Yet another bunch of motivational stories. Learn English through Story along with their meaning Amazing and inspiring stories.
Tales that can proved to be a turning point for you, do reading practice about the lives of successful people around the globe.
Learn English through Story part II
Again we are here to share some heart-touching and emotional and full of struggle stories. Let’s begin with a wonderful story.
Learn English through Story part II
1. Greedy Boy
Sam and Tom were identical twins. They were so identical that even their mother found it difficult to distinguish one from the other, at least during their initial days on earth.
However, they were very different from each other when it came to everything other than their appearance.
Sam had no friends, while Tom was a great friendship maker. Sam loved sweets, but Tom loved spicy food and detested sweets. Sam was mommy’s pet and Tom was daddy’s pet. While Sam was generous and selfless, Tom was greedy and selfish!
As Sam and Tom grew up, their father wanted to share his fortune equally amongst them. However, Tom did not agree and he argued that whoever proved to be more intelligent and strong would have to get a bigger share of the wealth.
Sam agreed. Their father decided to organize a competition between the two. He asked the two sons to walk as long as they could, and return home before sunset. The wealth would be divided in proportion to the distance covered.
As a rule of the competition, they were not permitted to carry a watch to keep track of the time.
The following day, Sam and Tom set out to walk. It was a rather sunny day. Sam walked slowly and steadily, while Tom broke into a sprint as he was bent on winning the race and also winning a greater portion of his father’s wealth.
Sam knew that it would be ideal to walk as far as possible till noon and start for home at noon as it would take the same amount of time to walk back home.
Knowing this, Sam decided to turn back for home at noon so as reach home on time.
However, Tom, with his greed to earn more wealth, did not attempt to return home even after mid-noon.
He walked twice as long as Sam, and thought he would still be able to return home before sunset. He hurried back when he saw the sun turn orange.
Unfortunately, he could not even make it half way home as the sun started to set. Slowly darkness engulfed his path and he had to drag his tired feet back home.
He had lost the race. Only because of his greed. Greed leads to loss.
Learn English through Story part II
2. A Father learns A Lesson from His Son
Velan was a carpenter. He was living in a village. His mother dies a long time back. His aged father, Kuppan, lived with Velan. Kuppan was very weak. He could not even walk well. He was so weak. It was because Velan did not give him enough food.
He had given his father a small earthen plate. Even a small quantity of rice in the plate appeared to be much. Velan was a bad man. He was a drunkard also. After taking drinks, he abused his father badly.
Velan had a son. His name is Muthu. Muthu was just ten years old. He was a very good boy. He loved his grandfather. He had great respect for his grandfather. He did not like his father’s attitude and character, because his father was treating his grandfather cruelly.
One day Kuppan was eating his food out of earthen plate that his son had given to him. The earthen plate fell down. The plate broke into pieces. The food also fell on the floor. Velan was working at the other end of the room. He saw the broken plate.
He was very angry with his father and used very harsh words to abuse his father. The old man felt bad about what happened. He was sorry for his mistake. Velan’s words wounded him very deeply.
Velan’s son, Muthu, saw this. He did not like his father. His father was ill-treating his grandfather. He was afraid to speak against his father.
He was sad about his grandfather. But he was not powerful to stand in support of his grandfather.
The next day Muthu took some of his father’s carpentry tools and a piece of wood. He worked with the tools to make a wooden plate. His father saw him working.
“What are you making, Muthu?” he asked.
“I am making a wooden plate!” replied Muthu.
“A wooden plate! What for?” asked his father.
“I am making it for you, father. When you grow old, like my grandfather, you will need a plate for food. A plate made from earth mat break very easily. Then I may scold you severely. So, I want to give you a wooden plate. It may not break so easily.”
The carpenter was shocked to hear this. Only now he realized his mistake. His father was kind to Velan He had looked after Velan very well.
Now, he was old. Velan was treating his father severely. Velan was now very sad about his own behavior. He realized his mistakes. He then became a different person.
From that day, Velan treated his father with great respect. He gave up drinking too. Velan learnt a lesson from his own son.
You should honor your parents at all times. It is your duty. It brings you their blessings.
Learn English through Story part II
3. Bill Gates (A Business tycoon)
Bill believes in achieving his goal through hard work. He also believes that if you are intelligent and know how to use your intelligence, you can reach your goals and targets. From his early days Bill was ambitious, competitive and intelligent.
These qualities helped him to attain a great position in the profession he chose. Also, Bill was deemed by his peers and his teachers as the smartest kid on campus. Bill’s parents came to know about their son’s intelligence and decided to enroll him in a private school known for its intense academic environment.
That was the most important decision in the life of Bill Gates, where he was first introduced to computers. Bill Gates and his friends were very much interested in computers and formed a Programmers Group’ in late 1968. Being in this group, they found a new way to apply their computer skills in the University of Washington.
In the next year, they got their first opportunity in Information Sciences Inc in which they were selected as programmers. Information Sciences Inc agreed to give them royalties whenever it made money from any of the group’s programs. As a result of the business deal signed with Information Sciences Inc, the group also became a legal business.
Upon graduating from Lakeside School, Bill enrolled in Harvard University in 1973, one of the best universities in the country. He didn’t know what to do so he enrolled his name for pre-law.
Within a year, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. Then he formed Microsoft. Microsoft’s vision is “A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer”. Bill is a visionary person and works very hard to achieve his vision.
His belief in high intelligence and hard work has put him where he is today. He does not believe in mere luck and God’s grace, but just hard work and competitiveness.
Learn English through Story part II
4. Gautam Buddha (A monk)
Gautam Buddha was one of the world’s greatest religious teachers. He began life as a prince named Siddhartha Gautam in northern India.
His father was the king of Kapilvastu. At twelve, he was sent away for schooling in the Hindu sacred scriptures and four years later he returned home to marry a princess named Yashodhara.
They had a son named Rahul and lived for ten years as befitted At about the age of twenty-five he left his palace and at once became a beggar and went out into the world to seek enlightenment concerning the sorrows that he had witnessed.
He wandered for seven years and met with saints, scholars and religious teachers and finally sat down under a fig tree, where he vowed to stay until enlightenment came.
Enlightened after seven days, he renamed the tree the Bo Tree (Tree of Wisdom) and began to teach and to share his new understandings.
