Spoken English: 25 short stories

1. The Sun and the wind 14. The man, the boy and the donkey

2. The villager and the spectacles 15. Pencil

3. Three Thieves 16. The crows in the city

4. The wolf in Sheep’s clothing 17. The farmer who bought a well

5. Birbal The wise 18. Only one question

6. Work is worship 19. Birbal’s Imagination

7. Keep your eyes open 20. The Struggles of Our Life

8. Time is valuable 21. The priest and the flood

9. A fox and a crane 22. The monkey and the crocodile

10. The ant and the grasshopper 23. Advising a fool

11. Mountain 24. The four wives

12. The miser 25. The praying hands

13. Sand and Stone

Compiled by - Manoj Kumar

The Guiding Hand English Classes, Jaipur

English By – Manoj Kumar

8005588084 / 9983280087
 The Sun and the wind

Once the Wind and the Sun had an argument. “I am stronger than you,” said the Wind.
“No, you are not,” said the Sun. Just at that moment they saw a traveler walking across
the road. He was wrapped in a shawl. The Sun and the Wind agreed that whoever could
separate the traveller from his shawl was stronger. The Wind took the first turn. He blew
with all his might to tear the traveller’s shawl from his shoulders. But the harder he blew,
the tighter the traveller gripped the shawl to his body. The struggle went on till the
Wind’s turn was over. Now it was the Sun’s turn. The Sun smiled warmly. The traveller
felt the warmth of the smiling Sun. Soon he let the shawl fall open. The Sun’s smile grew
warmer and warmer... hotter and hotter. Now the traveller no longer needed his shawl.
He took it off and dropped it on the ground. The Sun was declared stronger than the
Wind.

Moral: Brute force can’t achieve what a gentle smile can.

The villager and the spectacles

There was a villager. He was illiterate. He did not know how to read and write. He often
saw people wearing spectacles for reading books or papers. He thought, “If I have
spectacles, I can also read like these people. I must go to town and buy a pair of
spectacles for myself.” So one day he went to a town. He entered a spectacles shop He
asked the shopkeeper for a pair of spectacles for reading. The shopkeeper gave him
various pairs of spectacles and a book. The villager tried all the spectacles one by one.
But he could not read anything. He told the shopkeeper that all those spectacles were
useless for him. The shopkeeper gave him a doubtful look. Then he looked at the book.
It was upside down! The shopkeeper said, “Perhaps you don’t know how to read.” The
villager said, “No, I don’t. I want to buy spectacles so that I can read like others. But I
can’t read with any of these spectacles.” The shopkeeper controlled his laughter with
great difficulty when he learnt the real problem of his illiterate customer. He explained
to the villager, “My dear friend, you are very ignorant. Spectacles don’t help to read or
write. They only help you to see better. First of all you must learn to read and write.”

Moral: Ignorance is blindness.

One night, three thieves stole a lot of money from a rich man’s house. They put the
money in a bag and went to the forest. They felt very hungry. So, one of them went to a
nearby village to buy food. The other two remained in the forest to take care of the bag
of money. The thief that went for food had an evil idea. He ate his food at a hotel. Then
he bought food for his two mates in the forest. He mixed a strong poison with the food.
He thought, “Those two will eat this poisoned food and die. Then I will get all the money
for myself.” Meanwhile, the two wicked men in the forest decided to kill their mate on
return. They thought that they would divide the money between the two of them. All the
three wicked men carried out their cruel plans. The thief who wanted all the money for
himself came to the forest with the poisoned food. The two men in the forest hit him
and killed him. Then they ate the poisoned food and died. Thus, these evil people met
with an evil end.

Moral: Evil begets evil

The wolf in Sheep’s clothing

One day a wolf found a sheepskin. He covered himself with the sheepskin and got into a
flock of sheep grazing in a field. He thought, “The shepherd will shut the sheep in the
pen after sunset. At night I will run away with a fat sheep and eat it. All went well till the
shepherd shut the sheep in the pen and left. The wolf waited patiently for the night to
advance and grow darker. But then an unexpected thing happened. One of the servants
of the shepherd entered the pen. His master had sent him to bring a fat sheep for
supper. As luck would have it, the servant picked up the wolf dressed in the sheepskin.
That night the shepherd and his guests had the wolf for supper.

