The Farmer and His Lazy Sons.

In Madhanpur lived a very hardworking farmer named Gopal. He has three sons Ram, Laxman and Hanuman. All three were strong and healthy. But they were alllazy. 

Gopal was sad thinking about his sons and the future of his farmland. 

One day, Gopal got a flash of an idea. He called all his sons and said, "Ram! Laxman! and Hanuman! I have hidden a treasure in our farmland. You search and share the treasure among you." 

The three sons were overjoyed. They went to the fields and started searching Ram started from one end. Laxman searched from the other end. And Hanuman did so from the centre. They dug each and every inch of the field. But they could not find anything. 

Gopal said to his sons, “Dear boys! Now you have tooled and conditioned the field, why not we sow a crop!" Off went the sons to sow the crops. 

Days passed. Soon, the crops grew lushly green. The sons were delighted. The father said, "Sons, this is the real treasure I wanted you to share". 

MORAL : Fruits of hard work are always sweet. 

The Crane and The Wolf

Once a wolf was lucky to get hold of a nice dinner. 

He sat in his place and started to eat. He did not want to share his food with anyone else. He was eating so hurriedly that a small piece of bone got stuck in his throat. 

He gurgled hard. He tried to swallow. He tried to spit it out. But nothing worked out. The bone won't move. He got afraid. 

"If I can't take the bone out, I can't eat. I will die of hunger", he thought sadly. 

Suddenly he remembered the crane who lived nearby. He thought, "The crane has a long neck. She can reach and take out the bone". So off he went to the crane and said, "Please take out the bone from my neck. I will pay good". 

The crane took out the bone and asked for her fees.     

The wolf replied "Aren't you happy that you put your head into my mouth and got it out safely? Forget the fees.” 

MORAL : Good for the evil are fast forgotten. 

The Selfish Friendship

Once a cat was caught in a hunter's net. A mouse used to live in a nearby hole. The mouse seeing the cat in the net started playing around the cat. Soon a mongoose came there. He wanted to kill the mouse. As he lifted his head, he saw an owl sitting on a tree trying to catch him. The mongoose went very near the cat's net to save himself. The mouse thought "When the hunter takes away the cat, the mongoose will not spare me and the owl is there to enjoy both of us." 

The Mouse went to the cat and said, "I can cut the net if you promise to save my life from the mongoose and the owl." The cat agreed. The mouse started cutting the net slowly and freed the cat only when the hunter was just near the cat. The cat took to heels and so ran the mongoose too. The owl was very much disappointed to see even the mouse running away to safety. 

A few days later, the cat being hungry, went to the hole of the mouse and requested him to come out for a game. The mouse replied, "I sought friendshipand saved you to save my life." Now you can go home. 

MORAL : Don’t nurture friendship with selfish people. 

A Light Exists in Spring
~Emily Dickinson
A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period -- When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad On Solitary Fields That Science cannot overtake But Human Nature feels. It waits upon the Lawn, It shows the furthest Tree Upon the furthest Slope you know It almost speaks to you. Then as Horizons step Or Noons report away Without the Formula of sound It passes and we stay -- A quality of loss Affecting our Content As Trade had suddenly encroached Upon a Sacrament.

The Good Samaritan 

This next parable started with a man asking Jesus a question.  The man who asks Jesus a question is very smart and was maybe trying to trick Jesus and see if he was a good teacher or not.  This is what he asked, "Teacher, what should I do so I can go to Heaven and live forever?"

Jesus replied, "What is written in the Bible?  What do you think?"  The man answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."

"That is right!"  Jesus said.  "Do this and you will live forever in Heaven."  But the man wanted to know more so asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus decided to answer this question with a parable to help everyone who was listening understand.  Jesus said:  There once was a Jewish man walking along a road.  He was coming from Jerusalem and was heading to Jericho, which was a full day or two of walking.

The road was rocky and there were small hills all around.  The man was just humming to himself and enjoying the nice day when suddenly a group of men jumped out from behind a hill.  They took all his belongings and tore off most of his clothes.  They didn't want him to follow them so they beat him up very badly, and left him lying and bleeding on the side of the road.

A few minutes later a priest was walking down the same path and noticed the man lying on the side of the road.  Do you know what he did?  You'd think he would run over and help the man.  Instead he crossed the road and walked on the other side and acted like he didn't see the man.

About an hour or so later another man called a Levite was walking down the road.  Levites were people that assisted priests with their work.  He would probably help the man.  But you know what he did?  He slowed down and walked a little closer to the man, but then kept walking without helping him at all.

You might be thinking that maybe the man lying by the side of the road looked like he was resting or something, that's why the priest and the Levite didn't stop to help.  The trouble is, it was easy to tell he was badly hurt.  The man was bleeding, had most of his clothes ripped off him, and he was bruised and hardly breathing.

Just a few minutes later another man came walking.  He was a Samaritan.  One thing you should know about Samaritans is that Jews didn't like them.  Jews usually didn't treat Samaritans very well, so they never got along.  The man who was dying on the road was a Jew.  So what do you think the Samaritan did?  You'd think he would walk by and maybe even laugh at the man.

But as soon as he saw the man he went over to him and felt compassion for him.  He put bandages on his sores and poured oil and wine (which were quite expensive) on the sores to prevent them from getting worse.  Then he lifted the man on his own donkey and took him to a hotel to take care of him.  

The next day the Samaritan took out enough money so the man could stay at the hotel until he was well enough to leave.  He paid the man at the front desk and asked him to take care of the man.  If he wasn't better after about  two months the Samaritan would come back and pay for any extra cost.

After Jesus finished the story he asked, "Which of the three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was left beaten on the side of the road?"

The man who asked him the question at the beginning replied, "The one who had compassion and helped him."  Jesus told him, "Go and do the same."

Moral Lesson: To love and serve our neighbors.

                          ' _' do good ... without letting religious discrimination get in the way

There's a Friend for little children

There's a Friend for little children Above the bright blue sky, A Friend who never changes Whose love will never die; Our earthly friends may fail us, And change with changing years, This Friend is always worthy Of that dear name he bears. There's a home for little children Above the bright blue sky, Where Jesus reigns in glory, A home of peace and joy; No home on earth is like it, Nor can with it compare; And everyone is happy, Nor could be happier there.

The Eagle and the Rabbit

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing?"

The eagle answered, "Sure , why not."

So the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested.
All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.