At that point he became known as the Buddha (the Awakened or the Enlightened). The Buddha preached his first sermon at the city of Banaras, most holy of the dipping places on the River Ganges; that sermon has been preserved.
It reflects the Buddha’s wisdom about one inscrutable kind of
suffering The Buddha said, “The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain”. For there is not any means by which those that have been born can avoid dying, after reaching old age there is death; of such a nature are living beings.
“Not from weeping nor from grieving will anyone obtain peace of mind; on the contrary, his pain will be greater and his body will suffer. He will make himself sick and pale, yet the dead are not saved by his lamentation.
He who has drawn out the arrow and has become composed will obtain peace of mind, he who has overcome all sorrow will become free from sorrow, and be blessed.”
Learn English through Story part II
5. Hard Work and Smart Work
Mukesh and Anil joined a company together a few months after their graduation from university.
After a few years of work, their Manager promoted Mukesh to a position of Senior Sales Manager, but Anil remained in his entry level Junior Sales Officer position. Anil developed a sense of jealousy and disgruntlement, but continued working anyway.
One day Anil felt that he could not work with Mukesh anymore. He wrote his resignation letter, but before he submitted it to the Manager, he complained that Management did not value hard working staff, but only promoted only the favored!
The Manager knew that Anil worked very hard for the years he had spent at the company; even harder than Mukesh and therefore he deserved the promotion. So in order to help Anil to realize this, the Manager gave Anil a task.
“Go and find out if anyone is selling water melons in town?”
Anil returned and said, “yes there is someone!”
The Manager asked, “how much per kg?” Anil drove back to town to ask and then returned to inform the Manager; “they are R13.50 per kg!”
The Manager told Anil, “I will give Mukesh the same task that I gave you. Please pay close attention to his response!”
So the Manager said to Mukesh, in the presence of Anil ; “Go and find out if anyone is selling water melons in town?”
Mukesh went to find out and on his return he said: “Manager, there is only one person selling water melons in the whole town. The cost is R49.00 each water melon and R32,50 for a half melon. He sells them at R13.50 per kg when sliced.
He has in his stock 93 melons, each one weighing about 7kg. He has a farm and can supply us with melons for the next 4 months at a rate of 102 melons per day at R27.00 per melon; this includes delivery.
The melons appear fresh and red with good quality, and they taste better than the ones we sold last year. He has his own slicing machine and is willing to slice for us free of charge.
We need to strike a deal with him before 10am tomorrow and we will be sure of beating last year’s profits in melons by R223 000.00. This will contribute positively to our overall performance as it will add a minimum of 3.78% to our current overall sales target.
I have put this information down in writing and is available on spreadsheet. Please let me know if you need it as I can send it to you in fifteen minutes.”
Anil was very impressed and realized the difference between himself and Mukesh. He decided not to resign but to learn from Mukesh.
As we begin this fresh year, let this story help us keep in mind the importance of going an extra mile in all our endeavors.
You won’t be rewarded for doing what you’re meant to do, you only get a salary for that! You’re only rewarded for going an extra mile, performing beyond expectations.
Learn English through Story part II
6. Hercules
Hercules was a strong and brave man. He lived in Greece. The King was jealous of Hercules. People might make Hercules the King.
Therefore he wanted to get rid of Hercules. He set difficult tasks for Hercules to keep him away from the country so that he would not be a possible threat to him (the King).
Once he asked Hercules to get three golden apples. Some trees were said to bear golden apples. These trees were said to be in a place called Hesperides.
But no one knew the way to Hesperides. So the King thought of Hesperides. Hercules would be away for a longer period.
Hercules set out on the journey. At first he met three maidens during the journey. Hercules asked them the way to Hesperides. They told him to ask the old man of the sea.
But they also warned him, “Hold the old man of the sea tightly. Otherwise he will escape. No one else knows the way.”
Hercules saw the old man. He was sleeping on the shore. He was looking strange. He had long hair and a beard. Hercules walked to him without making any noise. Then he seized him very firmly.
The old man of the sea opened his eyes. He was surprised. He changed himself into a stag. He tried to free himself from the grip of Hercules. But Hercules held him tight. Then the old man changed himself into a sea-bird and then to other animal forms.
But he could not free himself from the clutches of Hercules, because Hercules was making his clutches tighter and tighter. Finally the old man said to Hercules, “Who are you? What do you want from me?”
Hercules replied, “I am Hercules. Tell me the way to Hesperides.”
The old man said, “It is an island. Go along the sea-shore. You will meet a giant. He will show you the way to Hesperides.”
Hercules continued his journey. He met the giant. The giant was very huge and strong. He was sleeping on the shore. Hercules woke him up. The giant was angry.
He struck Hercules with a club. Hercules charged at the giant. He lifted the giant and threw him down.
But the giant got up immediately. He had become ten times stronger. Hercules threw him down again and again.
But each time the giant rose up much stronger. Then Hercules lifted the giant high up in the air. But he did not throw him down. The giant slowly lost all his strength. He now pleaded with Hercules to put him down on the earth.
Hercules asked him to tell the way to Hesperides. The giant asked Hercules to meet Atlas. He told him the way to the place where Atlas was.
Hercules continued his journey. He, at last, met Atlas.
“Why do you want the golden apples?” asked Atlas.
“My King has ordered me to get him these three golden apples,” said Hercules.
“It is a long way from here to that place. Only I can go there. Hold this sky for me. I shall get them for you,” said Atlas.
Hercules agreed. He held the sky on his shoulders. Atlas walked away. He was back in a short time. He put down the three golden apples at the foot of Hercules.
Hercules thanked Atlas. He requested Atlas to take back the sky from him.
“Take back the sky!” said Atlas cunningly. “I have held it for a thousand years. I shall come back after another thousand years!”
Hercules was astonished at what Atlas told him. But he did not express his astonishment. He recovered his senses and replied, “Oh! In that case, will you please hold the sky for a little while?
I shall make a pad for my shoulders to support the sky. Then I shall take back the sky from you.” Thus Hercules talked very quietly.
Atlas agreed. Atlas took back the sky from Hercules. Hercules immediately collected the three golden apples. He bid Atlas goodbye with a mischievous smile on his face. The he walked away towards Greece leaving Atlas speechless and surprised.
Hercules reached his homeland Greece after many days of travel. He gave the three golden apples to the King. The King was surprised to have got the golden apples from Hercules.