Moral: An evil design has an evil end.

One day, a rich merchant came to Birbal. He said to Birbal, “I have seven servants in my
house. One of them has stolen my bag of precious pearls. Please find out the thief.” So
Birbal went to the rich man’s house. He called all the seven servants in a room. He gave
a stick to each one of them. Then he said, “These are magic sticks. Just now all these
sticks are equal in length. Keep them with you and return tomorrow. If there is a thief in
the house, his stick will grow an inch longer by tomorrow.” The servant who had stolen
the bag of pearls was scared. He thought, “If I cut a piece of one inch from my stick, I
won’t be caught.” So he cut the stick and made it shorter by one inch. The next day
Birbal collected the sticks from the servants. He found that one servant’s stick was short
by an inch. Birbal pointed his finger at him and said, “Here is the thief.” The servant
confessed to his crime. He returned the bag of pearls. He was sent to jail.

Work is worship

One fine sunny day in winter, a grasshopper was basking in the warm sun. But he was
very hungry, as he had not eaten anything since last night. So, he looked about to find
something to soothe his hunger. Suddenly, he saw few ants carrying grains into their
hole. He went up to the ants and asked humbly, "Can you, please, spare few grains for
me. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday. So, I am almost starving to death." One of
the ants asked the grasshopper, "What were you doing the whole summer? Why didn't
you store up the food for the winter season?" The grasshopper replied, "Truly speaking, I
spent all the summer singing songs and that's why I couldn't store anything." The ant
chucked out a smile and remarked, "Then dance the winter away." The grasshopper
pulled a long face and walked away.

Moral: "Work is real worship"

Once upon a time there was a lion that grew so old that he was unable to kill any prey
for his food. So, he said to himself, "I must do something to stay my stomach else I will
die of starvation." He kept thinking and thinking and at last an idea clicked him. He
decided to lie down in the cave pretending to be ill and then who-so-ever will come to
enquire about his health, will become his prey. The old lion put his wicked plan into
practice and it started working. Many of his well-wishers got killed. But evil is short lived.
One day, a fox came to visit the ailing lion. As foxes are clever by nature, the fox stood
at the mouth of the cave and looked about. His sixth sense worked and he came to
know the reality. So, he called out to the lion from outside and said, "How are you, sir?"
The lion replied, "I am not feeling well at all. But why don't you come inside?" Then the
fox replied, "I would love to come in, sir! But on seeing, all foot prints going to your cave
and none coming out, I would be foolish enough to come in." Saying so, the fox went to
alert the other animals.

Time is Valuable

Anthony was a very lazy boy and always used to postpone things. One day his father
called him and made him understand the value of time that one should always do things
on time. Anthony promised his father that he would never postpone things. One day, he
came to know that he had won the first prize in a singing competition that was held the
previous month. He was asked to collect the prize the same day. He didn't care and
went to collect the prize the next day. But the prize became useless for him, as it was a
ticket to a circus show, which was held the previous day. Anthony learnt a lesson from
this incident.
 A fox and a Crane

Once a fox and a crane became friends. So, the fox invited the crane to dinner. The
crane accepted the invitation and reached the fox's place at sunset. The fox had
prepared soup for his mate. But as we all know that foxes are cunning by nature, he
served the soup in flat dishes. So, he himself lapped the crane's share with his tongue
enjoying its relish a lot. But the crane could not enjoy it at all with his long beak and had
to get back home hungry. The shrewd fox felt extremely amused. After few days, the
crane invited the fox to dine in with him. The fox reached his place well in time. The
crane gave him a warm welcome and served the soup in a jug with a long and narrow
neck. So, the crane enjoyed the soup with great relish using his long beak. The fox's
mouth couldn't reach the soup through the narrow neck of the jug. He had to return
home hungry. Now he realized that he had been repaid for his behaviour with the crane.

