house.  All he could think about was spending all the money they had saved.  After all, he thought, there will be more money later.

No matter how she tried, the wife could not convince her husband to save for the future, and she went along with his wishes. 

He spent money on bricks, tiles and timber.  Then he hired workers and decided to stay home and supervise the work.  He no longer went into the woods to cut wood to sell.  Building the brick house was very expensive, and the work went slowly.  The savings began to disappear rapidly.

The husband wanted everything NOW – not later.  He didn’t understand why he only could take one coin out of the bag every day.  Without telling his wife, he took the bag and reached his hand inside.  He took out a second coin, then a third, then a fourth.  He had totally disobeyed the warning given to him by the white haired man.

He reached in a fifth time and pulled out an empty hand.  Not only that, but the coins in front of him disappeared.  What’s more, the brick house he was building also disappeared.  He found himself standing once again in his small thatch hut.  His greed had caused him to lose everything.

The husband felt very sad, especially when he had to explain what happened to his wife.  But, she still loved him and suggested they go to the mountain to cut firewood as we did before.  It’s better to depend on hard work to earn a living instead of miracles.”

The Magic Moneybag… Korean Fable

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Tell yourself, ‘you are here now!’ And once you are done, the future has come and your words have slipped into your past, …that fast! Seize the moment!

Do you know how to juggle? Because that is what we do every day, juggling our past, our present and our future with-in our minds. But nature knows only the now. Not remembering when the Grand Canyon was just a creek, or the contenents were one land mass or the asteroid that set the earth into an ice age. No, Mother nature knows only one thing, the now. A Grand Zen Master she must be. (~_~) Stepping one day at a time into… tomorrow. Art~

set your goals high and don’t stop till you get there

Nothing takes the past away like the future

(~_~)

 

the web and the cocoon

One day, a spider and a silkworm crossed paths and struck up a conversation. The spider said to the silkworm,

“I admit your silk is better than the silk from the spider. It is yellow and white, dazzling and bright. You use the silk that you spin yourself to make a beautiful comfortable cocoon, which you live inside thinking falsely you are kings. You dream in your little cocoon until the women put you in scalding hot water and peel your silk off strand by strand. Then your beautiful cocoons are all gone. What a shame, though you have the ability to create such beauty, then die because of it, is this not stupid?”

The silk worm thinking about what the spider said, answered:

“Our actions are actually like suicide, but we spin silk so that people can weave beautiful fabrics, giving all the people the ability to look beautiful. Can you really say our labor is a waste?

Look at you spider, your whole reason for weaving is to make a trap that will let you eat the little bugs that fly into it. You may not regret it, but don’t you at least think that is a little cruel?”

Bowing his head, the spider left.

With his words, the silkworm reminded the spider that in the end, humanity makes wondrous things out of his thread, while the spider is killed and his webs are brushed away with a broom.

Moral: On one hand, many people think it is a waste to do things that do not personally benefit them. These people cannot understand why making sacrifices for the benefit of others would be either logical or acceptable. On the other hand, there are some people who are satisfied knowing that their sacrifices benefit others. They have learned the joy of service to others.

When we learn to look up from our small needs, leave our egos behind and look at the broader picture and needs of humanity, we have taken a significant step on the path to enlightenment.

(note: You see it all the time, online and on the streets, “webs” of deceit made to trap you for the gain of the all mighty dollar. There are a lot more spiders than there are silk worms, yet there are still a great number of silk worms that sacrifice themselves for others, which are you?)

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re-posting

 

Once upon a time there was a serpent that was persecuting a firefly. The poor firefly fled from the ferocious predator, using all the energy created by fear to speed him along.

The serpent, however, never considered giving up his pursuit, so he chased the poor firefly run away one day, and again for the second day.

The ordeal continued, until the third day.

Without the strength to continue, the firefly stopped and asked the Serpent, “May I ask you three questions?”

The Serpent said with a haughty tone, “I’m not used to answering anyone, but since I am going to devour you, you can ask me anything”.

“Am I part of your food chain?”