He was happy. But he pretended not to have been satisfied. But he secretly, he was planning to send away Hercules away on another perilous adventure.
Learn English through Story part II
6. The Six Swans
There lived a king who once lost his way while hunting in the forest. He met an old woman who said, ” I will show you the way out on the condition that you marry my daughter.” The king agreed.
The king had six sons and one daughter. He was worried that his new queen would not treat his children well. “I will not tell her about the children. I will hide them in the castle.”
Meanwhile, the suspicious queen who was actually a witch, bribed the servants and found out the secret way to the castle. She reached the castle and with her magical powers, turned the six boys into swans.
The little sister was left to wander alone in the forest. One day, she saw the swans and recognised her brothers.
“If you sew six shirts of starflowers for us within six years we will be free. But you cannot utter a word or laugh even during this time,” they said.
Years passed by. Meanwhile, the king of the neighbouring country came hunting to the forest. He was captivated by her beauty and married her. The king had a wicked mother who was not happy with this marriage.
She convinced the king that the new queen tried to kill her own children. She forced him to sentence the queen to death by the fire.
The queen was unable to speak in her defense. Just when the fire was about to be lit, six swans came flying towards her, touched the shirts and became free from enchantment.
They regained their human forms and told the entire story to the king. The king punished the wicked mother for her treachery. The brothers and sister were overjoyed to be united.
Learn English through Story part II
7. The Little Golden Fish
Once there lived a poor fisherman and his nagging wife. One day, the fisherman went to the sea and caught a golden fish.
The fish pleaded, “Oh, please let me go! I am the king of the sea! I will grant you any wish!” The fisherman was surprised to see the golden fish, and let it go.
He went home and told this to his wife and she became angry. She said, “You fool! You should have asked for a new bathtub! Haven’t you seen how bad our old one is?” So, the fisherman went to the sea again and told the golden fish about his wife’s wish. When he came home, he found a brand new bathtub, but the greedy wife was not happy.
She ordered, “Go to the fish again and ask him for a big house now!”
The fisherman was scared of his wife and he went to see the golden fish again. When the fish heard about the new wish he said, “I will grant you the wish because you are kind. Go, be happy!”
When the fisherman reached home, he found the wife in a palace wearing expensive clothes. But the ungrateful wife was still not satisfied and ordered, “Go find that fish right now and ask him to make me the queen of this world! Go!”
The witless fisherman ran to find the fish. However, this time, the little golden fish did not appear. Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning and a bolt of thunder.
He ran home to find that the golden fish had taken back all the wishes. The fisherman realised that if he had not listened to his greedy wife, they would not have lost the bathtub or the palace and would have been very rich.
Learn English through Story part II
8. Snow White
Once upon a time there lived a lovely princess with fair skin and blue eyes. She was so fair that she was named Snow White. Her mother died when Snow White was a baby and her father married again.
This queen was very pretty but she was also very cruel. The wicked stepmother wanted to be the most beautiful lady in the kingdom and she would often ask her magic mirror, “Mirror! Mirror on the wall! Who is the fairest of them all?” And the magic mirror would say,
“You are, Your Majesty!” But one day, the mirror replied, “Snow White is the fairest of them all!” The wicked queen was very angry and jealous of Snow White. She ordered her hunt
sman to take Snow White to the forest and kill her. “I want you to bring back her heart,” she ordered. But when the huntsman reached the forest with Snow White, he took pity on her and set her free.
He killed a deer and took its heart to the wicked queen and told her that he had killed Snow White. Snow White wandered in the forest all night, crying.
When it was daylight, she came to a tiny cottage and went inside. There was nobody there, but she found seven plates on the table and seven tiny beds in the bedroom. She cooked a wonderful meal and cleaned the house and tired, finally slept on one of the tiny beds.
At night, the seven dwarfs who lived in the cottage came home and found Snow White sleeping. When she woke up and told them her story, the seven dwarfs asked her to stay with them.
When the dwarfs were away, Snow White would make delicious meals for them. The dwarfs loved her and cared for her. Every morning, when they left the house, they instructed her never to open the door to strangers.
Meanwhile, in the palace, the wicked queen asked, “Mirror! Mirror on the Who is the fairest of them
The mirror replied, White is the fairest of them all! She lives with the seven dwarfs in the woods!” The wicked stepmother was furious.
She was actually a witch knew how to make magic potions. She now made a poisonous potion and dipped a shiny red apple into it. Then she disguised herself as an old peasant woman and went to the woods with the apple.
She knocked on the cottage door and said “Pretty little child! Let me in! Look what I have for you!” White said, “I am so sorry, old lady,
I cannot let you in! The seven dwarfs have told me not to talk to strangers!” But then, Snow White saw the shiny red apple, and opened the door. The wicked witch offered her the apple and when she took a bite poor Snow White fell into a deep sleep.
The wicked stepmother went back to the palace and asked the mirror, “Mirror! Mirror on the wall! Who is the fairest of them all?” The mirror replied, “You are, Your Majesty!” and she was very happy.
When the seven dwarfs came home to find Snow White lying on the floor, they were very upset. They cried all night and then built a glass coffin for Snow White.
They kept the coffin in front of the cottage. One day, Prince Charming was going past the cottage and he saw Snow White lying in the coffin. He said to the dwarfs, “My! My! She is so beautiful! I would like to kiss her!” And he did.
Immediately, Snow White opened her eyes. She was alive again! The Prince and the seven dwarfs were very happy.
Prince Charming married Snow White and took her to his palace and lived happily ever after.
Learn English through Story part II
9. Beauty and the Beast
Once upon a time there lived a wealthy merchant and his three daughters.
One day, the father was to go to a far-off place and he asked his daughters what they wanted on his return. The first and the second daughter asked for lovely dresses.
But the third daughter, whose name was Beauty, said, “Father, I only need a rose plucked by your hand.” The merchant, on his way back, had to cross through the deep forest. It was dark and the merchant tried to find a place to sleep.
He suddenly found a huge castle and went inside to find nobody. There was a huge table with delicious food and he ate it all. Then the merchant went into the bedroom and slept on a soft and fluffy bed.
The next day, too, the merchant did not find anyone in the castle. He saw a beautiful rose bush growing in the lawn and remembered Beauty’s gift. He plucked a red rose from the bush.