The ant and the grasshopper

One summer's day, a merry Grasshopper was dancing, singing and playing his violin
with all his heart. He saw an Ant passing by, bearing along with great toil a wheatear to
store for the winter.

“Come and sing with me instead of working so hard”, said the Grasshopper “Let’s have
fun together.”

“I must store food for the winter”, said the Ant, “and I advise you to do the same.”

“Don’t worry about winter, it’s still very far away”, said the Grasshopper, laughing at him.
But the Ant wouldn’t listen and continued his toil.

When the winter came, the starving Grasshopper went to the Ant’s house and humbly
begged for something to eat.

“If you had listened to my advice in the summer you would not now be in need,” said
the Ant. “I’m afraid you will have to go supperless to bed,” and he closed the door.

Moral: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.

Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain:

Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"

He receives the answer: "Who are you?"

And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"

The voice answers: "I admire you!"

Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"

He receives the answer: "Coward!"

He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"

The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."

Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"

The voice answers: "You are a champion!"

The boy is surprised, but does not understand.

Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.

It gives you back everything you say or do.

Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.

If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.

This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;

Life will give you back everything you have given to it."
Moral: “Your life is not a coincidence. It's a reflection of you!"

The miser

A miser sold all that he had and bought a lump of gold, which he buried in a hole in the
ground by the side of an old wall and went to look at daily. One of his workmen
observed his frequent visits to the spot and decided to watch his movements. He soon
discovered the secret of the hidden treasure, and digging down, came to the lump of
gold, and stole it. The Miser, on his next visit, found the hole empty and began to tear
his hair and to make loud lamentations. A neighbor, seeing him overcome with grief and
learning the cause, said, "Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place it in
the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the same service;
for when the gold was there, you had it not, as you did not make the slightest use of it."

Sand and stone

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the
journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The
one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: “TODAY
MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.”They kept on walking until they found an
oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one, who had been slapped, got stuck in
the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After the friend recovered from
the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: “TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.”The
friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote
in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?”

The other friend replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand
where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good
for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

Learn to write your hurts in the sand, and to carve your benefits in stone.
 The man, the boy and the donkey

A Man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking
along by its side a countryman passed them and said: "You fools, what is a Donkey for
but to ride upon?"

So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they
passed a group of men, one of whom said: "See that lazy youngster, he lets his father
walk while he rides."

So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far
when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: "Shame on that lazy lout
to let his poor little son trudge along."

Well, the Man didn't know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the
Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and
point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said:

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yours and your
hulking son?"

The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought,
till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and the
donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till
they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out
and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the
bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned.

"That will teach you," said an old man who had followed them:

Moral: Please all and you will please none.

English By – Manoj Kumar

8005588084 / 9983280087
 Pencil

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

"There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into
the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best
pencil you can be."

"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held
in Someone's hand." "Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time,
but you'll need it to become a better pencil." "Three: You will be able to correct any
mistakes you might make." "Four: The most important part of you will always be what's
inside." "Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter
what the condition, you must continue to write." The pencil understood and promised
to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replace the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget,
and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held
in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you
possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through
various problems in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what
the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person
and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.

Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and
cannot make a change.
 The crows in the city

Akbar was a great Mughal Emperor and Birbal was his witty minister. One day, Akbar
was taking a walk in his garden with Birbal. Many crows were flying around. As he
observed the birds flying, he thought of asking Birbal a tricky question.

He asked Birbal, “ How many crows are there in our kingdom, Birbal?”. The question
seemed a little strange to Birbal so he asked Akbar, "May I know purpose behind this ?

Akbar said, "Birbal, I want to arrange a feast for all the crows in our city but make sure
the number should be exact because I don't want the food to be wasted and I don't
want shortcoming of the food as well.