“No” answered the Serpent

“Did I hurt you or provoke you in any way?” asked the firefly.

“No” repeated the serpent.

“So, why do you want to devour me?”

“Well”, said the Serpent, “because I can’t stand to see your shining light.”

In your life, there will always be “serpents” that will come about to try to steal your light and dreams; you will have two options:

You can stop shinning your light, so no serpent will be after you any longer, or you can let your light shine even brighter and learn how to deal with people like that. But it will always be your choice.

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Sources:

• The Silk Worm and the Spider story http://humanityhealing.net/2011/10/the-spider-and-the-silkworm/     
• The serpent and the firefly                      http://humanityhealing.net/2011/12/the-legend-of-the-serpent-and-the-firefly/ 
• Spider web picture: http://15zabinb.blogspot.com/2010/10/genetically-modified-silk-worms-that.html 
• Silk worm picture: http://scorge.cghub.com/images/page:6/
• Serpent and the firefly… firefly.jpg
• Quote #1… spider web.jpg
• Quote #2…  tumblr_m85f8xHka31qbpi1so1_500
• Quote #3…  artistisareceptacleforemotions.jpg

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Did you know~ Outdoors, spider’s make their webs facing south. (South of the equator they make them facing north… always toward the sun)

 

~In the spider web of facts many truths are strangled~

(~_~)

an owl, a seagull and a turkey

 

An owl and a Seagull went into business together. The owl did not have any money so he borrowed some. The seagull owned a precious jewel and he put that into the venture as well.

The two of them went to board a ship, having decided to start their business in a far off land. But there was a storm and the ship sank. The owl and the seagull managed to get to safety.

But they lost all of their possessions. Ever since then, the owl only comes out at night for fear of meeting its creditors and the seagull flies high over the rocks in the hope that the sea will give him back his precious jewel.

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      Once lived a turkey, he was very curious and always causing mischief, because of this, his name was Trouble. One day he asked another fellow turkey why turkeys don’t fly but other birds do. To this the fellow turkey answered: “I do not know. It sure would make escaping from the butcher at Thanksgiving a lot easier, but not flying is the turkeys’ tradition, so I shall not fly.”
          Of course Trouble thought that was a silly reason not to fly. So he went to ask his Mother. “Mother,” Trouble said “Why don’t us turkeys fly?” His mother smiled and answered back, “I do not know, but just thinking about it makes my back ache! Besides not flying is the turkeys’ tradition, so I shall not fly.”
          Still, Trouble was not satisfied. He waddled all the way to Utah, then asked his distant cousin, the Seagull, and said, “Mother, and a fellow turkey told me that turkeys don’t fly because it is their tradition, it might be theirs but it is surely not mine.” Seagull chuckled, “Trouble, Trouble, Trouble! You must not understand! Turkeys aren’t meant to fly. They are meant to be eaten on Thanksgiving dinner, if turkeys flew there’d be no turkey for Thanksgiving, but if you’re sure you want to fly, I’ll teach you. Trouble was very happy and thanked Seagull.
          They started lessons the next day, Seagull taught Trouble how to hold his wings just right and how to land with out having a horrible injury. When the time came that Trouble had learned all there was to learn, Seagull said, “Okay let’s go for a test-fly,”
Trouble agreed and they climbed to the tip-top of the Rocky Mountains. Seagull was the first to go; he jumped and dived gracefully, then flew back up to where Trouble was still standing. “Your turn” Seagull cried. Trouble swallowed hard; as if to try to keep back all of his fears. He nodded, then jumped he opened his wings, straightened his tail feathers, and . . . flew.
          “Ha-ha” Trouble laughed, “wait till’ my flock sees this!” He thanked Seagull one last time, flew to the ground, and waddled all the way back home. All the turkeys welcomed Trouble back home, but no matter how hard Trouble tried, he could never fly again.
          What’s the moral of the story? It fun to try different things, but family traditions last a life time.

may your day be filled with simplicity

(~_~)

satisfied

Once upon a time there lived a cloth merchant in a village with his wife and two children. They were indeed quite well-off. They had a beautiful hen which laid an egg everyday. It was not an ordinary egg, rather, a golden egg. But the man was not satisfied with what he used to get daily. He was a get rich-trice kind of a person. The man wanted to get all the golden eggs from his hen at one single go.