Suddenly, a ferocious looking beast sprang out of the bush. He was wearing fine silk clothes and roared, “I gave you food and a bed to sleep in! And now, you are stealing my roses!” The merchant was frightened and told the Beast about Beauty’s gift.
The Beast decided to let him go only if he promised to send Beauty to this castle. The merchant agreed and ran back home. He cried and told his daughters about the Beast. But Beauty loved her father a lot and agreed to go stay with the Beast.
The Beast treated Beauty with a lot of kindness. He was never rude to her. He let her stay in the biggest room and let her roam in the beautiful garden.
Beauty would sit near the fireplace and sew while the Beast kept her company. At first, Beauty was afraid of the Beast but slowly, she began to like him.
One day, the Beast asked Beauty to marry him, but she refused. She was still afraid of his fearful-looking face. The Beast still treated her kindly and with a lot of love.
Beauty missed her father a lot. The Beast gave her a magic mirror and said, “Look at the mirror and you can see your family. Now you won’t feel lonely anymore.
One day, Beauty looked in the mirror and saw that father was very ill and dying. She went to the Beast and pleaded and cried, “Please let me go home! I only want to see my father before he dies!” But the Beast roared,
“No! You promised you would never leave this castle!” Saying this, he stormed out of the room. But after some time, he came to Beauty and said, “You may go to stay with your father for seven days. But you must promise to return after that.” Beauty was very happy and agreed.
Then she left and went to stay with her father. Her father, on seeing Beauty, felt very happy and soon recovered. Beauty stayed with her family for seven days and more. She forgot the Beast and his castle.
But one night, she had a terrible nightmare in which she saw the Beast was very ill and about to die. He was crying, “Beauty, please come back!”
Beauty woke up and went back to the castle because she did not mean to hurt the Beast. She cried and said, “Please don’t die, Beast! I will live with you forever!” The Beast miraculously changed into a handsome prince.
He said, “I was under a curse all these years and could only be relieved when someone fell in love with me.
I am now cured of the curse because you truly love me.” And then, Beauty and the Beast were married and together they lived happily ever after.
Learn English through Story part II
9. The Little Pine Tree
In a forest grew a little pine tree. It felt quite lonely, as there were no other pine trees around and it had no friends. It also felt sad because it had long needles instead of leaves.
One night, it wished that it had leaves of gold. When it woke up in the morning, it found that the wish had come true and it had golden leaves now. The pine tree was very happy to see its gold leaves sparkling in the sunlight. Soon a woodcutter came to the forest.
He plucked all the gold leaves and took them away. The pine tree was sad and wished it had leaves of glass so that no one would take them.
Next morning, its wish had been fulfilled and it had leaves of glass. The pine tree was happy again and was delighted to hear its glass leaves tinkling when the wind blew. But, there was a big storm in the afternoon and all the glass leaves shattered and fell on the ground.
The pine tree was sad again and wished it had big green leaves. The pine tree was very happy the next morning, as its wish had come true for the third time. But soon a goat came and ate each one of the leaves.
The pine tree now wished he could get his long needles back. And was very happy the next morning when it got its needles back.
Learn English through Story part II
11. Old Sultan
A farmer had a faithful dog named Sultan, who had grown old and lost all his teeth, and could no longer hold onto anything. One day the farmer was standing with his wife before the house door, and said, “Tomorrow I intend to shoot Old Sultan. He is no longer of any use.”His wife, who felt pity for the faithful animal, answered, “He has served us so long, and been so faithful, that we might well give him his keep.”
“What?” said the man. “You are not very bright. He doesn’t have a tooth left in his mouth, and no thief is afraid of him. He can go now. If he has served us, he has eaten well for it.”
The poor dog, who was lying stretched out in the sun not far off, heard everything, and was sorry that tomorrow was to be his last day. He had a good friend, the wolf, and he crept out in the evening into the forest to him, and complained of the fate that awaited him.
“Listen, kinsman,” said the wolf, “be of good cheer. I will help you out of your trouble. I have thought of something. Tomorrow, early in the morning, your master is going with his wife to make hay, and they will take their little child with them, for no one will be left behind in the house. While they are at work they lay the child behind the hedge in the shade.
You lie down there too, just as if you wanted to guard it. Then I will come out of the woods, and carry off the child. You must run swiftly after me, as if you would take it away from me.
I will let it fall, and you will take it back to its parents, who will think that you have rescued it, and will be far too grateful to do you any harm. On the contrary, you will be treated royally, and they will never let you want for anything again.”
This idea pleased the dog, and it was carried out just as planned. The father screamed when he saw the wolf running across the field with his child, but when Old Sultan brought it back, he was full of joy, and stroked him and said, “Not a hair of yours shall be hurt. You shall eat free bread as long as you live.”
And to his wife he said, “Go home at once and make Old Sultan some bread soup that he will not have to bite. And bring the pillow from my bed. I will give it to him to lie on. From then on Old Sultan was as well off as he could possibly wish.
Soon afterwards the wolf visited him, and was pleased that everything had succeeded so well. “But, kinsman,” he said, “you will just close one eye if, when I have a chance, I carry off one of your master’s fat sheep.”
“Don’t count on that,” answered the dog. “I will remain true to my master. I cannot agree to that.”
The wolf thought that this was not spoken in earnest, and he crept up in the night to take away the sheep. But
the farmer, to whom the faithful Sultan had told the wolf’s plan, was waiting for him and combed his hair cruelly with a flail. The wolf had to flee, but he cried out to the dog, “Just wait, you scoundrel. You’ll regret this.”
The next morning the wolf sent the boar to challenge the dog to come out into the forest and settle the affair. Old Sultan could find no one to be his second but a cat with only three legs, and as they went out together the poor cat limped along, stretching its tail upward with pain.
The wolf and his friend were already at the appointed place, but when they saw their enemy coming, they thought that he was bringing a saber with him, for they mistook the cat’s outstretched tail for one.
And when the poor animal hopped on three legs, they thought that each time it was picking up a stone to throw at them. Then they took fright. The wild boar crept into the underbrush and the wolf jumped up a tree.
As the dog and the cat approached, they wondered why no one was to be seen. The wild boar, however, had not been able to hide himself completely in the leaves. His ears were still sticking out.