Birbal thought for a moment, and then said, “Ok my lord, I need some time for that.
Akbar gave him a day's time. Birbal kept thinking the whole night but he could not
figure out a way to handle this situation. Birbal knew it deep inside his heart that Akbar
was trying to test his wisdom by asking this tricky question but he had to present an
answer before the king. Finally Birbal got an idea and he slept. The next day, when Birbal
went to the court, Akbar asked him, Did you get the exact number of the crows in the
kingdom?" There are ninety-five thousand, four hundred and sixty three crows in your
kingdom, Huzoor.” Said Birbal.

“How do you know that for sure?” the King asked.

“You can get them counted, Huzoor.” Birbal said.

The Emperor again said, “If there are less than that, then?”

Birbal replied immediately, “That means that the rest of them have gone on vacation to
some neighbouring kingdoms.”

“And if there are more than that, then?” asked Akbar.

“Then it means that other crows have come to visit their relatives in our kingdom,
Huzoor,” said the witty minister. Akbar was very pleased with the answer that Birbal gave
and gave him a suitable reward.
Moral: Even if the question is silly, you can manage the situation by thinking on your
feet and giving a witty answer.

The farmer who bought a well

A poor farmer once bought a well from a rich man so that he could irrigate his land
using the water from the well. The farmer paid the price quoted by the rich man. The
next day, when the farmer when to draw water from the well, the rich man stopped him
and disallowed him from drawing water. He said that the farmer had bought only the
well and not the water from him. So, he cannot draw any water from the well.

Not knowing what to do, the farmer went to the king’s court and told Akbar about his
predisposition. Akbar handed over the case to Birbal. Akbar asks Birbal to help the poor
farmer solve his problem.

Birbal visited the rich man who was causing problems to the farmer. The rich man
reiterated what he told the farmer, to which Birbal said, “Since you have sold the well
and not the water to the farmer, you will have to move all the water or pay rent to the
farmer to keep the water in the well.” The rich man realised his ploy was not going to
work and let the farmer use the well from the water.

Moral: Do not try to deceive people as you will end up paying the price.

Only one Question

A scholar from faraway lands once visits Akbar’s court. He declared that he is a smart
one and no one can answer his questions. The scholar challenges Birbal to answer his
question and prove that he is the smartest. “Would you prefer to answer a hundred easy
questions or just a single difficult one?” said the scholar in a pompous tone. Akbar could
sense that the scholar wanted to belittle Birbal. But Birbal replies with confidence, “Ask
me just one difficult question.”

“Alright. Tell me what came first, the chicken or the egg?”, asked the scholar with a
thunderous voice.

“The chicken,” Birbal replied.

“How do you know?” the scholar asked mockingly.

Birbal’s imagination

“I fancy a painting Birbal. Please make one and give it to me in one week.”

Akbar’s order leaves Birbal perplexed.

“I am a minister, my lord. How am I going to make a painting?”

“Are you dismissing my order?” asks an angry Akbar. “You have one week to make an
imaginative painting otherwise you will be hanged,” he commands.

Birbal gets an idea. One week later, he comes to the court with a painting wrapped in
cloth. He uncovers the painting, and to the surprise of Akbar, there is nothing but a
painting of ground and sky on the canvas.

“What is this, Birbal?” the emperor asks.

“Your majesty, it is the painting that I did with imagination. As you can see, it is a
painting of a cow eating grass.”

“But where are the cow and the grass?” asks the annoyed Akbar.

“The grass was eaten away by the cow.”

“So where is the cow?”

“Jahanpanah, now that the cow has eaten away all the grass, what would she do on a
piece of barren land? So she left to her shed.”

English By – Manoj Kumar

8005588084 / 9983280087
 The 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. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.
After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and
placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then
ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her, he asked. “Daughter, what
do you see?” “Potatoes, eggs and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft.

He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed
the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a
smile to her face. "Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the
same adversity-the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato
went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put
in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground
coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed
the water and created something new.

"Which one are you?” he asked his daughter.

“When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg,
or a coffee bean?”
Moral of the story: In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only
thing that truly matters is how you choose to react to it and what you make out of it.

