Honesty pays

Read in Reader's Digest.

There was an emperor who did not have any children. He decided to adopt a boy so that he could groom him to be the next emperor. Parents with a boy child approached the king to adopt their child. However, the emperor decided he would keep a test to decide upon the boy to be adopted.
The emperor distributed seeds to all the boys. The emperor instructed them to nurture the seeds with utmost care and whomsoever showed up with the most healthiest plant after a year would be the chosen one.

All the boys took care of the seeds and soon, they sprouted and grew up to be lovely plants. Except one little boy. No matter, how much he took care, the seed never sprouted. The boy grew sad. He did watered the seeded pot everyday. Yet, nothing sprouted.

Soon, a year passed. The emperor ordered the plants to be exibited. All the boys turned up with their potted plants proudly. Except this boy. He was hesitant to go. But his mother persuaded him to go. No matter what, it's okay to give it a try. The boy reached with an empty pot.

The emperor looked upon each pot and when he reached the boy with an empty pot, he asked the little boy,
"What happened? Why do you have and empty pot?"
"His Highness, I took utmost care the plant. Yet, they did not sprout. I am sorry."
"This boy is the chosen one!"
Everybody looked up.
The emperor continued.
"I had distributed boiled seeds. They will never sprout. This little boy is the only honest boy who showed me the truth.  He deserves to be the next emperor."

Hence, the little honest boy was declared to be the adopted son of the emperor. Honesty is the best policy to be followed.

Everything happens for good!

Once upon a time, there lived a king who loved hunting.
He used to go deep into forests and hunt for animals.
One, a king and his servant went hunting.
Some goons and robbers attacked the king and his servant.
One of the king's fingers got cut off during the attack.
The servant fought with the goons and robbers and saved the king.
The king and the servant returned to the palace safely.
Yet, the king was lamenting that his finger got cut off and one of his hands had only four fingers now.
The servant exclaimed, "Everything happens for good."
The king became angry, "What is so good about my finger being cut off?"
Ther servant replied, "There probably is a purpose for the finger being cut off."
The king ordered, "You seem to be happy on my finger being cut off. Here, I order you to be put in jail. "
The servant was put in jail.
Another day, the king went hunting all by himself.
The king was caught by cannibals. And cannibals eat humans!
The leader of the cannibals ordered his people to examine the king.
Cannibals donn't eat humans who had a defect. And Lo! The king had a defect. The king did not have a finger! The cannibals let him free!
The king remembered the servant's words.
The king ordered the servant to be released.
The king asked, "You were put in jail. When you say,everything happens for good, what was good about you being put in jail?"
The servant replied, "Had I been free, I would have accompanied you in hunting. And I also would have been caught by cannibals. Since, I do not have any defect, I would have been a meal to the cannibals. Because, I was in jail, I am alive today. Therefor everything happens for good. "

(Source: Unknown)

Importance of learning a new language

(Heard from web)

There was a cat. The cat had a little kitten. One day, when the cat and its kitten were walking, they saw a dog.

The dog stared at the cat for a while. And then started barking. The cat returned the stares by its soft purrs.

Soon, the dog began to chase the cat and its kitten. The cat and its kitten ran.
They ran and ran until they began to get tired.
They couldn't run more. The cat thought, "We cannot keep running like this. We would get tired."
The cat thought of an idea, "If we purr, the dog will keep chasing us. If we bark like the dog, it may leave us."
The cat stopped and it started to bark. In other words, it started to speak in the dog's language.
The dog was surprised, "How can a cat bark?"
The dog thought, "Perhaps, this is not a cat, it must be some other animal which looks like a cat and can bark like a dog."
The dog began to run in the opposite direction, leaving the cat and the kitten to themselves.
The cat said to the kitten, "Now, do you understand the importance of learning a new language?"
This story essentially, illustrates the importance of learning an additional language or the power of learning a new language.

Tikko and his pet

It was Tikkoo's Happy Birthday.
Tikkoo had invited lots of friends for his birthday party.
One of Tikkoo's friends gave him a baby parrot in a cage as his birthday gift.
Tikkoo was very happy.
Tikkoo took good care of his parrot.
Tikkoo taught him many things. But the parrot never spoke anything.
Tikkoo was sad.
Many times, Tikkoo's Mama told him, "TIkkoo, release the parrot from the cage".
But, Tikkoo said,"But then, the parrot will fly away. "
Mama replied,"Birds are meant to be freed. Will you like it if you were put in a cage like that?"
Then Tikko, one fine day, decided to free the parrot.
Tikkoo talked with him and finally bid him farewell.
The parrot was very happy, when he was freed.
It flew several rounds at Tikkoo's balcony and started to speak what Tikkoo had taught him.
Thus, Tikkoo came to know that birds like to fly...

The boy who didn't like to take bath.

Once, there was a boy who didn't like to take a bath. His name was Tikkoo.

Even, when Tikkoo was covered with dust and dirt, he didn't like his Mama bathing him.

But, his Mama always used to bathe him every day while he cried aloud.

One day, Tikkoo returned home covered with dust and dirt after having a nice time playing with sand.

But, his Mama was not to be seen.

"Tikkoo, your Mama went to the market to buy some fruits. Go, take a bath yourself", the boy's father replied.

Tikkoo was very tired. He fell asleep on his bed without taking a bath.

When his Mama came back, she did not wake up Tikkoo.

Tikkoo was sleeping on his bed. It was midnight.

A little monster smelling food came close to Tikkoo.

The monster's food was dust and dirt. The monster licked Tikkoo once.

"Mmm. Yummy.", thought the monster.

The monster licked Tikkoo a second time.

"Mmm. Wow, I will have a nice dinner tonight", thought the monster.

Next day, Tikkoo got up and saw himself on the mirror,

"Mama, Mama," he called out to his Mama.

Tikkoo was covered with blisters.

"Tikkoo, didn't you take a bath yesterday?", Mama asked.

"No, Mama.", Tikkoo replied, with his head down.

Mama took Tikkoo to the doctor and the doctor gave a lotion to apply over the body.

That night, TIkkoo took a bath and applied the lotion.

The monster came again. He couldn't find his food. Tikkoo was so clean that he did not smell of dirt. The monster went away sadly.

From then, on Tikkoo always bathed himself before going to bed...