While the cat was looking cautiously about, the boar wiggled his ears, and the cat, who thought it was a mouse, jumped on it and bit down hard. The boar jumped up screaming loudly, “The guilty one is up in the tree.”
The dog and cat looked up and saw the m kkwolf, who was ashamed for having shown such fear, and who then made peace with the dog.
He thought to himself, “Gold leaves, glass leaves, and green leaves are all fine but only long needles are good for a li
ttle pine tree like me.”
Learn English through Story part II
12. The Six Swans
There lived a king who once lost his way while hunting in the forest. He met an old woman who said, ” I will show you the way out on the condition that you marry my daughter.” The king agreed.
The king had six sons and one daughter. He was worried that his new queen would not treat his children well. “I will not tell her about the children. I will hide them in the castle.”
Meanwhile, the suspicious queen who was actually a witch, bribed the servants and found out the secret way to the castle. She reached the castle and with her magical powers, turned the six boys into swans.
The little sister was left to wander alone in the forest. One day, she saw the swans and recognised her brothers. “If you sew six shirts of starflowers for us within six years we will be free. But you cannot utter a word or laugh even during this time,” they said.
Years passed by. Meanwhile, the king of the neighbouring country came hunting to the forest. He was captivated by her beauty and married her. The king had a wicked mother who was not happy with this marriage.
She convinced the king that the new queen tried to kill her own children. She forced him to sentence the queen to death by the fire.
The queen was unable to speak in her defense. Just when the fire was about to be lit, six swans came flying towards her, touched the shirts and became free from enchantment.
They regained their human forms and told the entire story to the king. The king punished the wicked mother for her treachery. The brothers and sister were overjoyed to be united.
Learn English through Story part II
13. Fearless John
Fearless John was a young man who feared nothing.
One day, the king announced that he would marry his daughter, the beautiful Princess Lily of the Valley to anyone who dared to spend the night in the haunted woods.
Fearless John decided to try his luck in marrying the princess. He went to the woods, where he saw a castle, deep inside the jungle. This castle was actually haunted and was called the Castle of Terror.
That night, just as he was about to sleep he heard a big commotion. He saw many ghosts approaching him. But Fearless John was not worried. He picked up a club and chased them all away.
The next night, Fearless John saw an enormous bear in the castle. But John was not worried. He tied the beast up.
On the third night, Fearless John came face-to-face with a fire-breathing dragon in the Castle of Terror.
But John was still not worried. He made the monster run up and down, in and out.
The dragon ran round and round until he was dizzy and collapsed and fell to the floor. John dragged the dragon into a well.
On the fourth day, Fearless John returned home. When the king heard about Fearless John’s adventures and how he had stayed in the Castle of Terror, he was impressed.
The king announced the marriage of Fearless John and his daughter, Princess Lily of the Valley. News of John’s bravery spread far and wide and all the people rejoiced with the royal family.
Learn English through Story part II
14. Little Mermaid
Long long ago, in the Deep Sea kingdom, there lived the sea king with his five mermaid daughters. Sirenetta was the youngest and the loveliest among them.
She had a beautiful voice and everybody from far and wide came to hear her sing and praised her voice and her beauty.
One day, while Sirenetta was swimming on the surface of the water and watching ships go by, she saw a young man falling off his ship. She swam swiftly to save him from drowning and dragged him to the shore. Soon, people found the man on the shore and Sirenetta swam away.
This man was actually the prince of a kingdom. When he became conscious, the prince looked around for the girl who had saved him but no one knew who she was.
Sirenetta often thought of the young man and fell in love with the prince, but she was sad because she could never be like all the other ladies he knew. They had two feet and she had a fish tail!
In the Deep Sea lived a witch with magical powers. One day, Sirenetta went to beg her for human legs. The witch said, “I need your beautiful voice! Only then I shall give you legs! But you must remember, every time you set your feet on the ground, it will hurt very badly!” Sirenetta agreed. She did not mind the pain.
All she wanted was to be with the prince. As soon as she got her two feet Sirenetta became dumb. When she was leaving, the witch said, “If your prince marries anybody else, you shall dissolve in the sea water. You can never become a mermaid again!”
With the witch’s magic spell, Sirenetta found herself lying on the beach and the prince looking down at her. He asked, “Where are you from?” But she could not reply. The prince took her to his palace and looked after her.
They became good friends and had a wonderful time together. Every step Sirenetta took hurt, but she bore it all silently.
She loved the prince but the prince was in love with the beautiful maiden who had saved him. The prince did not realise it had been Sirenetta and she couldn’t tell him.
Obeying the wishes of his father, the prince went to meet the daughter of a neighbouring king. Enchanted by her beauty the prince was convinced this was the same maiden who rescued him. He asked the princess to marry him. A grand wedding took place.
Sirenetta was heartbroken. That night, crying she ran to the seashore. There she saw four mermaids. Why, they were her sisters!
One of them handed her a knife and said, “Here, Sirenetta! This is a magic knife! We gave our long hair locks to the witch of the Deep Sea and she gave this to us in return. Kill your prince and you shall turn into a mermaid again! Then you can come and live with us!”
Sirenetta took the magic knife and went to the prince’s room at night. But she loved him so much that she could not kill him. She knew that at dawn, she would vanish into the sea, just as the witch of the Deep Sea had told her earlier. She sat on the shore and wept silently.
Suddenly, from the sky came a pink cloud. It lifted her from the land into the sky. “Where am IT’ asked Sirenetta, for now she could talk. The beautiful fairies replied, “We are the air fairies. You are now one of us because you did a good deed for the person you love. Come with us.”
From then on, the little mermaid, Sirenetta, lived in the sky with the fairies.
Learn English through Story part II
14. The Three Brothers
A rich merchant had three sons. He wondered how to divide his huge mansion among his three sons, who wished to acquire his wealth upon his death. After much thought on the subject he came up with a plan.
One day, he called the three brothers and told them, “I will give my wealth to the person who can master a trade.” The three brothers were happy with this condition and rushed to learn a job. The eldest became a blacksmith, the second a barber and the third a fencing master.
After each became skilled at their craft they returned home. Their father asked them to give proof of their skills.
The eldest stopped a horse-drawn carriage, took out the horseshoes and quickly made new ones.
The father was impressed with his son’s achievement. The eldest son thought he was the best and the deserved the property.