The Priest and the flood

Once upon a time there was a priest. He used to live in a temple that was situated
outside the village. He spent his entire life praying God and he did this work with the
complete devotion and sheer faith. The priest had deep faith in his prayers and he was
sure that whenever he would be in trouble, God would come and save him. Once, it
rained heavily in the village. The rain did not stop for three days. The level of water kept
rising and it turned into a flood. The heavy rain resulted in loss of human life, damage to
property, destruction of crops, and loss of livestock. The level of water kept rising higher
and higher with an alarming speed.

Efforts were made to rescue the people, cows and other animals of the village as well.
Many were saved with the help of boats. One person who was not ready to leave his
place was the priest. A boat was sent to rescue him but he refused to come stating that
he had prayed God his entire life and he would save him. The level of the water kept
rising. Another boat was sent rescue the priest but he told them the same reason for
not coming. The second boat also returned and the priest was still in the temple.

Seeing the danger, the government of the area sent a helicopter to rescue the priest but
all went in vain as the priest did not leave the temple. Finally, the village sank and the
priest died. When the priest appeared before the God after death, he said to God, "I
devoted my entire life praying you but you did not come to save me." God replied, "I
came to save you but you did not come with me." The priest asked, "when did you
come?” God replied," It was me who sent two boats and a helicopter to rescue you but
you did not recognize me. The priest understood that God is everywhere and is Present
in all forms.
 Crocodile and Monkey

Once there was a monkey who lived on a jamun tree on the banks of a river. The jamun
tree yielded fruit all the year round and the monkey spent his days happily eating the
fruit and playing on the tree.

One day, a crocodile came out of the river to rest in the shade of the jamun tree. The
monkey saw the crocodile and said, “Oh crocodile. Welcome! You are my guest. Please
accept this humble meal of jamuns from my tree.”

The crocodile ate the jamuns and found them very tasty. He said, “Oh monkey,
the jamun fruits from your tree are very tasty. Can I come back for some more
tomorrow?” “From today you are my friend. You may come and feast here any time you
want.”, replied the monkey. From that day on, the crocodile visited the monkey
everyday. The two friends would spend the day chatting and eating the juicy
sweet jamuns.

One day the crocodile took some jamuns home for his wife, so that she could also taste
the sweet fruit and also told her about his friend, the monkey who lived on
the jamun tree. The wife was overjoyed on eating the fruits. She thought to herself, “The
monkey eats these sweet fruits everyday. If these fruits are so sweet, I am sure his meat
would taste even better.”The next day, when the crocodile reached home, he found his
wife very sad and depressed. He asked her what the matter was. She replied, “I went to
see the doctor today, and he told me that I have become very weak. To recover, I must
eat a monkey’s heart, else I will surely die. You must bring me the heart of the monkey
who lives on the tree.”

The crocodile was aghast. The monkey was his friend. How could he betray him. He tried
to reason with his wife, but she would not listen, and instead stopped eating. The
crocodile had to give in to her wishes. That day when he went to the monkey he said,
“My dear friend, my wife loved the fruits very much and she would like to meet you and
thank you. So she has invited you home for dinner.” The monkey was very happy to hear
this and accepted at once. But, “How will I go? I cannot swim.” The crocodile said, “Sit on
my back and I will take you across the river.”

English By – Manoj Kumar

8005588084 / 9983280087
The monkey accepted at once and they set off. As they neared the center of the river,
the crocodile started going deeper into the water. This scared the monkey and he said,
“Friend, go slower. If you go any deeper, i will drown.” The crocodile said sadly, “I lied to
you. The truth is I have to kill you. My wife is ill and the doctor has advised her to eat a
monkey’s heart in order to get well.”

The monkey thought quickly and then said, “Oh! Why did you not say that earlier? I
would have happily given you my heart to carry home to your wife. But I keep my heart
at the top of the jamun tree where it can stay safe. Let’s go back and get it at once.”

The foolish crocodile believed him and turned back. As soon as they reached the river
bank, the monkey leaped off the crocodile’s back and climbed up high into the tree. He
said, “Foolish crocodile, how can anyone take out his own heart. Go back to your wife
and tell her that her husband is not only foolish but also deceitful.”