So, one day he thought hard and at last clicked upon a plan. He decided to kill the hen and get all the eggs together. So, the next day when the hen laid a golden egg, the man caught hold of it, took a sharp knife, chopped off its neck and cut its body open. There was nothing but blood all around & no trace of any egg at all.

He was highly grieved because now he would not get even one single egg. His life was going on smoothly with one egg a day but now, he himself made his life miserable. The outcome of his greed was that he started becoming poorer & poorer day by day and ultimately became a pauper. How jinxed and how much foolish he was. So, the moral of the story is- one who desires more, looses all. One should remain satisfied with what one gets.

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Once a lion was roaming in the jungle in search of a prey. Luckily, he saw a rabbit  sleeping fast under a tree. He was delighted to get a meal with no efforts at all.

The lion was about to spring at the sleeping rabbit when he caught sight of a deer  passing by. He thought of going for a bigger prey, as it would be a much nicer meal. So, he chased the deer but failed to overtake it. He gave up the attempt and returned to the place where the rabbit was sleeping.

Reaching there, the lion saw that the small animal was no longer there. As it was getting dark, it was difficult for the lion to look out for another prey and so he had toremain hungry.“I have been served right. Had I contented myself with the rabbit, I would not have starved at least”, murmured the lion.

Moral: greed for more causes loss of what one already has.

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a bird in hand is better than two in the bush.

one shouldn’t hunt two rabbits, rather focus on one at a time.

(~_~)

 

why turtles have no ears

Why Turtles have no ears  by Art~ 2012

Once upon a time, a long time ago, a turtle was making its way through the sea, swimming. It heard the sorrowful moans of the whales bellowing in the distance. The turtle said, “I can’t stand to hear the whales cry.” So, the turtle headed for the shore and crawled up on land.

There the turtle heard the seagulls fighting and squabbling. “Give me that fish,” “Get out of here,” “I hate you,” “Go away.” The seagulls yelled. The turtle hurried deeper into the woods to get away from the negative tones of the shore birds.

A great storm came, lightening and thundering crashed all around, frightening the turtle to the point that the turtle withdrew into its shell. “I wish I didn’t have ears to hear all this loud noise and all the bickering the animals do.” It was days before the turtle became hungry and had to venture out for something to eat. Drawn to water as turtles are, the turtle headed back to the sea.

When the turtle got back to the sea, it heard the roar of the ocean, the chattering of the gulls and once again wished it didn’t have ears to hear all that was bothersome to it.

Not far from where the turtle was there were two crabs fighting over a dead fish. The crabs pulled in a tug-of-war trying to dominate the morsel. Finally one crab reached out with its pincher and cut the fish in half. Seeing this the turtle had an idea. It went over to the crab and the crab started to dart away.

“Wait,” yelled the turtle. “I can give you more fish!” The crab stopped and went back toward the turtle. “I have a request and I am willing to give you more fish for a small favor.”

“What is the favor?” The crab asked.

“I couldn’t help but notice how sharp your pincher’s are,” The turtle began. “Do you think they are sharp enough to cut off my ears? I will pay you in fish if you do.”

Without hesitation the crab reached out and pinched off one of the turtles ears. “Ouch,” yelled the turtle.

“Bring me the fish and I will do the same to the other one.” The crab stated. The turtle went into the sea and captured a fish and brought it back to the crab. The crab inspected the fish and with-out a moments thought, pinched off the turtles other ear.

The turtle thanked the crab and went on its way. With-out any ears the turtle was momentarily satisfied till it once again heard the squabbling of the gulls. Realizing that even with-out ears the turtle could still hear. Just then the turtle heard the most wonderful sound, “Momma, Momma.” Little baby turtles came running to the turtle. The turtle embraced her young and delighted in their every sound, ear-less.