Then the merchant called his second son. He lifted a rabbit, lathered him up with soap and then shaved off his whiskers and fur with the skill of an expert barber.
Seeing his father’s happy face he thought that he would get the wealth.
When it was time to test his third son, the rains set in. Skillfully brandishing his sword above his head, the youngest son, stopped all the raindrops from pouring onto his body. The father, who had not seen anything like this before, was astonished.
He immediately gave the entire property to his youngest son.
The other two brothers stood stupefied; they agreed that this indeed was a masterpiece.
After the merchant’s death all the sons lived happily in the huge mansion.
15. The Trees and The Lions
Far away from a kingdom there was a huge jungle. In that jungle, there were thousands of trees. Among them two were very good friends.
They stood side by side. The same jungle was the home of many lions. Those lions used to kill other animals living in that jungle and eat them. The carcasses of the dead animals used to stink and a foul smell would hang in the air. The whole atmosphere was bad to live in.
One day, the two trees, who were friends, were talking. The first tree said, “These lions are polluting our jungle. We have to save our jungle from them. They must be driven out of this jungle.”
“Yes,” agreed the other tree.
A wise old tree, who was listening to the friends said, “They might be polluting the air. But these wild creatures are keeping us safe from woodcutters. No woodcutter will dare to come into the forest which has lions.”
But, this advice did not go into the minds of the trees. The two friends decided to frighten the animals away.
That evening, the two trees started shaking violently. “We will frighten the lions away. They will be so terrified that they will leave this jungle and never come back into this jungle,” said the two friends and laughed aloud.
The whole forest echoed with their laughter. “Do not do that,” shouted the wise tree.
But the two friends did not listen. They began moving in the wind and making eerie noises. All the other wild animals in the forest were scared, seeing the two trees and the sounds they were creating.
“There is something happening in the forest. Let us run away,” they said. All the animals fled the jungle.
The two friends were happy. “Huh! Now we can enjoy some fresh air,” they said.
But their joy was short-lived. One day a woodcutter came to the forest and started felling the trees. “Now there is no fear of the ferocious lions,” he muttered to himself.
Soon there were other wood cutters. Seeing this, the wise tree said, “Now all of us will be doomed.” The two friends cried out, “How foolish we have been. We should have listened to this wise tree.”
A little later the two tree friends were brought down by the wood cutter’s axe.The Trees and The Lions are must.
Day by day, more and more trees were destroyed by many woodcutters.
16. Angry Snake
A carpenter went home after shutting down his workshop. When he was gone, a poisonous snake entered his workshop. The snake was hungry and hoped to find its supper lurking somewhere within.
It slithered from one end to another. Finally it bumped into an axe and got very slightly injured.
In angry and revenge, the snake bit the axe with full force. What could a snake’s bite do to the metallic axe? Instead the snake’s mouth started bleeding.
Out of fury and arrogance, the snake tried its best to strangle and kill the metallic axe – The object that was causing it the pain by wrapping itself around the axe.
The next day the carpenter opened the workshop. He found the dead snake wrapped around the blades of the axe.
Here the snake did not die because of someone’s fault. But it faced these consequences merely because of its own anger and wrath.
Sometimes when angry, we try to cause harm to others. But as time passes by, we realize that we caused more harm to ourselves.
It is not necessary that we react to everything. Step back and ask ourselves if the matter is really worth responding to.
17. The First Voyage
My father was a rich merchant. When he died, I was still young. He left behind a big wealth. However, I was an inexperienced thoughtless youth and spent all his wealth foolishly.
I returned to my senses only after the loss of all the wealth. I decided to sail for the Persian Gulf with some merchandise. Our group sailed from one country to another, selling the goods. One day, when we were on board, we saw a beautiful small green island.
Just to have some fun, we all got down on that green patch. We were hungry and so we decided to cook some food there. As soon as we lit the fire for cooking, we got a jerk. The island was trembling.
It was no island. It was the back of a huge animal, which got disturbed when the fire was lit on his back. We were terrified to realize the fact. Everyone jumped into the sea to save his life. Most of them boarded the ship.
But a few were not so fortunate. Before they could climb up, the captain started the ship hurriedly leaving behind a few sailors who were still struggling in the sea for their life. I was one among those strugglers. Fortunately, I caught hold of a big floating piece of wood and started floating with it.
I was being tossed by the frequent powerful sea waves. I kept on floating like this for a long time. At last, I was thrown on an island. I was dead tired and extremely hungry. But on the island, there was nothing to eat except for a few herbs.
Due to the continuous struggle in the seawater, my limbs became stiff and refused to move. I somehow managed to crawl to get a few herbs. I ate them and quenched my thirst from a spring of the island.
As I walked further in this alien lace, I met a man. The man asked me for my whereabouts. I poured out my misfortune to him. The man felt pity to hear my sad story. He took me inside a cave.
There were a number of men present. They were all slaves of the king of the island. Those men were kind. They served good food to me and behaved well with me.
Later on, they produced me infront of the king Mihrjan who was the ruler of the island. I narrated my tale of sufferings and hardship to the king. The king was noble and kind person. He sympathized with me and appointed me as an officer on the port.
The natives of this small island were called ‘Indians’. Soon, I became friendly with them. A number of small islands were there near this island. These islands were under the kingship of king Mihrjan. During my stay, I witnessed a number of conspicuous sights.
The seawater around the islands contained huge and horrible fishes. A few were hundred times bigger than the largest ship. Once I saw a fish that had her head like a bull. There, I witnessed many unimaginable wonders.
In this small island kingdom, ships from different parts of the world visited its port regularly. Everyday I would ask the visiting sailors about my city Baghdad, but no one knew about my native place. I longed to go back home.
One day, when I was standing on the port, I saw a ship approaching the port. It was the same ship, which had sailed further after leaving me behind, struggling in the sea water.
When the captain of the ship saw me, he was immensely surprised to find me alive.
He and the other crewmembers hugged me with happiness. The captain handed over my goods to me, which was left on the ship.
Among my goods, I chose a few valuable items and presented those to the kind king. In return, the king also gave me much more expensive presents.
The ship stayed on the island for a few days. Meanwhile, I did a fabulous business there with my goods and earned good money.
At the time of departure, I went to meet the king. I thanked the king for his kind gesture and all his favours extended.