The crocodile knew he had been tricked just as he had tried to trick the monkey and felt
ashamed of his actions and went away.

Moral: A quick wit can solve most problems. Choose your friends wisely.
 Advising a Fool

On a mango tree in a jungle, there lived many birds. They were happy in their small
nests. Before the onset of the rainy season, all the animal of the jungle repaired their
homes. The birds also made their homes more secure.

Many birds brought twigs and leaves and others wove their nests. “We should also store
some food for our children," chirped one of the birds. And they collected food, until
they had enough to see them through the rainy season. They kept themselves busy
preparing for the tough times.

Soon the rains came. It was followed by thunder and lighting. All the animals and birds
stayed in their homes. It continued raining for many days. One day, a monkey wet in the
rain came into the forest. He sat on a branch, shivering with cold, water dripping from its
body.

The poor monkey tried his best to get shelter, but in vain. The leaves were not enough
to save him from the rains. “Brrr! It is so cold!" said the monkey.

The birds were watching all this. They felt sorry for the monkey but there was little they
could do for him. One of them said, “Brother! Our small nests are not enough to give
you shelter."

Another bird said, “All of us prepared for the rainy season. If you had, you would not be
in this piteous situation."

“How dare you tell me what to do?" said the monkey, growling at the bird. The monkey
angrily pounced on the bird’s nest, tore it and threw it on the ground. The bird and her
chicks were helpless.

The poor bird thought, “Fools never value good advice. It is better not to advise
them."
 The four wives

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and
adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and
gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He’s very proud of her and always wanted to
show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might
run away with some other men.

He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is
the merchant’s confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always
turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult
times.

Now, the merchant’s 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in
maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However,
the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly
took notice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He
thought of his luxurious life and told himself, “Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I
die, I’ll be alone. How lonely I’ll be!”

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing
and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me
company?” “No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant’s heart. The sad merchant then
asked the 3rd wife, “I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you
follow me and keep me company?” “No!” replied the 3rd wife. “Life is so good over here!
I’m going to remarry when you die!” The merchant’s heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, “I always turned to you for help and you’ve always helped
me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me
company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd wife. “At the very
most, I can only send you to your grave.” The answer came like a bolt of thunder and
the merchant was devastated.
Then a voice called out: “I’ll leave with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.” The
merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she
suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, “I should have taken
much better care of you while I could have!”

Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives

a. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it
look good, it’ll leave us when we die.

b. Our 3rd wife? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.

c. The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for
us when we’re alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

d. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and
sensual pleasure.

Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it’s a
good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we’re on our
deathbed to lament

English By – Manoj Kumar

8005588084 / 9983280087
 The praying hands

Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with
eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the
father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen
hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood.
Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Durer the Elder’s children
had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that
their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to
study at the Academy. After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the
two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down
into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the
academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four
years, he would support the other

brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring
in the mines.They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won
the toss and went off to Nuremberg. Albert went down into the dangerous mines and,
for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an
immediate sensation. Albrecht’s etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than
those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn
considerable fees for his commissioned works.When the young artist returned to his
village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht’s
triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and
laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a
toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill
his ambition. His closing words were, “And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it
is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of
you.”All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat,
tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he
sobbed and repeated, over and over, “No …no …no …no.”

Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table
at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly,
“No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look … looks what four
years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been
smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my
right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate
lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother … for me it is too late.”

More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer’s hundreds of masterful
portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper
engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you,
like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer’s works. More than merely
being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or
office.

One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer
painstakingly drew his brother’s abused hands with palms together and thin fingers
stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply “Hands,” but the entire world
almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his
tribute of love “The Praying Hands.”

The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be
your reminder, if you still need one, that no one – no one – - ever makes it alone!

Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down; it is how we handle them.

The Guiding Hand English Classes, Jaipur

English By – Manoj Kumar

8005588084 / 9983280087

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