Growing up, the baby turtles all noticed that they had ears and their mother did not. Wanting to be like their mother, they too made a deal with the crabs. The crabs were happy to oblige for a meal and pinching off turtle ears was a fade for awhile, till all the turtles eventually, had no ears.

(moral: Body modifications are so common these days like: tattoos, tongue rings, lip and eye piercings, colored and spiked hair, it seems some may be trying to change their outer selves when deep down the inside is still the same. Trying to change ones-self begins on the inside. Then again, others are simply trying to fit in.)

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It’s no Godzilla, but an “earless rabbit“ allegedly born near Japan’s severely-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has become the latest poster child for the side-effects of radiation exposure.

The bunny — purportedly captured on video just outside the crippled plant exclusion area and posted on YouTube on May 21 — has become big news in Japan and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere, stoking fears that contamination from the damaged facility could cause genetic mutations.

But both rabbit experts and radiation researchers told AOL Weird News the bunny’s bizarre looks could have a less sensational explanation……   (more of this story: here)

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You have two ears and one mouth, use them proportionalley

(~_~)

a rose within~

 

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, “How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?” Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom… it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The good qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.

We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them.

This is one of the characteristic of love… to look at a person, know their true faults and accepting that person into your life… all the while recognizing the nobility in their soul. Help others to realize they can overcome their faults. If we show them the “rose” within themselves, they will conquer their thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over.

source: here

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zendictive: Destiny (reblogged)

A student was walking with an older Zen Master, in the zen garden. Feeling a bit insecure about what life had in store for him, he ask the Zen Master for some advice. “When will I know my destiny? When will I know what life has in store for me?” The student asked.

The Zen Master walked up to a rosebush and handed the young student a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals. The young student looked in disbelief at the Master and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know what was in store for his life. But because of his great respect for the Zen Master, he proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact…

It wasn’t long before he realized how impossible this was to do. The student then said, “I haven’t the wisdom to unfold this rose before its time.”

The older Zen Master replied; “Exactly, If you try and unfold this rose before its time, you will destroy it’s beauty and its purpose. Just as time unfolds the rose, time will unfold your destiny, your inner beauty and your purpose.”

“Your wisdom shines like the beauty of a rose that has blossomed,” The student said. “I am but a rosebud that has yet to open.” The Zen master smiled, knowing that the student had learned the lesson well.

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(~_~)

cutting the grass

(psst… this is not me in this picture)

Like most, I have to manicure the yard. Cutting the grass is like giving the earth a hair cut; prune the scalp (the yard) and let the rest of the body go. My Father-in-law, like most, has a riding lawn mower and finds any reason he can to ride it. I find this time a marvelous time to reflect, meditate and even inspires some of my writes, like; ‘The rock and the roll’ (a story I came up with cutting the grass today)  ‘compassion for ignorance,’ and ‘praying to say the right thing,’ plus others. At the old house, in my poetic days, I wrote this while cutting the grass;

a tree limb lay

like thoughts

fallen yesterday

Like most, when I was younger I made money cutting lawns. I won’t go into the story of how the riding lawn-mower caught on fire and burned up or who’s fault it was. The facts are, I now have a push mower and don’t mind the work, the rewards are in the muscles and the yard, like a zen master tending the garden. Yep, you guessed it, I just cut the grass.

Be like the grass, even if it’s stepped on, crushed, burned and cut; it always persists and grows back even greener and stronger.

The grass always seems greener in anothers yard.

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The Grass Cutting Sword

Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (is a legendary Japanese sword as important to Japan’s history as Excalibur is to Britain’s, and is one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (“Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven”) but its name was later changed to the more popular Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (“Grass Cutting Sword”).

It was discovered from the body of a giant serpent. In the reign of the XII Emperor, the sword was gifted to Yamato Takeru, who was led into an open grassland as a trap by a warlord. The plan was to ignite the grass and burn Yamato to death. In desperation, Yamato started cutting the grass with his sword and discovered to his amazement that he could control the wind. Using this power, Yamato expanded the fire in the direction of his enemies, defeating them. It was after this incident that Yamato named the sword as “Grasscutter Sword”.