The king again gave me many valuable farewell gifts. Finally I returned to my city Baghdad as a rich man.
Sindbad completed the tale of his first voyage. The poor porter Hindbad was listening to the amazing tale of Sindbad with all wonder.
Sindbad the sailor then bade good buy to the poor porter and asked him to come on the next day to hear the tale of his new voyage.
But before leaving, he presented Hindbad a purse-full of gold coins. The unexpected riches overjoyed Hindbad. He thanked his rich host and proceeded for home.
18. The Perfect Palace
Thousands of years ago, there lived a King. His people loved him since he looked after their needs well. At the end of every month, he would invite some noble men of his Kingdom to analyze his work and advised him.
The King built many things. Every year he would rebuild his palace and every time it looked better that before. “Marvelous! Unmatched!!” the couriers would praise and the King would feel elated.
One day the King thought, “This year, I will build the perfect palace, with all comforts. It should be praised not only within my kingdom, but also by the people of the neighboring states.”
The next day, the King worked out a perfect design for his perfect palace. After finalizing it, he handed it over to the builders and masons.
In about a month, the perfect palace of the King’s dream was ready. The King invited noblemen of his kingdom, as well as the neighboring states, to get their opinions about the palace.
“Unbelievable! Indeed, it is a perfect palace,” cheered the noblemen in unison. But a saint standing in the corner was silent.
The King wondered why the saint was silent, when everyone was praising his palace. He walked up to the saint and said, “Please tell, O Saint, why you are silent. Is not my palace perfect?”
The Saint replied in a calm voice, “Dear King! Your palace is strong and will last forever. It is beautiful but not perfect, since the people living in it are mortals. They are not permanent.
Your palace will live forever but not the people in it. That is why I am silent. Man is born with empty hands and so does he die.”
The King thanked the saint for his wise words and never tried to build a perfect palace again.
19. The Prince and The Snake
The kingdom of Vijaygarh had a wise and kind King. People were happy. But the King himself was sad and worried. A devilish snake had entered his son’s body. Neither medicine nor magic worked to cure his son.
When the Prince grew up, he thought, “It is because of me that my father worried.” And one day, he left the palace. Wandering, he came to another kingdom. He found a desolate temple and started living there. He begged for food.
The King of that kingdom was cruel. But he had a kind and beautiful daughter. The King was unhappy with his daughter. That girl was always ridiculing her father’s hard work. The King thought, “She is always talking to me low of my hard work. I must marry her to a beggar. Then she will know what hard work is.”
So, when the beggar Prince came to beg for food in the Palace, the cruel King forced him to marry his daughter. The Prince and his new bride started for the desolate temple.
On their way, they stopped to take rest. The Princess went around in search of food, while her husband went to sleep.
When the Princess came back, she was shocked to see a snake sitting on her husband’s mouth. On a mount nearby sat another snake. They were talking among themselves. “Why do not you leave the body of the Prince?
He is so kind and gentle,” said the snake sitting on the mound. “You too are evil! You attack passers-by. You should not be telling me what to do,” replied the snake sitting on the mouth of the Prince.
The Princess killed both the snakes with all her courage. When her husband woke up, she told him about the two snakes.
The Prince was happy. Then he told her who he really was. They set off to the Prince’s palace. The King was delighted to see his son.
When the King learned that the devilish snake was killed, his joy knew no bounds. The Prince and the Princess lived happily for a long time.
After few years, the Kingdom celebrated the day on which the Royal couple gave birth to twins of one boy and one girl.
20. The Duration of Life
When God created the world, he decided to fix the duration of life for all creatures.
He called the donkey and said, “Will thirty years be fine for you?” The donkey replied, “I will have to carry heavy burden, thirty years is too long.” God reduced his age to eighteen years.
Then he called the dog and said, “I hope thirty years is fine for you.” The dog said, “I will soon lose my teeth and sit in the corner, thirty years is too much.” God reduced it to twelve years.
Then came the monkey and God said, “How does thirty years sound?” The monkey replied, “I have to do silly things to make people laugh. Thirty years is too much.” God reduced it to ten years.
Then God called man and asked him if thirty years was good enough for him to live well. The man replied, “I have to build my house and plant the trees.
How can I die before I get pleasure from my house and before the plants start bearing fruits? Thirty years is too less.” God said, “I will give you eighteen years of the donkey’s life.”
The man was greedy and wanted more. God said, “You can take twelve years of the dog’s life.” “Can I have some more?” asked the man. Finally God said, “Take ten years of the monkey’s life and no more.”
Therefore, the first thirty years of man’s life are his own, when he enjoys. The next eighteen are of a donkey’s when he has to carry burdens.
The next ten years are those of a dog’s life when he loses his teeth and lies in a corner, and the last ten years are that of monkey’s life when he does silly things!
21. Puss in Boots
Once upon a time there was a poor miller who had three sons.
When the miller died, the first two sons greedily took everything and left the house. They only left behind the cat for the third son. The son was very sad.
He loved his father the most and wept for him and said, “I have nothing but this cat! I will eat him and then soon, I shall die too!” Hearing this, the cat said,
“Master, please give me a bag full of carrots and grain and see what great wonders I can do! Please give me a coat and your boots, too!” The miller’s son gave the cat all that he asked for.
Puss in Boots now set off for the jungle. He laid a trap with carrots in it and caught a rabbit. Puss in Boots also caught a couple of partridges with the grain his master had given him. Puss in Boots then went to meet the king.
He presented the partridges and rabbit to the king and said, “Your Majesty! These are gifts from my master, the Marquis of Carabas!” The king was very pleased with the gifts.
On his way back home, Puss in Boots passed by some fields where harvesters were working in the sun.
He commanded them, “If anyone asks you whom this field belongs to, you must reply that it belongs to the Marquis of Carabas! If you do not agree, I will get the ogre to eat you all up!” The workers were frightened of the ogre and agreed to do so.
When Puss in Boots reached home, he told his master, “Master, you will be meeting the king soon! Do as I say. Go to the river nearby and have a bath!” The man did as his cat told him to.
He took off his clothes and jumped into the river. Puss in Boots immediately took all the clothes and hid behind a rock nearby.
When king’s carriage passed by, the cat went up to the king and said, “Your Majesty! My master is drowning! Some thugs robbed him of his fine clothes and pushed him into this river!