Yamato was later killed in a battle by a monster when he ignored his wife’s advice to take the Grasscutter sword with him. The moral of the story: Always listen to your wife. However, In The Tale of the Heike, a collection of oral stories transcribed in 1371, the sword is lost at sea after the defeat of the Heike clan in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, a naval battle that ended in the defeat of the Heike clan forces and the child Emperor Antoku at the hands of Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

In the tale, upon hearing of the Navy’s defeat, the Emperor’s grandmother led the Emperor and his entourage to commit suicide by drowning in the waters of the strait along with the three Imperial Regalia, including Kusanagi. Although the Minamoto troops managed to stop a handful of them and recovered two of the three regalia, Kusanagi was said to have been lost forever.

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Once upon a time a flea saw an ox grazing in a pasture. He knew that oxen work for men in their farms. But he didn’t like it. He was proud that he fed on men’s blood and yet didn’t do anything for them. Approaching the ox, the flea asked, “How is it so that you work for men though youare quite big and strong? Look at me, I never do anything for them and yet feed ontheir blood though I am so small.” 

 

The ox was surprised to hear what the flea had said and replied, “If I work for men,they are very kind to me. They take care of mine in every way, feed me, shelter meand moreover, pat me on my back, head and neck out of love and affectiom.On the other hand, you feed on their blood and they are always up to destroy you.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~Behavior always counts.

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may the grass be soft beneath your feet

(~_~)

Nobel

About a hundred years ago, a man looked at the morning newspaper and to his surprise and horror, read his name in the obituary column. The news papers had reported the death of the wrong person by mistake. His first response was shock. Am I here or there? When he regained his composure, his second thought was to find out what people had said about him.

The obituary read, “Dynamite King Dies.” And also “He was the merchant of death.” This man was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words “merchant of death,” he asked himself a question, “Is this how I am going to be remembered?” He got in touch with his feelings and decided that this was not the way he wanted to be remembered. From that day on, he started working toward peace. His name was Alfred Nobel and he is remembered today by the great Nobel ‘Peace’ Prize.

Just as Alfred Nobel got in touch with his feelings and redefined his values, we should step back and do the same.

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We all know the story of the greedy king named Midas. He had a lot of gold and the more he had the more he wanted. He stored all the gold in his vaults and used to spend time every day counting it.

One day while he was counting a stranger came from nowhere and said he would grant him a wish. The king was delighted and said, “I would like everything I touch to turn to gold.”

The stranger asked the king, Are you sure?”

The king replied, “Yes.”

So the stranger said, “Starting tomorrow morning with the sun rays you will get the golden touch.” The king thought he must be dreaming, this couldn’t be true. But the next day when he woke up, he touched the bed, his clothes, and everything turned to gold. He looked out of the window and saw his daughter playing in the garden.

He decided to give her a surprise and thought she would be happy. But before he went to the garden he decided to read a book. The moment he touched it, it turned into gold and he couldn’t read it. Then he sat to have breakfast and the moment he touched the fruit and the glass of water, they turned to gold. He was getting hungry and he said to himself, “I can’t eat and drink gold.” Just about that time his daughter came running and he hugged her and she turned into a gold statue. There were no more smiles left.

The king bowed his head and started crying. The stranger who gave the wish came again and asked the king if he was happy with his golden touch. The king said he was the most miserable man. The stranger asked, “What would you rather have, your food and loving daughter or lumps of gold and her golden statue?” The king cried and asked for forgiveness.

He said, “I will give up all my gold. Please give me my daughter back because without her I have lost everything wo rth having.”

The stranger said to the king, “You have become wiser than before” and he reversed the spell. He got his daughter back in his arms and the king learned a lesson that he never forget for the rest of his life.

these stories found here…

Life is hard by the yard,
but by the inch,
it’s a cinch.

–Gean Gordon

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nobel:

a. Having or showing qualities of high moral character, such as courage, generosity, or honor:

may you be nobel this day and always

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