Please save him!” The king, on hearing this, commanded his servants, “Save the Marquis of Carabas and give him the finest clothes to wear!” They did as he told them. The cat and his master were very happy.
Now, when the carriage went past the fields, the king stopped by and asked the workers, “To whom do these fields belong?” They replied, “The Marquis of Carabas, Your Majesty!” The king was very pleased to hear this.
Puss in Boots, in the meantime, ran ahead of the king’s carriage. He went to the castle nearby. There lived a ferocious ogre. The cat said to him,
I have heard of your mighty powers! I have heard you can become anything you want to!” The ogre laughed and decided to show Puss in Boots all his powers. He replied, “Of course!” and instantly turned into a lion.
Then the ogre became a monkey and finally became his real self. Now, the clever cat challenged, “I am sure you cannot become one of the tiniest creatures in the world! You can never become a mouse!” The ogre was enraged and said, “Watch this!” Saying this, he turned into a tiny mouse. Puss in Boots quickly pounced on him and ate him up!
When the king and the miller’s son reached the castle, the cat said. “Welcome, Your Majesty! This is the castle of the Marquis of Carabas!” Hearing this, the king was very pleased. He asked the miller’s son to marry his youngest and loveliest daughter.
The miller’s son knew that the king’s daughter was very beautiful and agreed. Soon, they were married and lived happily ever after in the castle.
22. The Snow Queen
Once upon a time there lived a wicked goblin who built a magic mirror. Anything that was beautiful or good was reflected in it as ugly and bad.
One day, the mirror broke and all its pieces fell all over the earth. A few pieces also fell in a small town where two friends named Kay and Gerda lived.
Kay and Gerda were neighbours. They were very good friends and spent their days playing games, building sand blocks and running across the sun-kissed fields.
One day while they were playing, bits of the broken mirror hit Kay’s eyes and one piece pierced his heart. After that everything changed. Kay no longer viewed Gerda as his best friend.
He poked fun at her and hit her on the head whenever he could. Gerda was puzzled and couldn’t understand why he was behaving in such a strange way.
One day, Kay and his group of friends decided to go on a sledge ride over the snow. Suddenly, a huge sledge drew up before him and its driver asked him to step in.
Once Kay was inside, the driver transformed himself into a woman and sped away.
She was draped in a white flowing gown and on her head was placed a crown made of ice. Her silky white locks cascaded like a flowing stream.
Astonished Kay asked her who she was. I am the Snow Queen,” replied the woman, whose face shone like a sparkling diamond.
She tugged at the reins and rode past the clouds and the rainbow, till they reached a distant land.
Meanwhile, Gerda waited for Kay to return. One day, she took her boat and went to search for him in the river. Seeing Gerda, a fairy cast her magic spell and made the boat approach her.
When Gerda narrated her story, she sent her garden flowers everywhere to search for Kay, but they returned empty-handed.
Gerda sat under a tree and wept all night. Suddenly a crow flew down and informed her about a certain princess who had recently married a boy.
Gerda grew restless thinking that Kay had married someone else and urged the crow to take her to the princess’s palace.
Gerda waited anxiously inside the palace and when the boy entered she sighed with relief because it wasn’t Kay.
Gerda carried on her search and came to a forest where she met a robber girl and her reindeer.
Hearing Gerda’s sad tale, the reindeer said he had seen the Snow Queen flying away with a boy to Lapland. She immediately set out for Lapland and the reindeer accompanied her.
There, they came across a magician who told them that Kay was at the Snow Queen’s palace and owing to the piece of glass inside him, he considered it to be the best place in the world. She suggested Gerda visit the palace.
The Snow Queen’s palace was made out of ice. It was cold and dark, and no one except the Snow Queen lived in it.
One day, she challenged Kay to spell the word “Eternity” from an assorted chunk of alphabets, all made of ice, and promised him his freedom in return.
Kay wracked his brains hard but just couldn’t spell the word. Just then Gerda arrived and seeing her long-lost friend she cried out in joy and embraced him.
Just as her warm tears fell on his hard cheeks Kay felt his cold heart begin melting.
He recognized Gerda and wept aloud. Suddenly, a teardrop fell on the alphabets and they spelt out the word “Eternity.”
Kay was set free and he went back home with Gerda.
23. THE PRAYING HANDS
Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father, the 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 his children, 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.
24. 17 Camels and 3 Sons
Long ago, there lived an old man with his three sons in a deserted village, located in the vicinity of a desert. He had 17 camels, and they were the main source of his income. He used to rent out camels as a means of shipping in the desert. One day, he passed away. He had left a will, leaving his assets for his three sons.
After the funeral and the other obligations were over, the three sons read the will. While their father had divided all the property he had into three equal parts, he had divided the 17 camels in a different way. They were not shared equally among the three as 17 is an odd number and a prime number, which cannot be divided.
The old man had stated that the eldest son will own half of the 17 camels, the middle one will get one third of the 17 camels, and the youngest one will get his share of camels as one ninth!
All of them were stunned to read the will and questioned each other how to divide the 17 camels as mentioned in the will. It is not possible to divide 17 camels and give half of the 17 camels to the eldest one. It is not possible also to divide the camels for the other two sons.
They spent several days thinking of ways to divide the camels as mentioned in the will, but none could find the answer.
They finally took the issue to the wise man in their village. The wise man heard the problem and instantly found a solution. He asked them to bring all the 17 camels to him.
The sons brought the camels to the wise man’s place. The wise man added a camel owned by him and made the total number of camels 18.
Now, he asked the first son to read the will. As per the will, the eldest son got half the camels, which now counted to 18 / 2 = 9 camels! The eldest one got 9 camels as his share.
The remaining camels were 9.
The wise man asked the second son to read the will. He was assigned 1 / 3 of the total camels.
It came to 18 / 3 = 6 camels. The second son got 6 camels as his share.
Total number of camels shared by the elder sons – 9 + 6 = 15 camels.
The third son read out his share of camels: 1 / 9th of the total number of camels – 18 / 9 = 2 camels.
The youngest one got 2 camels as his share.
Totally there were 9 + 6 + 2 camels shared by the brothers, which counted to 17 camels.
Now, the one camel added by the wise man was taken back.
The wise man solved this problem smartly with his intelligence.
Intelligence is nothing but finding a common ground to solve an issue. In short, every problem has a solution.
